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#+TITLE: kitty-graphics.el
#+AUTHOR: cashmere
Display images in terminal Emacs (~emacs -nw~) using the [[https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/graphics-protocol/][Kitty graphics protocol]].
* Overview
~kitty-graphics.el~ renders images directly in terminal Emacs using Kitty's
graphics protocol with direct placements. Images are transmitted once to the
terminal, then positioned at overlay screen coordinates after each redisplay.
They scroll with text, survive buffer switches, and work in split windows ---
they're managed as overlays in Emacs's display engine.
Integrations are provided for:
- *org-mode* --- inline images via =C-c C-x C-v= (both =org-toggle-inline-images= and =org-link-preview= for org 10.0+)
- *image-mode* --- terminal-aware image file viewing
- *shr/eww* --- inline images in HTML rendering (eww, mu4e, gnus)
- *dired* --- image preview in side window (=P= key)
- *dirvish* --- native preview dispatcher for image files
* Requirements
- Emacs >= 27.1
- [[https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/][Kitty]] >= 0.20.0 (or WezTerm/Ghostty with direct placement support)
- ImageMagick (~magick~ / ~convert~ / ~identify~) for non-PNG formats and image sizing
- Launch Emacs with ~TERM=xterm-256color~ (Emacs often can't find the ~xterm-kitty~ terminfo)
* Installation
** straight.el
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(use-package kitty-graphics
:straight (:local-repo "~/projects/kitty-graphics")
:if (and (not (display-graphic-p)) (getenv "KITTY_PID"))
:config
(kitty-graphics-mode 1))
#+end_src
** Manual
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(add-to-list 'load-path "~/projects/kitty-graphics")
(require 'kitty-graphics)
(when (and (not (display-graphic-p)) (getenv "KITTY_PID"))
(kitty-graphics-mode 1))
#+end_src
* Usage
Enable the global minor mode:
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(kitty-graphics-mode 1)
#+end_src
Then:
- In org-mode: toggle inline images with =C-c C-x C-v=
- In dired: press =P= on an image file for a side-window preview
- In dirvish: image previews work automatically (no extra config)
- Open an image file: =image-mode= displays it via Kitty
- In eww/mu4e/gnus: HTML images render inline
** Commands
| Command | Description |
|----------------------------+------------------------------------------|
| ~kitty-graphics-mode~ | Toggle the global minor mode |
| ~kitty-gfx-display-image~ | Display a single image at point |
| ~kitty-gfx-remove-images~ | Remove images in region or buffer |
| ~kitty-gfx-clear-all~ | Remove all images from all buffers |
| ~kitty-gfx-dired-preview~ | Preview image at point in dired |
** Customization
| Variable | Default | Description |
|----------------------------+---------+-------------------------------------|
| ~kitty-gfx-max-width~ | 80 | Maximum image width in columns |
| ~kitty-gfx-max-height~ | 24 | Maximum image height in rows |
| ~kitty-gfx-render-delay~ | 0.016 | Debounce delay for re-rendering (s) |
| ~kitty-gfx-debug~ | nil | Log debug info to ~/tmp/kitty-gfx.log~ |
* How It Works
1. On startup, cell pixel size is queried via ~CSI 16 t~ (XTWINOPS) for
accurate image scaling. Falls back to 8x16 if the query times out.
2. Image data is transmitted once via APC escape sequences (~a=t~, store only)
3. Overlays with a ~display~ property reserve blank space in Emacs buffers
4. After each redisplay, direct placements (~a=p~) are emitted via
~send-string-to-terminal~ at the overlay's screen coordinates
5. All placement output is wrapped in synchronized output (~BSU/ESU~,
=DEC mode 2026=) to prevent partial rendering and flicker
6. Each placement uses a unique placement ID (~p=PID~) so re-placements
at new positions replace the old rendering without accumulation
7. Position caching skips redundant re-placements when nothing moved
8. Placements are deleted when overlays scroll out of view
* Supported Formats
PNG is sent directly to the terminal. Other formats (JPEG, GIF, WebP, SVG,
TIFF, BMP) are converted to PNG via ImageMagick before transmission.
* Origins
This package grew out of work on [[https://github.com/akermu/emacs-libvterm][emacs-libvterm]] (vterm). The initial
implementation added Kitty graphics passthrough to vterm --- intercepting
APC escape sequences from programs running inside vterm and forwarding
them to the outer terminal. That work proved the ~send-string-to-terminal~
approach was viable and led to this standalone package that works in any
terminal Emacs buffer, independent of vterm.
* License
GPL-3.0-or-later
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