lardissone/ansi-saver: ANSI art screensaver for macOS — streams art from 16colo.rs BBS archive packs · GitHub

A macOS screensaver that brings back the art of the BBS era.

Remember dialing into BBSes at 14.4k, watching the ANSI art fill your terminal line by line? Vibrant CP437 characters, neon color palettes, logos crafted pixel-by-pixel by visual artists – this whole world lives on 16colo.rs, the largest ANSI/ASCII art collection on the Internet.

AnsiSaver pulls art directly from the 16colo.rs pack and scrolls it across your screen, rendered with the same libansilove library that the collection uses. This is like leaving your terminal connected to a BBS that you never logged off from.

• Downloads ANSI art packs from 16colo.rs and caches them locally
• Presents .ANS, .ICE, .ASC, .BIN, .XB, .PCBAnd .ADF Files containing authentic CP437 fonts
• Art scrolls across your screen with smooth 60fps animations
• continuous scroll mode: Art files are collected vertically in an endless stream like a never-ending BBS file list
• crossfade transition: Smooth fade between pieces in standard mode
• Optional separator between files showing file names – like browsing a pack in ACiDView
• Configurable scroll speed and render scale (2x–4x for sharper output on Retina displays)
• Also works with local folders – point it to your personal ansi art collection

Requirements: Apple Silicon Mac, macOS Tahoe (26.0) or later.

catch the latest AnsiSaver.saver.zip From the release page.

1. unzip the file
2. double click AnsiSaver.saver
3. macOS will ask if you want to install it – click to install

macOS Security Information: Since the screensaver is not signed with an Apple developer certificate, macOS will block it on first launch. Go System Settings > Privacy & SecurityScroll down and click open anyway Next to the AnsiSaver message. You have to do this only once.

If you prefer to build it yourself, you will need Homebrew and Xcode:

brew install libgd
git clone --recursive https://github.com/lardissone/ansi-saver.git
cd ansi-saver
xcodebuild -project AnsiSaver.xcodeproj -target AnsiSaver -configuration Release build
cp -R build/Release/AnsiSaver.saver ~/Library/Screen\ Savers/

Comment: Links statically against Homebrew’s libgd (arm64). Requires an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS Tahoe (26.0) or later.

open System Settings > Screen Saverchoose AnsiSaverand click Option… to configure:

16colo.rs pack url – Add pack URL to pull art from collection. Browse the pack on 16colo.rs and paste the URL:

https://16colo.rs/pack/acid-100/
https://16colo.rs/pack/mist0222/
https://16colo.rs/pack/blocktronics-space/

local folder – point to a directory on disk .ANS files. Great for your personal collection or artpacks you’ve downloaded.

art files are cached ~/Library/Caches/AnsiSaver/. Kill retrieve pack In the configuration panel to clear the cache and re-download everything.

16colo.rs packs ──→ Download & cache ──→ libansilove ──→ Core Animation ──→ Screen
Local .ANS files ─────────────────────↗   (CP437 render)   (60fps scroll)

1. Provide art source file path (from network or disk)
2. libansilove renders each file to PNG using the authentic CP437 bitmap font – the same rendering 16colo.rs uses
3. Core Animation displays and scrolls images rendered at 60fps
4. Files are served one by one on demand, so even packs with thousands of files use minimal memory

Some packs to get you started:

Browse the full collection at 16colo.rs – thousands of packs ranging from 1990 to today.

• libansilove by the ansilove team – the definitive ANSI art rendering library
• 16colo.rs – Preserving the art scene from its earliest days
• BBS Artscene – ACID, ICE, FIRE, Mistgris, Blocktronix, and every group and artist who kept art alive

MIT