pokemonsay

Pokemon version of cowsay, powered by PokeAPI.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/36cc94e7-5bec-4235-88eb-1cf190d562b4

Inspired by another pokemonsay and parrotsay-api I created this to quell my obsession with Pokemon and command line greetings.

CLI

Simply call pokemonsay to get a random Wild POKEMON appeared! message.

Pipe to pokemonsay to get a random Pokemon with the piped message below it.

Install

Install with Cargo:

cargo install pokemonsay

Or use the Nix flake:

nix run 'github:dfrankland/pokemonsay'

Usage

Run pokemonsay --help to see all available options.

Basic Usage

Display a random Pokemon with the default message:

pokemonsay

Pipe a custom message to display with a random Pokemon:

echo "Your message here" | pokemonsay

Configuration Options

--query-method <METHOD>

• Specifies where to fetch Pokemon data from
• Options: db, http
• Default: db (if embedded), http (otherwise)
• db: Queries a local SQLite database (faster, no rate limit)
• http: Queries PokeAPI GraphQL endpoint (rate limit: 200 queries/hour)

--db-path <PATH>

• Path to the PokeAPI SQLite database
• Can also be set via POKEMONSAY_DB_PATH environment variable
• Required when using --query-method db (in non-embedded builds)
• Example: pokemonsay --db-path ./pokeapi.db

--sprites-retrieval-method <METHOD>

• Specifies where to fetch Pokemon sprite images from
• Options: embedded, http
• Default: embedded (if available), http (otherwise)
• embedded: Uses sprites built into the CLI (fastest)
• http: Downloads from PokeAPI sprites repository

--pokemonsay-template <TEMPLATE>

• Template for the message displayed below the Pokemon sprite
• Uses TinyTemplate syntax with {pokemon} as the Pokemon name placeholder
• Default: "Wild {pokemon} appeared!"
• Example: pokemonsay --pokemonsay-template "I choose you, {pokemon}!"

--crop-sprite-transparent-bg

• Flag to crop transparent pixels from the Pokemon sprite background
• When enabled, removes padding around the sprite for a tighter display
• Example: pokemonsay --crop-sprite-transparent-bg

--max-sprite-dimension <DIMENSION>

• Maximum width or height for displaying the Pokemon sprite, preserving aspect ratio
• Set to 0 to disable scaling (useful for terminals without image support)
• Default: 30 (for terminals that support Kitty, iTerm2, or Sixel graphics protocols), 0 (for others)
• Example: pokemonsay --max-sprite-dimension 50

Advanced Database Options

These options are used in conjunction with the SQLite database from PokeAPI.

--db-pokemon-query <QUERY>

• Custom SQL query to fetch Pokemon data (when using --query-method db)
• Use pokemonsay --help to see the default query

--db-sprites-query <QUERY>

• Custom SQL query to fetch Pokemon sprite URLs (when using --query-method db)
• Use pokemonsay --help to see the default query

--db-species-name-query <QUERY>

• Custom SQL query to fetch Pokemon species names (when using --query-method db)
• Use pokemonsay --help to see the default query

Advanced HTTP Options

This option is used in conjunction with the PokeAPI GraphQL endpoint which you can play with here: https://graphql.pokeapi.co/v1beta2/console/

--http-graphql-query <QUERY>

• Custom GraphQL query to fetch Pokemon data (when using --query-method http)
• Use pokemonsay --help to see the default query

Examples

Display with HTTP query method and custom template:

pokemonsay --query-method http --pokemonsay-template "{pokemon} is awesome!"

Display with transparent background cropping and custom sprite size:

pokemonsay --crop-sprite-transparent-bg --max-sprite-dimension 40

Use a custom database:

pokemonsay --query-method db --db-path /path/to/pokeapi.db

Pipe a message with custom styling:

echo "🎮 Get ready for battle! 🎮" | pokemonsay --crop-sprite-transparent-bg

Building

This crate is built with a SQLite database from PokeAPI. The database and sprite assets can be included in the binary at compile-time or referenced at runtime, depending on your build configuration and needs.

Using Nix (Recommended)

The recommended way to build and package pokemonsay is with Nix, which automates the PokeAPI database and sprites extraction:

nix build
# outputs the binary to `./result/bin/pokemonsay`

This approach:

• Automatically fetches and builds the PokeAPI database and sprites
• Handles all dependencies reproducibly
• Produces a self-contained binary with embedded assets (by default)

Manual Build (Without Nix)

If you're not using Nix, follow these steps:

1. Clone and build the PokeAPI database:

   Clone the PokeAPI repository and follow its build instructions:

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/PokeAPI/pokeapi.git
   cd ./pokeapi
   make setup
   make build-db
   

2. Build pokemonsay:

   EMBED_DB_PATH="$(realpath ./pokeapi/db.sqlite3)" \
   EMBED_SPRITES_PATH="$(realpath ./pokeapi/data/v2/sprites/sprites)" \
   cargo build --release --features embed-db,embed-sprites
   

Build Features

pokemonsay provides two compile-time features that control what assets are embedded in the binary:

embed-db (default)

• What it does: Embeds the PokeAPI SQLite database directly into the compiled binary
• Default: Enabled
• Trade-offs:
  • ✅ Queries are faster (no disk I/O)
  • ✅ No need to distribute a separate database file
  • ✅ No rate limiting from PokeAPI (independent of HTTP queries)
  • ❌ Increases binary size

When enabled, you can still use --query-method http to query PokeAPI instead, or --db-path to specify an external database.

embed-sprites (optional)

• What it does: Embeds all Pokemon sprite images into the binary
• Default: Disabled
• Trade-offs:
  • ✅ Sprite retrieval is instant (no network requests)
  • ✅ Works offline
  • ✅ --sprites-retrieval-method embedded is available
  • ❌ Increases binary size

When enabled, you can still use --sprites-retrieval-method http to download sprites instead.

Recommended Build Configurations

Fastest, largest binary (full embedding):

cargo build --release --features embed-db,embed-sprites

Balanced (embedded database, HTTP sprites):

cargo build --release --features embed-db

Smallest binary (requires runtime setup):

cargo build --release --no-default-features

Defaults to using HTTP calls to PokeAPI.

Optionally, provide database and sprites at runtime:

pokemonsay --query-method db --db-path /path/to/pokeapi.db

Previous version

Looking for the previous version written in JavaScript? Find it on the v1 branch.