🚂 sl - Steam Locomotive

A joke command that displays an animated steam locomotive in your terminal when you accidentally type 'sl' instead of 'ls'.

      ====        ________                ___________
  _D _|  |_______/        \__I_I_____===__|_________|
   |(_)---  |   H\________/ |   |        =|___ ___|  
   /     |  |   H  |  |     |   |         ||_| |_||  
  |      |  |   H  |__--------------------| [___] |  
  | ________|___H__/__|_____/[][]~\_______|       |  
  |/ |   |-----------I_____I [][] []  D   |=======|__
__/ =| o |=-~~\  /~~\  /~~\  /~~\ ____Y___________|__
 |/-=|___|=    ||    ||    ||    |_____/~\___/       
  \_/      \O=====O=====O=====O_/      \_/           

🎥 Demo

Watch the train cross your terminal when you mistype!

✨ Features

• 🚂 Multiple train types - Classic, Small, D51, and C51 locomotives (-t)
• 🛞 Animated wheels - Wheels that actually turn as the train rolls
• 💨 Particle smoke - Smoke that drifts behind the train and dissipates
• 🚃 Coal cars - Couple up to 8 tenders behind the locomotive (-n)
• ✈️ Flying mode - Make the train fly across the sky with a stardust trail (-F)
• 💥 Accident mode - Screen shake, sparks, and a proper BOOM (-a)
• 📣 Whistle - The train toots as it passes (-w)
• 🖥️ Flicker-free rendering - Double-buffered frames on the alternate screen; your terminal contents are restored when the train has passed
• 🎨 Colorful ASCII art - Colored trains with grayscale smoke on 256-color terminals; honors NO_COLOR and --no-color
• ⚡ Adjustable speed - Control animation speed
• 📐 Terminal-aware - Handles terminal resizing gracefully; sl | cat prints a static train instead of escape codes
• 🛡️ Clean exit - Proper cleanup and Ctrl+C handling
• 🪶 Lightweight - No external dependencies, pure Python

📦 Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/developtheweb/slTrain.git
cd slTrain

# Install to /usr/local/bin
sudo make install

Platform-Specific Instructions

🐧 Linux

# Debian/Ubuntu
git clone https://github.com/developtheweb/slTrain.git
cd slTrain
sudo make install

# Arch Linux (AUR)
# Coming soon!

# Manual install
sudo cp sl /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/sl

🍎 macOS

# Using Homebrew (coming soon)
# brew install sl

# Manual install
git clone https://github.com/developtheweb/slTrain.git
cd slTrain
sudo make install

🐳 Docker

# Run without installing
docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/developtheweb/sl:latest

# Alias for easy use
alias sl='docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/developtheweb/sl:latest'

Uninstall

sudo make uninstall
# or
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/sl

🚀 Usage

Simply type sl instead of ls:

$ sl              # Classic train
$ sl -F           # Flying train
$ sl -a           # Train accident
$ sl -c           # C51 train type
$ sl -l           # Long train (D51 pulling coal cars)
$ sl -n 4         # Pull 4 coal cars
$ sl -t small     # Small train for narrow terminals
$ sl -w           # Sound the whistle
$ sl -s 2.0       # Double speed
$ sl --help       # Show help

Options

Option	Long Form	Description
-a	--accident	An accident occurs partway through
-F	--fly	Make the train fly through the sky
-l	--long	Use a longer train (D51 pulling coal cars)
-c	--C51	Use the C51 train type
-t	--type	Locomotive type: classic, small, d51, c51 (overrides -l/-c)
-n	--cars	Number of coal cars to pull, up to 8 (default: 0)
-w	--whistle	Sound the whistle as the train passes
-s	--speed	Animation speed multiplier, 0.1–20 (default: 1.0)
	--no-color	Disable colors (NO_COLOR is also honored)
-v	--version	Show version information
-h	--help	Show help message

🤔 Why sl?

We've all done it - typed sl when we meant ls. Instead of getting an error, why not get a gentle reminder in the form of a steam locomotive chugging across your terminal?

Benefits:

• 📚 Learn to type more carefully - Muscle memory training through humor
• 😄 Add whimsy to your command line - Because terminals can be fun too
• 🎭 Surprise your coworkers - Watch their confusion turn to delight
• 🧘 Take a brief mental break - Sometimes you need a train break

📋 Requirements

• Python 3.6 or higher
• Unix-like terminal with ANSI escape code support
• A sense of humor 😄

🤝 Contributing

We love contributions! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for details.

Quick Start for Contributors

# Fork and clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/slTrain.git
cd slTrain

# Create a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature

# Make your changes and test
./sl -F  # Test your changes

# Commit and push
git commit -m "Add amazing feature"
git push origin feature/amazing-feature

💖 Support the Project

If you enjoy sl, consider supporting the development:

• ⭐ Star this repository - It helps others discover the project
• 🐛 Report bugs - Help us improve by reporting issues
• 💡 Suggest features - Share your ideas for new train types or animations
• 🌐 Visit my website - Learn more at StevenMilanese.com
• ☕ Buy me a coffee - Support development at StevenMilanese.com/support

🔒 Security

Found a security issue? Please see our Security Policy for responsible disclosure.

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author

Reverend Steven Milanese

• 🌐 Website: StevenMilanese.com
• 📧 Email: contact@stevenmilanese.com
• 🐙 GitHub: @developtheweb
• 💼 LinkedIn: Connect with me

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Inspired by the original sl command by Toyoda Masashi
• ASCII art trains adapted from various sources
• Thanks to all contributors who have helped improve this project
• Special thanks to the first stargazer who inspired this update! ⭐

📊 Project Stats

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Remember: It's not a bug, it's a feature! 🚂

Made with ❤️ by Reverend Steven Milanese
Visit StevenMilanese.com for more projects