boxes/README.md

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# boxes

**Command line ASCII boxes unlimited!**

[Boxes](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/) is a command line filter program which draws ASCII
art boxes around your input text ([examples](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/examples.html)).

![example boxes](README-0.gif)

For more information, please visit [the website](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/).

## Download

The recommended way is to install *boxes* via your package manager. But many ways exist
to get *boxes* onto your machine, [details here](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/download.html).

## Running it

Try if boxes works by typing `echo foo | boxes` on the command line.
It should give you something like that:

    /*******/
    /* foo */
    /*******/

Type `boxes -l` to get a long list of box designs to use. Detailed usage information is in the
[manual page](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/boxes-man-1.html) and on the website. Consider
[tying *boxes* to your editor](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/editors.html),
so that it can be invoked by a simple keypress.

## Status

*Boxes* is **stable**.

It has been around since 1999, and is still available and kept current in many package managers
(apt, rpm, choco, brew, just to name a few). Its source code is quite portable, and so, *boxes*
has been made to run on a wide range of platforms, from Windows PCs to Netgear routers.

*Boxes* has matured, and is thusly no longer being actively developed. But contributors can be sure
that their pull requests are promptly reviewed and merged into the main code base.

## Development

The website has information on [building from source](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/build.html),
[testing](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/testing.html), and
[contributing](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/contributing.html) to the source code.<br/>
*Boxes* has received support from many [contributors](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/team.html#contributors)
over the years, and continues to benefit greatly from contributions. Many thanks for that!

## Custom box designs

In addition to the [pre-defined box designs](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/box-designs.html),
you can define [your own box designs](https://boxes.thomasjensen.com/config-general.html)!

We appreciate the creative new box designs that you craft for *boxes*.
If you think that others should have your box designs, please feel free to submit them in the
form of pull requests on
[boxes-config](https://github.com/ascii-boxes/boxes/blob/master/boxes-config),
and they may make it into the next release.

## License

Boxes is free software under the GNU General Public License, version 3
([GPL-3.0-only](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html)).

```
 __________________________________
/\                                 \
\_|    May your days with Boxes    |
  |    be filled with discovery    |
  |    and delight!                |
  |   _____________________________|_
   \_/_______________________________/
```