boxes - a text filter which can draw any kind of box inc complex ASCII art.

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• Manpage of boxes(1) - boxes

Manpage of boxes(1)

Synopsis

boxes [options] [infile [outfile]]

Description

Boxes is a text filter which can draw any kind of box around its input text. Box design choices range from simple boxes to complex ASCII art. A box can also be removed and repaired, even if it has been badly damaged by editing of the text inside. Since boxes may be open on any side, boxes can also be used to create regional comments in any programming language. New box designs can be added and shared by appending to a configuration file.

Options

-a format, --align=format

Alignment/positioning of text inside box.

-c string, --create=string

Command line design definition for simple cases.

--color, --no-color

Control printing of ANSI color codes.

-d string, --design=string

Design selection.

-e eol, --eol=eol

Override line terminator.

-f string, --config=string

Use alternate config file.

-h, --help

Print usage information.

-i string, --indent=string

Indentation mode.

-k bool, --kill-blank, --no-kill-blank

Kill leading/trailing blank lines on removal.

-l, --list

List designs.

-m, --mend

Mend box.

-n encoding, --encoding=encoding

Character encoding.

-p string, --padding=string

Padding specification.

-q query, --tag-query=query

Query designs by tag.

-r, --remove

Remove an existing box.

-s widthxheight, --size=widthxheight

Box size specification.

-t tabopts, --tabs=tabopts

Tab handling.

-v, --version

Print out current version number.

Configuration File

Boxes will look for the configuration file in several locations, including:

• Command-line specified file/directory
• BOXES environment variable
• $HOME
• $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/boxes
• $HOME/.config/boxes
• /usr/share/boxes
• /etc/xdg/boxes
• /usr/local/share/boxes

Examples

echo "Good Bye World!" | boxes -d nuke
figlet "boxes . . . !" | lolcat -f | boxes -d unicornthink

Availability

Website: https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/

Version

Boxes version 2.3.1

License

Free software under the GNU General Public License, version 3.

Environment Variables

• BOXES: Absolute path of the boxes configuration file
• HOME: User's home directory
• XDG_CONFIG_HOME: Root of configuration file location

See Also

• figlet(6)
• iconv(1)
• lolcat(6)

Metadata

• Page created: April 6, 1999
• Last updated: October 3, 2024
• © 1999-2024 Thomas Jensen and the boxes contributors

Suggested labels

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