Blockchain Commons LifeHash CLI (TypeScript)

Disclaimer: This package is under active development and APIs may change.

Introduction

@bcts/lifehash-cli is a command line tool for generating LifeHash images as PNG files. LifeHash is a beautiful method of hash visualization based on Conway's Game of Life.

Features:

• Generate LifeHash PNG images from any input string
• Support for all 5 LifeHash versions (version1, version2, detailed, fiducial, grayscaleFiducial)
• Configurable module (pixel) size for image scaling
• Automatic random input generation if none provided
• Cross-platform (Node.js/Bun)

Installation

# Install globally
bun add -g @bcts/lifehash-cli

# Or run directly with bunx
bunx @bcts/lifehash-cli --help
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Usage

Generate a LifeHash

# Generate a version2 (default), 32x32 pixel LifeHash from the string "Hello"
lifehash Hello

# Output: Hello.png
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Specify Version

# Generate a version1 LifeHash (deprecated HSB colors)
lifehash -v version1 Hello

# Generate a detailed (64x64) LifeHash
lifehash -v detailed Hello

# Generate a fiducial LifeHash (for machine vision)
lifehash -v fiducial Hello

# Generate a grayscale fiducial LifeHash
lifehash -v grayscaleFiducial Hello
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Module Size (Scaling)

# Generate a 256x256 image (32x32 with module size 8)
lifehash -m 8 Hello

# Generate a 512x512 detailed image (64x64 with module size 8)
lifehash -v detailed -m 8 Hello
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Output Path

# Save to a specific directory
lifehash -p ./output Hello

# Output: ./output/Hello.png
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Random Input

# Generate with a random input of the form "XXX-XXX"
lifehash

# Output: ABC-DEF.png (random letters)
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Command Line Reference

Usage: lifehash [options] [input]

Arguments:
  input                    Input string to hash (default: random XXX-XXX)

Options:
  -v, --version <version>  LifeHash version: version1, version2, detailed, fiducial, grayscaleFiducial (default: "version2")
  -m, --module <size>      Size of each module ("pixel") (default: 1)
  -p, --path <path>        Output directory path (default: current directory)
  -h, --help               Display help
  -V, --version            Display version number
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LifeHash Versions

Version	Size	Description
version1	32x32	Original version using HSB color space (deprecated)
version2	32x32	Default version using CMYK-safe colors
detailed	64x64	Higher resolution version
fiducial	64x64	Optimized for machine vision applications
grayscaleFiducial	64x64	Grayscale version for machine vision

C++ Reference Implementation

This TypeScript implementation is based on bc-lifehash-cli.