ASCII Player
Chrome extension · by Zelenye Solutions

Watch videos as live ASCII art.

ASCII Player redraws the video you are watching out of text characters, frame by frame, in real time — right in the player on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram.

Coming soon to the Chrome Web Store How it works

Free. No account. No tracking. Works entirely in your browser.

A YouTube video playing as ASCII art, with the ASCII Player menu open in the player

Same video, made of characters

Original video frame The same frame as ASCII art
Original ASCII Player

Right in the player

On YouTube and Twitch the ASCII button sits next to the settings gear. On TikTok, Instagram and Shorts it joins the like and comment buttons.

Smooth on your GPU

Every frame is converted with WebGL, so playback stays smooth even at the smallest font size.

Auto contrast

Each scene is stretched to the full range of characters, so dim and washed-out videos still look sharp.

Copy a frame as text

Put the current frame on your clipboard as plain text and paste it into a chat, a code block or a file.

One click or one key

Toggle from the button on the video, the toolbar icon, or Alt+A.

Private by design

Frames are converted on your device. Nothing is recorded, uploaded or tracked.

Pick your characters

Classic character set
Classic
Detailed character set
Detailed
Blocks character set
Blocks
Binary character set
Binary

Font size from 4 to 16 px: smaller means more detail.

How to use

  1. Add ASCII Player to Chrome.
  2. Open a video on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok or Instagram.
  3. Click the ASCII button on the video, click the toolbar icon, or press Alt+A.
  4. Open the menu to change the font size, the character set or auto contrast, or to copy the frame as text.

FAQ

Is it free?

Yes. ASCII Player is free to use on all supported sites.

Does it record or download videos?

No. It only changes how the video looks in your browser while you watch. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

Why only these sites?

Each site needs its own integration so the button fits its player. Want another site? Write to [email protected].

Can I change the shortcut?

Yes, in chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

Screenshots: the video material has been kindly provided by HikingFex.com (Christian Sommer, Creative Commons Attribution license), converted to ASCII by this extension. https://www.hikingfex.com/en/videos
YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and Instagram are trademarks of their respective owners. ASCII Player is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.