---
name: "botsay"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "botsay"
version: "1.4.4-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/botsay"
---

# botsay(1)

a utility for outputting text with an ASCII art robot

## NAME

botsay - a utility for outputting text with an ASCII art robot

## SYNOPSIS

**botsay** \[-i ID\] \[-p\] \[-c\] \[-h\] \[--version\] \[MESSAGE\]

## DESCRIPTION

**botsay** generates an ASCII art robot with a speech bubble containing a message. If no message is provided as an argument, it reads from standard input. If no ID is provided, a random bot ID is used.

## OPTIONS

- **-i, --id ID**

  Specify a custom bot ID to use for generating the ASCII art.

- **-p, --print**

  Print the bot's ID after generating the ASCII art.

- **-c, --color**

  Enable rainbow mode (truecolor).

- **-h, --help**

  Show a help message and exit.

- **--version**

  Print the version and exit.

## EXAMPLES

**botsay 'Hello, world!'**

**echo Hello from stdin \| botsay -c**

## AUTHOR

**botsay** was written by Alexander F. Rødseth \<xyproto@archlinux.org\>