portico-cli 0.1.3

Render any input as a portico – a three-layer ASCII visualization.

Render any input as a portico: a three-layered abstraction.

---

Install

uv tool install portico-cli

Try it

portico README.md
portico https://example.com/article
portico ./src --no-legend
echo "your text here" | portico -

What is a portico

An LLM reads your input, decides what kind of thing it is, and decomposes it into three layers. The renderer turns those layers into a fixed ASCII shape that resembles a portico.

Glyph	Layer	Meaning
^	Roof	The unifying idea
ii	Pillars	The load-bearing components (2-9 of them)
_	Base	The foundation everything rests on

Example

echo "What makes Rocky (1976) endure is not what it shows you but what it means. A nobody from the neighborhood discovers that he is capable of love, that he is brave enough to step into a fight he can't win, and that his self-worth is something he can earn through effort rather than receive from victory. The film is the story of a man who refuses to be invisible -- and earns, by the end, the right to be seen." | portico -

── essay: Rocky Endures ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

                                                ***
                                            ===  ◇  ===
                             ╔════════════════════════════════════════╗
                             ║           Meaning Over Image           ║
                             ╚════════════════════════════════════════╝
                          ////~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\\\\
                           ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
                                ▀██▀            ▀██▀            ▀██▀
                                 ██              ██              ██
                                 ██              ██              ██
                            Capacity for     Unwinnable     Earned Self-
                                Love           Fight           Worth
                                 ██              ██              ██
                                 ██              ██              ██
                                ▄██▄            ▄██▄            ▄██▄
                           ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                        ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
                        ║              Refusing Invisibility               ║
                        ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

legend:
  ^  Meaning Over Image: Rocky endures because of what it means, not what it literally shows the audience.
  ii Capacity for Love: Rocky discovers he is capable of love, giving him a reason beyond himself.
  ii Unwinnable Fight: He is brave enough to step into a fight he cannot win, which is its own form of victory.
  ii Earned Self-Worth: He learns his self-worth is something he can earn through effort rather than receive from the outcome.
  _  Refusing Invisibility: Everything rests on Rocky's core refusal to remain invisible and his drive to earn the right to be seen.

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── built with _ii^ ──

Inputs

• Raw text or stdin
• Local files and directories
• URLs (page content is extracted)
• Git repositories

When an input doesn't fit a three-layer shape – poems, flat lists, gibberish – portico refuses honestly rather than fake one.

Customization

Flag	What it does
--no-legend	Hide the per-layer summary (legend renders by default)
--color {auto,always,never}	Colorize roof / pillars / base. default: never
--reapex[=N]	Roll a random apex ornament; pin seed N to reproduce
--json	Emit the analyzer's JSON instead of rendering
--diagnose	Print a pipeline report (input type, model, fit quality) and exit

Run portico --help for the full list.