tatuagem 0.1.13

A tool to generate ASCII art signatures (tattoos) and apply them to your code files recursively.

Tatuagem, the boastful code signature suite

Tatuagem is a tool to generate ASCII art signatures (tattoos) and apply them to your code files recursively.

Usage

python3 tatuagem.py [text_input] [options]

Arguments

Argument	Description	Default
text_input	The string you want to convert into a tattoo. Required if --file is not provided.	None
--text	The character used to draw the text pixels.	1
--backsplash	The character used to fill the background.	0$*~
--font	The TrueType font file (.ttf) to use for generating the text shape.	unicode-arial.ttf
--pattern	A repeating string pattern to use for the background. Overrides --backsplash.	None
--margin	Number of empty lines (margin) to add above and below the text.	3
--recurse-path	Path to a directory. Tatuagem will walk through this directory and prepend the tattoo to every file found.	None
--file, -f	Path to a file containing text. • Standard Mode: The content of the file is converted into the tattoo art. • Recurse Mode (with --recurse-path): The content of the file is used as-is for the tattoo (useful for pre-generated art).	None
--overwrite	When using --recurse-path, this flag allows overwriting existing tattoos in files. Without this flag, files that are already tattooed will be skipped.	False

Examples

Basic Example

Generate a simple tattoo.

python3 tatuagem.py "tatuagem"

Defaults: '1' for text, '0' for background, unicode-arial.ttf for font

Elaborate Syntax Example

Customizing the text and background characters.

python3 tatuagem.py "L'appel du vide" --font 'unicode-arial.ttf' --backsplash '!' --text '@'

Wallpaper: Pattern-Argument Syntax Example

Using a pattern string for the background.

python3 tatuagem.py "Tatuagem" --pattern '`':,:''

Recurse your project

Apply the generated tattoo to all files in test_tattoo/.

python tatuagem.py "Tatuagem" --pattern '`':,:''  --recurse-path test_tattoo/

Recurse your project with a text file

Apply the contents of tests/aeaea.inc as a header to all files in test_tattoo/.

python3 tatuagem.py --file tests/aeaea.inc --recurse-path test_tattoo/

Replace existing tattoos with --overwrite

Update existing tattoos in files that were already tattooed. Without this flag, already-tattooed files will be skipped.

python3 tatuagem.py "New Tattoo" --recurse-path test_tattoo/ --overwrite

Features

✓ Shebang detection and preservation - files with #!/... shebangs keep them at the top

✓ Safe for npm projects - tattooed npm projects continue to work after tattooing

✓ Idempotent - Tattoos won't repeat on themselves if run multiple times

✓ .tatignore support - Exclude specific files and directories from tattooing

.tatignore

Similar to .gitignore, you can create a .tatignore file in the root of the directory you want to tattoo to specify patterns of files and directories to exclude from tattooing.

.tatignore Syntax

The .tatignore file supports the following patterns:

• Simple filenames: file.txt - ignores any file named file.txt
• Wildcards: *.log - ignores all files ending with .log
• Directory patterns: node_modules/ - ignores all files in node_modules directory
• Recursive patterns: build/** - ignores all files in build and its subdirectories
• Comments: Lines starting with # are treated as comments
• Empty lines: Empty lines are ignored

.tatignore Example

# Ignore log files
*.log

# Ignore build artifacts
build/
dist/

# Ignore dependencies
node_modules/

# Ignore specific files
secrets.py
config.local.json

# Ignore test directories
tests/**

Usage with .tatignore

1. Create a .tatignore file in the directory you want to tattoo (or copy .tatignore.example from this repository)
2. Add patterns for files/directories to exclude
3. Run tatuagem with --recurse-path as usual

# This will respect patterns in .tatignore
python3 tatuagem.py "MyProject" --recurse-path ./my-project/