Chafa is a command-line utility that converts image data, including animated GIFs, into graphics formats or ANSI/Unicode character art suitable for display in a terminal.
It has broad feature support, allowing it to be used on devices ranging from historical teleprinters to modern terminal emulators and everything in between.
Publisher’s description
What is Chafa?
Chafa is an open-source terminals & cli tool program for Windows from Hans Petter Jansson. It is written in C.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit as Portable. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 1.18.3, released on September 23, 2026. 11 versions are listed since November 13, 2022, each with links to its own installer files. That is about 2.8 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The source code on GitHub (hpjansson/chafa) has 5,341 stars. Similar programs include PowerShell, Oh My Posh and QPDF.
Project description on GitHub: “📺🗿 Terminal graphics for the 21st century.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Portable: runs without installation
- Updated in the last two months
- Large user base
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- The official download link did not answer at the last check
In short: Chafa is an open-source terminals & cli tool tool for 64-bit PCs.
Is Chafa safe to download?
- The file is served by hpjansson.org, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
3D7B43CAB1C9D9116024AB48664DB8910E3EABF0912720828D5E7AD1B80194FA· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link did not answer when we last checked it (October 22, 2026)
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the hpjansson/chafa repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- No dangerous workflows10
- Actively maintained10
- Security policy10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared10
- Signed releases8
- Code review0
- Restricted token permissions0
- Static code analysis0
- Pinned dependencies0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Fuzzing0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 11 versions ›11 versions over 4 years · about 2.8 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.18.3Latest | September 23, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.18.2 | April 29, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.18.1 | February 8, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.18.0 | November 10, 2025 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.16.2 | July 4, 2025 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.16.0 | May 18, 2025 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.14.5 | November 3, 2024 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.14.2 | July 25, 2024 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id hpjansson.Chafa -escoop install main/chafaRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install chafaInformation
- Publisher
- Hans Petter Jansson
- Category
- Terminals & CLI tools
- Licence
- LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/hpjansson/chafa
- Written in
- C
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- Portable
- Version
- 1.18.3
- Released
- September 23, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- February 27, 2023
- Versions listed
- 11
- Updates / year
- 2.8
- GitHub stars
- 5,341
- GitHub forks
- 121
- Website
- hpjansson.org
- winget ID
- hpjansson.Chafa
- Scoop package
- main/chafa
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Chafa
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Frequently asked questions
Is Chafa free?
Yes. Chafa is open-source software under the LGPL-3.0-or-later licence.
Is Chafa safe to download?
The download comes from hpjansson.org, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Chafa with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Does Chafa run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Chafa?
The versions page lists all 11 versions with links to their official installer files, back to November 13, 2022.
Can I use Chafa without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to Chafa?
PowerShell, Oh My Posh, QPDF, Alacritty and fzf. The alternatives page compares them.
