Live ASCII webcam in your browser
Streams stay local thanks to getUserMedia and the Canvas API. There is no recording server, no third-party SDK, and the page keeps working offline after the first load.
Webcam to ASCII — Live Filter
Click Use webcam below. Your camera feed plays back as ASCII art in real time — fully in the browser, nothing uploaded.
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pixelden.io — free pixel art games
PixelDen — Free Pixel Art Games
Play 16+ free retro games in your browser. Arcade, puzzles, tower defense & more — with leaderboards and achievements.
Play Now→PixelDen — Free Pixel Art Games
Play 16+ free retro games in your browser. Arcade, puzzles, tower defense & more.
Play Now→Frequently asked questions
How does the webcam ASCII filter work?
asciify.art calls getUserMedia to access your camera, draws each video frame to a canvas, and converts the pixels to ASCII at ~12 fps. The video stream stays inside your browser — it is never uploaded or recorded server-side.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The webcam ASCII filter is browser-native. Click "Use webcam", grant permission once, and the feed starts. Works on Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on desktop and mobile.
Is my camera feed sent anywhere?
No. The browser keeps the MediaStream local. asciify.art reads frames into a canvas and converts them to text — nothing is uploaded, recorded or transmitted.
Can I take a snapshot?
Yes. Stop the webcam to freeze the current ASCII frame, then export it as TXT, PNG or HTML+CSS, or save it to the public gallery if you want to share it.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes. On a phone the browser shows the back camera by default. Grant permission in the system prompt and the live ASCII feed runs the same way as on desktop.
Why is the frame rate ~12 fps?
ASCII conversion is CPU-bound, so we throttle to 12 fps to keep the UI responsive on lower-end devices. On a fast desktop you will see noticeably smoother motion than on a phone, but the cap protects battery and prevents jank.