Exploring the Farge Command (with examples)

Introduction

Farge is a command-line utility that allows users to easily retrieve the color of a specific pixel on their screen. It provides functionalities such as displaying the color in hexadecimal or RGB formats, copying the color value to the clipboard, and even showing a notification with the color value. In this article, we will explore several different use cases of the Farge command, along with code examples, motivations, explanations, and example outputs for each use case.

Use Case 1: Displaying a Pixel’s Color with a Preview Window

To display a small preview window of a pixel’s color with its hexadecimal value, and copy this value to the clipboard, we can use the following command:

farge

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to quickly inspect the color of a specific pixel on your screen. The preview window provides a visual representation of the color, and the color value is copied to the clipboard for easy access.

Explanation:

• The farge command without any arguments will automatically open a small preview window of the color at the current cursor position.
• It will display the hexadecimal value of the color in the preview window.
• The hexadecimal value will also be copied to the clipboard.

Example Output:

• A small preview window will appear on the screen, displaying the color at the cursor position, along with its hexadecimal value.
• The hexadecimal color value is also copied to the clipboard, ready for further use.

Use Case 2: Copying a Pixel’s Hexadecimal Value without Displaying a Preview Window

To copy a pixel’s hexadecimal value to the clipboard without displaying a preview window, we can use the following command:

farge --no-preview

Motivation: This use case is helpful when you only need the color value of a pixel and don’t require the visual representation or the preview window. It allows for a quicker retrieval of the color value.

Explanation:

• Using the --no-preview argument with the farge command will disable the preview window.
• The command will still copy the hexadecimal value to the clipboard.

Example Output:

• The command will copy the hexadecimal color value of the pixel at the cursor position to the clipboard.

Use Case 3: Outputting a Pixel’s Hexadecimal Value to stdout and Clipboard

To output a pixel’s hexadecimal value to stdout and copy this value to the clipboard, we can use the following command:

farge --stdout

Motivation: This use case is useful when you need to retrieve the color value in a script or command-line workflow. It allows the color value to be easily captured and used as an input for further processing.

Explanation:

• The --stdout flag instructs the farge command to output the hexadecimal value of the color to stdout.
• The command also copies the hexadecimal value to the clipboard.

Example Output:

• The hexadecimal color value of the pixel at the cursor position will be displayed in the terminal.
• The hexadecimal color value is also copied to the clipboard.

Use Case 4: Outputting a Pixel’s RGB Value to stdout and Clipboard

To output a pixel’s RGB value to stdout and copy this value to the clipboard, we can use the following command:

farge --rgb --stdout

Motivation: This use case is helpful when you prefer to work with color values in the RGB format instead of hexadecimal. It allows for easy integration with other tools or programs that expect RGB color values.

Explanation:

• The --rgb flag specifies that the color value should be outputted in the RGB format instead of the default hexadecimal format.
• The --stdout flag instructs the farge command to output the RGB value of the color to stdout.
• The command also copies the RGB value to the clipboard.

Example Output:

• The RGB color value of the pixel at the cursor position will be displayed in the terminal.
• The RGB color value is also copied to the clipboard.

Use Case 5: Displaying a Pixel’s Hexadecimal Value as a Notification with Expiry Time

To display a pixel’s hexadecimal value as a notification which expires in a specified number of milliseconds, and copy this value to the clipboard, we can use the following command:

farge --notify --expire-time 5000

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to quickly view a pixel’s color value without needing to open a separate preview window. The notification allows for a non-intrusive display of the color value, and the expiry time ensures it doesn’t stay on the screen indefinitely.

Explanation:

• The --notify flag triggers the display of a notification with the hexadecimal value of the color.
• The --expire-time argument specifies the number of milliseconds after which the notification will automatically disappear. In this example, it’s set to 5000 milliseconds (5 seconds).
• The command also copies the hexadecimal value to the clipboard.

Example Output:

• A notification will appear on the screen, displaying the hexadecimal color value.
• The notification will automatically disappear after 5000 milliseconds (5 seconds).
• The hexadecimal color value is also copied to the clipboard.

Conclusion

The Farge command provides a convenient way of retrieving the color of a specific pixel on the screen. By exploring different use cases with code examples, we have demonstrated how to use the command to display a preview window, copy color values to the clipboard, output values to stdout, and utilize notifications for quick color inspection. The flexible options offered by Farge make it a valuable tool for developers, designers, and anyone working with colors in their daily workflows.