Both captures below are real iTerm2 sessions running the demo — the same binary renders at pixel resolution where the terminal speaks the kitty graphics protocol, and as ASCII cells everywhere else.
kitty graphics — metaballs-gfx
Each pixel sums an inverse-square field from every blob — below a threshold it stays transparent, just above it gets a bright rim, and the interior fills with palette-shaded goo, so overlapping blobs melt into one smooth surface floating over your terminal.
metaballs — kitty pixel mode
ASCII cells — metaballs
The same field as a glyph ramp running from a sparse rim to a solid core.
metaballs — ASCII cell mode
Controls
Key
Action
space
add a blob
mouse click
blob at the pointer
a
toggle gravity
c
cycle palette
+ / -
blob count
q / Esc
quit
Tuning env vars use the METABALLS_* prefix — e.g. METABALLS_MAXDIM=1024 for sharper frames, METABALLS_CELLS=1 to force cell rendering even on kitty terminals. See the overview for the full tuning table.
