Using pridecat (with examples)

1: Print the contents of a file in pride colors to stdout

Code:

pridecat path/to/file

Motivation: The pridecat command allows users to display the contents of a file with pride colors. This can be useful for adding some visual flair or celebrating diversity.

Explanation: The pridecat command takes a file path as an argument and displays the contents of the file in pride colors. By default, it uses a random pride flag color scheme.

Example Output: If the file example.txt contains the text “Hello, world!”, running pridecat example.txt might display the text with colorful characters like this:

H̶͖̃e̷̱̤̯̹̯̣̜̻̕l̷̥͓̩̞̺͚̤͕̈l̵̶̹ȍ̴̧̗͚̥̟̱̘,̷̟̯̰̗̖̀̋ ̵̫̭̲̈́w̴҉̗̹̭̤̥̟҉̑̄o̶̕҉͕̩͈͈̖̹͓̓r̶̨͖͖̯̳̦͚͈͌̚l̵̥̟͇̝͊͐̈́ḓ̸̡̟͍!̷͉̄̕

2: Print contents of a file in trans colors

Code:

pridecat path/to/file --transgender

Motivation: The --transgender (or --trans) flag allows users to display the contents of a file specifically using transgender pride colors. This can be beneficial for showing support and inclusivity towards the transgender community.

Explanation: The --transgender flag instructs pridecat to use transgender pride flag colors when displaying the file contents. This overrides the default random color scheme.

Example Output: If the file example.txt contains the text “Hello, world!”, running pridecat example.txt --transgender might display the text in transgender pride colors like this:

H̸͙͓͍̺̮͌̍e̷͙̬̗̣̿̔́l̴̖̩̫̒l̴̢̬̙̱͈̱̀ọ̶̗̜̰̼̟̖̀,̵͍͔̜͔̼͆̅ ̵̭̠̥̻̜̥͐ẉ̵͍͈̜̽̀o̵̜̖͇̦͖̊̇r̶̢̪͆l̴̯̲̤͂͑d̷̤̥̮̜̗̖̈́!̶̜̟̳̞͓͑

3: Alternate between lesbian and bisexual pride flags

Code:

pridecat path/to/file --lesbian --bi

Motivation: Using the --lesbian and --bi flags allows users to cycle between the lesbian and bisexual pride flag colors when displaying the contents of a file. This can be used to express solidarity with these specific communities.

Explanation: The --lesbian and --bi flags toggle between the lesbian and bisexual pride flag colors. If multiple flags are provided, pridecat will cycle through them in the order they are presented.

Example Output: If the file example.txt contains the text “Hello, world!”, running pridecat example.txt --lesbian --bi might display the text in alternating lesbian and bisexual pride colors like this:

H̵͇̗̒͛ḙ̶̴͓̭̈́͜l̷̨̡̡̛̻͍̥͈̹̰͕͜l̸͖͖̹̜̍͗o̶̶̓̄,̶͔̞̔̊ ̴̖̯͘͜ẉ̴̤̣221̆̅͜t̶̡̢̧͔͔̱̗͚̉̔ʂ̷̗̱̖̯̽̎̌̚̚ÖPOUÜD233ÐEŔ!̷̫̜̳̃͂̃

4: Print contents of a file with the background colors changed

Code:

pridecat path/to/file -b

Motivation: Changing the background colors when displaying the contents of a file can enhance the visual experience and make it more enjoyable to read. It can also help emphasize the text and make it stand out.

Explanation: The -b (or --background) flag instructs pridecat to change the background colors while displaying the file contents. This provides a contrasting color scheme compared to the default behavior.

Example Output: If the file example.txt contains the text “Hello, world!”, running pridecat example.txt -b might display the text with changed background colors like this:

H̵̪̼̞̩̞̦͊̿̽̎̋̃e̶̙̮̺̳̿͆̽͜l̷̟̣̬͉̊̃̿̂́͆̉ͅl̶̢̛͖͉̫̰̈́̍͑͗̍̿ô̵͕̮͕̹͇̞̿̅̑̔̆̇͒,̶̛͓͙͍̣͚̬͑̃̈́̚̕ ̵̨̯͒̀̈́w̵̳̱͓̜̫̥̹̘͖̆̂͛͝ǒ̶̦̫͔͒̈́̀̏͊̐̓̓͜r̴̀̉̓̅͠ȩ̶̭̎̆͌̆̾̿g̸̨̥̺̻̥̊̽͐̈̽̈̾l̶̛̙͕͉͎͖͕̍̇̉͂͘̚͠é̷͕̪̖̮̆͒̏̈́̂͆d̸̞̝͇͊̊̈̾̅́̕!̶̗̘͚̜͌̂͌͗̑̂

5: List directory contents in pride flag colors

Code:

ls | pridecat --flag

Motivation: Using the pridecat command coupled with ls allows users to list the directory contents while displaying file names in pride flag colors. This can make the directory listing more visually appealing and add a touch of diversity.

Explanation: By piping the output of ls (list directory contents) into pridecat and using the --flag flag, each file name will be displayed in pride flag colors. This only affects file names, not the actual file contents.

Example Output: Assuming the directory contains files named “file1.txt”, “file2.txt”, and “file3.txt”, running ls | pridecat --flag might display the file names in different pride flag colors like this:

f̶͙̦͙̅̓ì̶̫̽ļ̶̹̙̭̦̓͌̓è̶͑₁̴̢̹̻͉̥.̴́͒ṯ̷̻̞̻͐͒x̶̟̊t̷̢̖̣̣̺͍̯͈̭̥̾̾̂
f̶̹̩̯̓͌͗͠ì̵̡̤͙͚̉̈́͘l̴̨̧̬͚̭̮̹͆͆̉e̸͚̳̠̔̋̉͜₂̷̗̣̝͝ͅ.̸̜̼̂̍͗t̴̞͈̦͒̿̽̂x̸̢̖̤̿ẗ̵̫̗́
f̷̠̫͔͈̓͠ì̸͖̘͑l̷̢͍̻̠̻̗̝̠̳̿̀̐̄͜ȅ̷̬̮̳͂̀̉₃̷̩̩̝̘̯̯̙̥̞̓​.̴̛̼͉̼̹̿t̵̗̟̗̖̂̌̕ẍ̶͓̯̦͇̙͚́t̵̥̰̙̤̳͉̂

In this article, we have explored several different use cases of the pridecat command. We have seen how to print file contents in pride colors, change the background colors, display files using specific pride flag colors, and even integrate with other commands like ls. With these examples, you can now leverage pridecat to add some color and diversity to your command line experience.