Introduction to Chalk Animation

Chalk Animation is a versatile and dynamic library for creating visually appealing terminal animations. Ideal for use in CLI tools, presentations, and even fun projects, Chalk Animation adds a touch of magic to otherwise bland terminal output. In this post, we will dive deep into its features and showcase a variety of useful APIs along with examples.

Getting Started

npm install chalk-animation

Once installed, you can start using it in your Node.js project. Here is how you can import and initiate an animation:

   
const chalkAnimation = require('chalk-animation');
chalkAnimation.rainbow('Hello, world!');
   

Popular APIs and Examples

Chalk Animation provides various animation types. Here are a few commonly used ones:

1. Rainbow

   
chalkAnimation.rainbow('This text is animated like a rainbow!');
   

2. Pulse

   
chalkAnimation.pulse('This text pulses in and out.');
   

3. Glitch

   
chalkAnimation.glitch('This text looks glitched!');
   

4. Radar

   
chalkAnimation.radar('This text is displayed like a radar.');
   

5. Neon

   
chalkAnimation.neon('This text glows like a neon light.');
   

Advanced Usage

Let’s take a look at an advanced example where we combine multiple animations:

   
const chalkAnimation = require('chalk-animation');

// Start with a rainbow animation
let rainbow = chalkAnimation.rainbow('Hello from Rainbow!');

setTimeout(() => {
  // Stop the rainbow animation
  rainbow.stop();
  
  // Start the next animation
  let glitch = chalkAnimation.glitch('Now, this is Glitch!');
  setTimeout(() => glitch.stop(), 5000); // Stop after 5 seconds

}, 5000); // Rainbow runs for 5 seconds
   

App Example

Here’s a sample CLI app using Chalk Animation:

   
const inquirer = require('inquirer');
const chalkAnimation = require('chalk-animation');

function showWelcomeMessage() {
  chalkAnimation.rainbow('Welcome to the Chalk Animation Demo App');
}

function mainMenu() {
  const options = [
    'Start Rainbow Animation',
    'Start Pulse Animation',
    'Quit'
  ];

  inquirer.prompt([
    {
      type: 'list',
      name: 'action',
      message: 'Choose an option:',
      choices: options
    }
  ]).then((answers) => {
    switch (answers.action) {
      case 'Start Rainbow Animation':
        chalkAnimation.rainbow('Rainbow Animation Running');
        break;
      case 'Start Pulse Animation':
        chalkAnimation.pulse('Pulse Animation Running');
        break;
      case 'Quit':
        console.log('Goodbye!');
        return;
    }
    setTimeout(mainMenu, 5000); // Show after 5 seconds
  });
}

showWelcomeMessage();
setTimeout(mainMenu, 5000); // Wait for 5 seconds before showing menu
   

We hope you find Chalk Animation as exciting as we do! With its variety of animations, you can make any terminal output captivating.

Hash: 8e3c86eef1ee5376cdb76523f66fbcccd751e25d74e4d3ecf561a796bbecdeee