A real-time CLI clock that displays time by highlighting characters from its own source code to form ASCII art digits.
- Self-Rendering: Uses the program's own source code as the canvas for ASCII art
- Real-Time Display: Updates every second without terminal spam
- Adaptive Sizing: Automatically adjusts to terminal dimensions
- Cross-Platform: Supports Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Color-Coded Time: Hours, minutes, and seconds in distinct colors
- Intelligent Spacing: Improved character separation and border rendering
- Python 3.6+
- Terminal with ANSI color support
- Minimum terminal size: 100x25 characters
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/decryptable/ascii-clock.git
cd ascii-clockRun the clock:
python clock.pyPress Ctrl+C to exit.
ASCII Clock operates through a sophisticated multi-step process that transforms source code into a visual timepiece:
- Self-Reading: The program reads its own source file (
clock.py) using Python's file I/O operations - Docstring Removal: Uses regex patterns to strip all docstrings (both single and multi-line) and comments from the source code
- Minification: Removes excessive whitespace and empty lines to create a continuous stream of code characters
- Buffer Extension: Duplicates the minified code multiple times to ensure sufficient characters for the display grid
- Terminal Detection: Automatically detects current terminal dimensions using
os.get_terminal_size() - Grid Mapping: Creates a 2D character grid by mapping the minified source code sequentially across rows and columns
- Adaptive Sizing: Adjusts grid dimensions based on terminal size, ensuring optimal display on any screen
- Pattern Matching: Each digit (0-9) and colon (:) has a predefined 11×9 pixel pattern stored in
ASCII_PATTERNS - Time Parsing: Current system time is formatted as "HH:MM:SS" and each character is mapped to its corresponding pattern
- Position Calculation: Calculates exact grid coordinates for each pixel of every digit, centered in the terminal
- Pixel Mapping: For each active pixel in the digit patterns, identifies the corresponding character in the source code grid
- Color Assignment: Applies distinct color schemes:
- Red: Hours (HH)
- Green: Minutes (MM)
- Cyan: Seconds (SS)
- Yellow: Separators (:)
- Border Detection: Generates subtle gray borders around highlighted characters by identifying adjacent non-digit positions
- Character Separation: Implements 12-pixel horizontal spacing between digits to prevent visual overlap
- Border Optimization: Uses set operations to eliminate duplicate border positions and prevent conflicts with digit pixels
- Centering Logic: Dynamically calculates optimal positioning to center the time display within available terminal space
- Screen Management: Clears terminal and repositions cursor for flicker-free updates
- Layered Display: Renders three visual layers:
- Background: Dark gray source code characters
- Borders: Light gray characters around time digits
- Foreground: Brightly colored time digit characters
- Timing Control: Updates display every second with precise timing synchronization
- Windows: Full support with terminal size detection
- macOS/Linux: Full support including auto-resize detection
- Auto-Resize: Automatically detects terminal resizing where supported
- Display Grid: Dynamic grid creation based on terminal size
- Pattern Matching: 11x9 pixel ASCII patterns for each digit
- Color Scheme: Red (hours), green (minutes), cyan (seconds), yellow (separators)
- Border Algorithm: Smart border detection to prevent character overlap
- Source Processing: Regex-based docstring and comment removal for clean ASCII art
Terminal too small: Resize your terminal to at least 100x25 characters.
Colors not showing: Ensure your terminal supports ANSI color codes.
Auto-resize not working: Some terminals or operating systems may not support automatic resize detection. Manual refresh may be needed after resizing.
Author: decryptable