Package: asciinema
asciinemaTerminal session recorder and the best companion ofasciinema.org.asciinema[as-kee-nuh-muh]is a free and open source solution for recording
terminal sessions and sharing them on the web.Shout-out to our Platinumsponsors, whose
financial support helps keep the project alive:Quick introasciinema lets you easily record terminal sessions and replay
them in a terminal as well as in a web browser.Install latest version (other installation options)
usingpipx(if you have it):pipxinstallasciinemaIf you don't have pipx, install using pip with your preferred Python version:python3-mpipinstallasciinemaRecord your first session:asciinemarecfirst.castNow replay it with double speed:asciinemaplay-s2first.castOr with normal speed but with idle time limited to 2 seconds:asciinemaplay-i2first.castYou can pass-i 2toasciinema recas well, to set it permanently on a
recording. Idle time limiting makes the recordings much more interesting to
watch. Try it.If you want to watch and share it on the web, upload it:asciinemauploadfirst.castThe above uploads it toasciinema.org, which is a
defaultasciinema-serverinstance, and prints a secret link you can use to watch your recording in a web
browser.You can record and upload in one step by omitting the filename:asciinemarecYou'll be asked to confirm the upload when the recording is done. Nothing is
sent anywhere without your consent.These are the basics, but there's much more you can do. The following sections
cover installation, usage and hosting of the recordings in more detail. Also,
checkoutaggif you're interested in GIF generation.InstallationPython package from PyPIasciinema is available onPyPIand can be installed withpipx(if you have it) or with pip (Python 3
with setuptools required):pipxinstallasciinemaOr with pip (using your preferred Python version):python3-mpipinstallasciinemaInstalling fromPyPIis the recommended way of installation, which gives you the latest released version.Native packagesasciinema is included in repositories of most popular package managers on Mac OS
X, Linux and FreeBSD. Look for package namedasciinema. See thelist of available packages.Running latest version from source code checkoutIf you can't use Python package or native package for your OS is outdated you
can clone the repo and run asciinema straight from the checkout.Clone the repo:gitclonehttps://github.com/asciinema/asciinema.gitcdasciinemaIf you want latest stable version:gitcheckoutmasterIf you want current development version:gitcheckoutdevelopThen run it with:python3-masciinema--versionDocker imageasciinema Docker image is based onUbuntu
22.04and has the latest version of
asciinema recorder pre-installed.dockerpullghcr.io/asciinema/asciinemaWhen running it don't forget to allocate a pseudo-TTY (-t), keep STDIN open
(-i) and mount config directory volume (-v):dockerrun--rm-it-v"${HOME}/.config/asciinema:/root/.config/asciinema"ghcr.io/asciinema/asciinemarecContainer's entrypoint is set to/usr/local/bin/asciinemaso you can run the
container with any arguments you would normally pass toasciinemabinary (see
Usage section for commands and options).There's not much software installed in this image though. In most cases you may
want to install extra programs before recording. One option is to derive new
image from this one (start your custom Dockerfile withFROM ghcr.io/asciinema/asciinema). Another option is to start the container with/bin/bashas the entrypoint, install extra packages and manually startasciinema rec:docker run --rm -it -v "${HOME}/.config/asciinema:/root/.config/asciinema" --entrypoint=/bin/bash ghcr.io/asciinema/asciinema recroot@6689517d99a1:~#apt-getinstallfoobarroot@6689517d99a1:~#asciinemarecIt is also possible to run the docker container as a non-root user, which has
security benefits. You can specify a user and group id at runtime to give the
application permission similar to the calling user on your host.dockerrun--rm-it\--env=ASCIINEMA_CONFIG_HOME="/run/user/$(id-u)/.config/asciinema"\--user="$(id-u):$(id-g)"\--volume="${HOME}/.config/asciinema:/run/user/$(id-u)/.config/asciinema:rw"\--volume="${PWD}:/data:rw"\--workdir='/data'\ghcr.io/asciinema/asciinemarecUsageasciinema is composed of multiple commands, similar togit,apt-getorbrew.When you runasciinemawith no arguments help message is displayed, listing
all available commands with their options.rec [filename]Record terminal session.By runningasciinema rec [filename]you start a new recording session. The
command (process) that is recorded can be specified with-coption (see
below), and defaults to$SHELLwhich is what you want in most cases.You can temporarily pause the capture of your terminal by pressingCtrl+\.  This is useful when you want to execute some commands during
the recording session that should not be captured (e.g. pasting secrets). Resume
by pressingCtrl+\again. When pausing desktop notification is
displayed so you're sure the sensitive output won't be captured in the
recording.Recording finishes when you exit the shell (hitCtrl+Dor typeexit). If the recorded process is not a shell then recording finishes when
the process exits.If thefilenameargument is omitted then (after asking for confirmation) the
resulting asciicast is uploaded toasciinema-server(by default to
asciinema.org), where it can be watched and shared.If thefilenameargument is given then the resulting recording (calledasciicast) is saved to a local file. It can later be
replayed withasciinema play <filename>and/or uploaded to asciinema server
withasciinema upload <filename>.ASCIINEMA_REC=1is added to recorded process environment variables. This
can be used by your shell's config file (.bashrc,.zshrc) to alter the
prompt or play a sound when the shell is being recorded.Available options:--stdin- Enable stdin (keyboard) recording (see below)--append- Append to existing recording--raw- Save raw STDOUT output, without timing information or other metadata--overwrite- Overwrite the recording if it already exists-c, --command=<command>- Specify command to record, defaults to $SHELL-e, --env=<var-names>- List of environment variables to capture, defaults
toSHELL,TERM-t, --title=<title>- Specify the title of the asciicast-i, --idle-time-limit=<sec>- Limit recorded terminal inactivity to max<sec>seconds--cols=<n>- Override terminal columns for recorded process--rows=<n>- Override terminal rows for recorded process-y, --yes- Answer "yes" to all prompts (e.g. upload confirmation)-q, --quiet- Be quiet, suppress all notices/warnings (implies -y)Stdin recording allows for capturing of all characters typed in by the user in
the currently recorded shell. This may be used by a player (e.g.asciinema-player) to display
pressed keys. Because it's basically key-logging (scoped to a single shell
instance), it's disabled by default, and has to be explicitly enabled via--stdinoption.play <filename>Replay recorded asciicast in a terminal.This command replays given asciicast (as recorded byreccommand) directly in
your terminal.Following keyboard shortcuts are available by default:Space- toggle pause,.- step through a recording a frame at a time (when paused),Ctrl+C- exit.See "Configuration file" section for information on how to customize the
keyboard shortcuts.Playing from a local file:asciinemaplay/path/to/asciicast.castPlaying from HTTP(S) URL:asciinemaplayhttps://asciinema.org/a/22124.cast
asciinemaplayhttp://example.com/demo.castPlaying from asciicast page URL (requires<link rel="alternate" type="application/x-asciicast" href="/my/ascii.cast">in page's HTML):asciinemaplayhttps://asciinema.org/a/22124
asciinemaplayhttp://example.com/blog/post.htmlPlaying from stdin:cat/path/to/asciicast.cast|asciinemaplay-
sshuser@hostcatasciicast.cast|asciinemaplay-Playing from IPFS:asciinemaplaydweb:/ipfs/QmNe7FsYaHc9SaDEAEXbaagAzNw9cH7YbzN4xV7jV1MCzK/ascii.castAvailable options:-i, --idle-time-limit=<sec>- Limit replayed terminal inactivity to max<sec>seconds-s, --speed=<factor>- Playback speed (can be fractional)-l, --loop- Play in a loop-m, --pause-on-markers- Automatically pause onmarkers--stream=<stream>- Select stream to play (see below)--out-fmt=<format>- Select output format (see below)By default the output stream (o) is played. This is what you want in most
cases.  If you recorded the input stream (i) withasciinema rec --stdinthen
you can replay it withasciinema play --stream=i <filename>.By default the selected stream is written to stdout in original, raw data form.
This is also what you want in majority of cases. However you can change the
output format to asciicast (newline delimited JSON) withasciinema play --out-fmt=asciicast <filename>. This allows delegating actual rendering to
another place (e.g. outside of your terminal) by piping output ofasciinema playto a tool of your choice.For the best playback experience it is recommended to runasciinema playin
a terminal of dimensions not smaller than the one used for recording, as
there's no "transcoding" of control sequences for new terminal size.cat <filename>Print full output of recorded asciicast to a terminal.Whileasciinema play <filename>replays the recorded session using timing
information saved in the asciicast,asciinema cat <filename>dumps the full
output (including all escape sequences) to a terminal immediately.asciinema cat existing.cast >output.txtgives the same result as recording viaasciinema rec --raw output.txt.upload <filename>Upload recorded asciicast to asciinema.org site.This command uploads given asciicast (recorded byreccommand) to
asciinema.org, where it can be watched and shared.asciinema rec demo.cast+asciinema play demo.cast+asciinema upload demo.castis a nice combo if you want to review an asciicast before
publishing it on asciinema.org.authLink your install ID with your asciinema.org user account.If you want to manage your recordings (change title/theme, delete) at
asciinema.org you need to link your "install ID" with asciinema.org user
account.This command displays the URL to open in a web browser to do that. You may be
asked to log in first.Install ID is a random ID (UUID
v4) generated
locally when you run asciinema for the first time, and saved at$HOME/.config/asciinema/install-id. Its purpose is to connect local machine
with uploaded recordings, so they can later be associated with asciinema.org
account. This way we decouple uploading from account creation, allowing them to
happen in any order.A new install ID is generated on each machine and system user account you use
asciinema on, so in order to keep all recordings under a single asciinema.org
account you need to runasciinema authon all of those machines.asciinema versions prior to 2.0 confusingly referred to install ID as "API
token".MarkersMarkers allow marking specific time locations in a recording, which can be used
for navigation, as well as for automatic pausing of the playback.Markers can be added to a recording in several ways:while you are recording, by pressing a configured hotkey, seeadd_marker_key
config optionfor existing recording, by inserting marker events ("m") in the asciicast
file, seemarker eventWhen replaying a recording withasciinema playyou can enable
auto-pause-on-marker behaviour with-m/--pause-on-markersoption (it's off
by default). When a marker is encountered, the playback automatically pauses and
can be resumed by pressing space bar key. The playback continues until next
marker is encountered. You can also fast-forward to the next marker by pressing]key (when paused).Markers can be useful in e.g. live demos: you can create a recording with
markers, then play it back during presentation, and have it stop wherever you
want to explain terminal contents in more detail.Hosting the recordings on the webAs mentioned in theUsage > recsection above, if thefilenameargument toasciinema recis omitted then the recorded asciicast is uploaded toasciinema.org. You can watch it there and share it via
secret URL.If you prefer to host the recordings yourself, you can do so by either:recording to a file (asciinema rec demo.cast), and usingasciinema's
standalone web
playerin your HTML page, orsetting up your ownasciinema-serverinstance,
andsetting API URL
accordingly.Configuration fileYou can configure asciinema by creating config file at$HOME/.config/asciinema/config.Configuration is split into sections ([api],[record],[play]). Here's a
list of all available options for each section:[api]; API server URL, default: https://asciinema.org; If you run your own instance of asciinema-server then set its address here; It can also be overriden by setting ASCIINEMA_API_URL environment variableurl=https://asciinema.example.com[record]; Command to record, default: $SHELLcommand=/bin/bash -l; Enable stdin (keyboard) recording, default: nostdin=yes; List of environment variables to capture, default: SHELL,TERMenv=SHELL,TERM,USER; Limit recorded terminal inactivity to max n seconds, default: offidle_time_limit=2; Answer "yes" to all interactive prompts, default: noyes=true; Be quiet, suppress all notices/warnings, default: noquiet=true; Define hotkey for pausing recording (suspending capture of output),; default: C-\ (control + backslash)pause_key=C-p; Define hotkey for adding a marker, default: noneadd_marker_key=C-x; Define hotkey prefix key - when defined other recording hotkeys must; be preceeded by it, default: no prefixprefix_key=C-a[play]; Playback speed (can be fractional), default: 1speed=2; Limit replayed terminal inactivity to max n seconds, default: offidle_time_limit=1; Define hotkey for pausing/resuming playback,; default: spacepause_key=p; Define hotkey for stepping through playback, a frame at a time,; default: . (dot)step_key=s; Define hotkey for jumping to the next marker,; default: ]next_marker_key=m[notifications]; Desktop notifications are displayed on certain occasions, e.g. when; pausing/resuming the capture of terminal with C-\ keyboard shortcut.; Should desktop notifications be enabled, default: yesenabled=no; Custom notification command; asciinema automatically detects available desktop notification system; (notify-send on GNU/Linux, osacript/terminal-notifier on macOS). Custom; command can be used if needed.; When invoked, environment variable $TEXT contains notification text, while; $ICON_PATH contains path to the asciinema logo image.command=tmux display-message "$TEXT"A very minimal config file could look like that:[record]idle_time_limit=2Config directory location can be changed by setting$ASCIINEMA_CONFIG_HOMEenvironment variable.If$XDG_CONFIG_HOMEis set on Linux then asciinema uses$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/asciinemainstead of$HOME/.config/asciinema.asciinema versions prior to 1.1 used$HOME/.asciinema. If you have it
there you shouldmv $HOME/.asciinema $HOME/.config/asciinema.Sponsorsasciinema is sponsored by:DashcamBrightboxConsultingI offer consulting services for asciinema project. Seehttps://asciinema.org/consultingfor more information.ContributingIf you want to contribute to this project check outContributingpage.AuthorsDeveloped with passion byMarcin Kulikand great open
sourcecontributors.License© 2011 Marcin Kulik.All code is licensed under the GPL, v3 or later. SeeLICENSEfile
for details.