Terminalizer
Records your terminal session and turns it into an animated GIF or a shareable web player.
- Stars
- 16.2k
- Forks
- 522
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- JavaScript
- Last update
- 2.2 years ago
- Type
- CLI
No commits in over a year — check for forks or alternatives before adopting.
What it is
Terminalizer is a command-line tool that records what happens in your terminal and saves it as an editable YAML file. You can replay that recording in the terminal, render it as an animated GIF, or upload it to get a link to an online player. People use it to make demo videos or screenshots of command-line work for documentation or posts.
- Record a terminal session with terminalizer record demo and replay it with terminalizer play demo
- Render a recording to an animated GIF with terminalizer render demo
- Upload a recording with terminalizer share to get a link to an online player
- Edit the demo.yml file to change frame delays or remove frames before rendering
Great for
- Developers who want an animated GIF of a command-line demo for a README or blog post
- People who want to edit frame delays or styling before exporting
- Anyone who wants a terminal recording without screen-capture software
- Users on Linux, Windows, or macOS who are comfortable installing Node.js packages
Not ideal for
- People who need built-in GIF compression, since the README says it is not implemented and recommends an external site
- Users who want a small installer with no Node.js setup, since installation is done through yarn
- Anyone expecting a web player to be generated locally, since the README lists the generate command under What's Next
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Node.js (README says Node.js v4-v16 installs smoothly; newer versions may need build tools) · yarn
Install globally with yarn
yarn global add terminalizer - 2
Run it
- Run terminalizer record demo to start recording; press Ctrl+D or type exit to stop, as the README does not specify this
- Run terminalizer play demo to replay the recording in your terminal
- Run terminalizer render demo to create an animated GIF
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Run terminalizer init to create a global config file, which the README recommends over the default config
- Use the --real-timing option with play to replay using the actual recorded delays
- Use the --step option with render to reduce the number of frames and file size
- Set frameDelay and maxIdleTime in config.yml to control pacing of the output
- Customize the theme with hex, RGB, HSL, or named colors, and use a custom fontFamily
Downloads
Strengths
- Recordings are saved as plain YAML, so you can edit them with any text editor
- Supports custom fonts, colors, cursor styles, and window frames
- Works on Linux, Windows, and macOS, according to the README
Trade-offs
- Installation needs Node.js, and newer Node.js versions may require build tools for C++ add-ons
- GIF compression is not built in, so you may need a separate tool to reduce file size
- The README does not list a latest release, and the last push shown is from August 2024, so maintenance status is unclear
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| terminalizer (this) | 16.2k | CLI | beginner | 2.2 years ago | Developers who want an animated GIF of a command-line demo for a README or blog post |
| vhs | 21.2k | CLI | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers who want a repeatable terminal demo for a README or docs |
| Captura | 10.9k | App | beginner | 6 months ago | Windows users who want a free screen recorder with no ads or paid tier mentioned in the README |
| inshellisense | 10.8k | Dev tool | beginner | 7 days ago | Developers who spend a lot of time in the terminal and want suggestions for unfamiliar command options |
| ohmyzsh | 190k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 days ago | People who already use zsh and want a ready-made configuration without writing it from scratch |
| zoxide | 40.4k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers who move between many project folders in a terminal |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.