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https://github.com/phmajerus/cowfiles

Philippe Majerus’s cowsay character files collection
https://github.com/phmajerus/cowfiles

ansi-art cli cowfiles cowsay cowthink pixel-art pseudo-pixels semigraphics sixel terminal unicode unicode-art

Last synced: 3 months ago
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Philippe Majerus’s cowsay character files collection

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README 

          
# Philippe Majerus’s cowsay files collection



## Introduction



This repository contains the characters files ("cows") I created for the [cowsay/cowthink utility](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowsay).

While original cowsay files are ASCII-art, I decided to experiment with ANSI/VT coloring, extended Unicode characters, pseudo-pixels (such as Unicode 13.0 sextants and Unicode 16.0 octants), and [Sixels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixel).



## Characters in this repository



### alexkidd

![alexkidd](images/alexkidd.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the Mark III / Master System game Alex Kidd in Miracle World / アレックスキッドのミラクルワールド.



### alis

![alis](images/alis.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on Alis Landale (アリサ・ランディール), the main character from the Mark III / Master System game Phantasy Star / ファンタシースター.



### bock

![bock](images/bock.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on Bock, the main character from the game Wonder Boy in Monster Land / ワンダーボーイⅡ モンスターワールドⅠ, from its Mark III / Master System port.



### clippit

![clippit](images/clippit.png)



This uses MS-DOS codepage 437 characters and ANSI/VT colors (16 colors) and attributes.

It is based on the assistant from Microsoft Office.



### sxl-cow

![sxl-cow](images/sxl-cow.png)



This uses a sixel image.

It is based on the cow sprite from the Super Famicom / SNES game Earthworm Jim.



The idea of this character is to provide a "HD remaster" of the original cow.

It can be used as a replacement for the ANSI-art cow used when `cowsay` is called without a `-f` option. To achieve this, rename the `default.cow` that ships with cowsay to `legacy-cow.cow`, and create a symbolic link `default.cow` pointing to `sxl-cow.cow` as follows:

```bash

cd /usr/share/cowsay/cows

sudo mv default.cow legacy-cow.cow

sudo ln -s sxl-cow.cow default.cow

```



### donkeykong

![donkeykong](images/donkeykong.png)



This uses Unicode 16.0 octants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the original arcade game Donkey Kong.



### dukenukem

![dukenukem](images/dukenukem.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the original PC game Duke Nukem by Apogee Software.



### flappybird

![flappybird](images/flappybird.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the mobile phone game Flappy Bird.



### sxl-guybrush

![sxl-guybrush](images/sxl-guybrush.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of Guybrush Threepwood from The Secret of Monkey Island.



### hellokitty

![hellokitty](images/hellokitty.png)



This uses extended Unicode characters and ANSI/VT colors (16 colors) and attributes (strikethrough, underline).

It is based on the Hello Kitty / ハロー・キティ character by Yuko Shimizu / Sanrio.



### sxl-indy

![sxl-indy](images/sxl-indy.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of Indiana Jones (Indy) from Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.



### link

![link](images/link.png)



This uses Unicode 16.0 octants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the Famicom / NES game The legend of Zelda / ゼルダの伝説 (The Hyrule Fantasy).



### link-16bit

![link-16bit](images/link-16bit.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the Super Famicom / SNES game The legend of Zelda / ゼルダの伝説 - A Link to the Past / 神々のトライフォース.



### mario

![mario](images/mario.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the Famicom / NES game Super Mario Bros, but with modern colors.



### sxl-mario+yoshi

![sxl-mario+yoshi](images/sxl-mario+yoshi.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of the Super Mario World sprites of Mario and Yoshi.



### mickey

![mickey](images/mickey.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the Mark III / Master System game Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse / アイラブミッキーマウス ふしぎのお城大冒険 (8-bit).



### mona

![mona](images/mona.png)



This uses Unicode 16.0 octants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the GitHub octocat mascot loading animation.



### sxl-pikachu

![sxl-pikachu](images/sxl-pikachu.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of the Pikachu sprite of Pokémon Gold & Silver / ポケットモンスター 金 & 銀.



### sxl-popeye

![sxl-popeye](images/sxl-popeye.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of the Popeye the Sailor sprite from the Popeye arcade game.



### ralph-face

![ralph-face](images/ralph-face.png)



This uses Unicode 16.0 octants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the cover of the movie soundtrack of Wreck-It Ralph.



### rhindle

![rhindle](images/rhindle.png)



This uses Unicode 16.0 octants and ANSI/VT colors (16 colors).

It is  based on Rhindle (red dragon) sprite from the Adventure Atari 2600 game.



### rockman

![rockman](images/rockman.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the Famicom / NES game Rockman / ロックマン / Mega Man.



### rover

![rover](images/rover.png)



This uses MS-DOS codepage 437 characters and ANSI/VT colors (16 colors) and attributes.

It is based on the assistant from Microsoft Bob and Windows XP.



### sxl-ryu

![sxl-ryu](images/sxl-ryu.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of a Ryu sprite from the game Street Fighter II.



### sxl-scrooge-face

![sxl-scrooge-face](images/sxl-scrooge-face.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of Scrooge McDuck's face from the DuckTales Famicom / NES game title screen.



### sxl-shadowdancer

![sxl-shadowdancer](images/sxl-shadowdancer.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of the main character and his dog sprites from Shadow Dancer / 影の舞.



### shinobi

![shinobi](images/shinobi.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the sprite of Joe Musashi in the Game Gear game The GG 忍 Shinobi.



### shion

![shion](images/shion.png)



This uses Unicode 13.0 sextants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the sprite of Shion in the Mega Drive game Wonder Boy in Monster World / ワンダーボーイⅤ モンスターワールドⅢ.



### sonic

![sonic](images/sonic.png)



This uses Unicode 16.0 octants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the Game Gear version of the game Sonic the Hedgehog 2.



### sxl-strider

![sxl-strider](images/sxl-strider.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of Strider Hiryu / ストライダー飛竜 sprite from the eponymous game.



### tamagotchi

![tamagotchi](images/tamagotchi.png)



This uses Unicode 16.0 separated sextants.

It is based on the 1st generation of Tamagotchi / たまごっち LCD toy by Bandai.



### sxl-tentacle

![sxl-tentacle](images/sxl-tentacle.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of the Purple Tentacle sprite from Day of the Tentacle.



### tiki

![tiki](images/tiki.png)



This uses Unicode 16.0 octants and ANSI/VT colors (256 colors).

It is based on the arcade game The NewZealand Story.



### sxl-vanellope

![sxl-vanellope](images/sxl-vanellope.png)



This is a sixel image conversion of Vanellope von Schweetz character illustration from Wreck-It Ralph.



## Installing & using cow files

You'll need the cowsay utility, so start with `sudo apt install cowsay` or equivalent for your distro.



Copy the files from this repo's `cows` folder to  `/usr/share/cowsay/cows`.



Then simply use the `cowsay -f [character name] [message]` command.



For Unicode sextants and octants, you will need recent fonts that include the _Legacy Computing Symbols_, such as [Cascadia Mono](https://github.com/microsoft/cascadia-code), [Cozette](https://github.com/the-moonwitch/Cozette), or [Iosevka Term](https://github.com/be5invis/Iosevka).

For sixels images support, [Windows Terminal](https://github.com/microsoft/terminal) or another VT340-compatible terminal emulator is required.



---



-- Philippe Majerus, September 2024 to February 2026



_These are all designed to celebrate classic pixel art nostalgia. All characters and trademarks are the property of their respective owners._



---



If you enjoy ANSI-art and Unicode semigraphics, also check out [my FIGfonts collection](https://github.com/PhMajerus/FIGfonts) and [my ANSI-art collection](https://github.com/PhMajerus/ANSI-art).