Termtosvg: A Tool to Record Terminal Session in Linux

Updated: 11 October 2026 · Applies to: Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 9 and Rocky Linux 9

termtosvg recorded terminal sessions as SVG animations, but the project was archived in 2020 and is no longer maintained. The standard tool today is asciinema, which records a session as a small text file that can be replayed, shared or converted to a GIF.

Install

apt install asciinema                               # Ubuntu / Debian
dnf install epel-release && dnf install asciinema   # AlmaLinux / Rocky

Record and play

asciinema rec demo.cast        # start recording; type exit or press Ctrl+D to stop
asciinema play demo.cast       # replay in the terminal
asciinema play -s 2 demo.cast  # at double speed

Add -i 2 to rec to shorten pauses longer than 2 seconds.

Share

• Keep the .cast file and replay it anywhere asciinema is installed.
• Embed it in a web page with the asciinema player (a JavaScript player, available from npm).
• Convert it to a GIF with asciinema's agg tool.

Note: Everything you type and see is recorded, including passwords shown on screen. Check the recording before you share it.