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<h2 id="example">Example</h2> <p>The Unix command <a href="/facts/Fortune_(Unix)/CW9WuQ5U">fortune</a> can also be <a href="/facts/Pipeline_(Unix)/EIhovuT2">piped</a> into the cowsay command: </p> [user@hostname ~]$ fortune | cowsay ________________________________________ / You have Egyptian flu: you're going to \ \ be a mummy. / ---------------------------------------- \ ^__^ \ (oo)\_______ (__)\ )\/\ ||----w | || || <p>Using the parameter -f followed by tux, one can replace the cow with other beings, such as <a href="/facts/Tux_(mascot)/ySD276oH">Tux</a>, the Linux mascot: </p> [user@hostname ~]$ fortune | cowsay -f tux _________________________________________ / You are only young once, but you can \ \ stay immature indefinitely. / ----------------------------------------- \ \ .--. |o_o | |:_/ | // \ \ (| | ) /'\_ _/`\ \___)=(___/ <p>Using the parameter -l shows all available cow files: </p> [user@hostname ~]$ cowsay -l Cow files in /usr/share/cowsay/cows: apt beavis.zen bong bud-frogs bunny calvin cheese cock cower daemon default dragon dragon-and-cow duck elephant elephant-in-snake eyes flaming-sheep ghostbusters gnu head-in hellokitty kiss kitty koala kosh luke-koala mech-and-cow meow milk moofasa moose mutilated pony pony-smaller ren sheep skeleton snowman sodomized-sheep stegosaurus stimpy suse three-eyes turkey turtle tux unipony unipony-smaller vader vader-koala www <h2 id="parameters">Parameters</h2> <table><tbody><tr><th>Option</th><th>Purpose</th></tr><tr><th scope="row">-n</th><td>Disables <a href="/facts/Word_wrap/QXKUrTng">word wrap</a>, allowing the cow to speak <a href="/facts/FIGlet/kJqQJkIC">FIGlet</a> or to display other embedded <a href="/facts/ASCII_art/TmgLtCg5">ASCII art</a>. Width in columns becomes that of the longest line, ignoring any value of -W.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-W</th><td>Specifies width of the <a href="/facts/Speech_balloon/8G5FvvBl">speech balloon</a> in columns, i.e. characters in a monospace font. Default value is 40.</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2"></th></tr><tr><th scope="row">-b</th><td>“<a href="/facts/Borg_(Star_Trek)/cz8FrtYy">Borg</a> mode”, uses == in place of oo for the cow′s eyes.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-d</th><td>“Dead”, uses XX, plus a descending U to represent an extruded tongue, also used on <a href="/facts/Linux_kernel_oops/pgn4VCjW">Linux kernel oops</a>.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-g</th><td>“Greedy”, uses $$.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-p</th><td>“Paranoid”, uses @@.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-s</th><td>“Stoned”, uses ** to represent <a href="/facts/Bloodshot_eyes/jNom2sEr">bloodshot eyes</a>, plus a descending U to represent an extruded tongue.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-t</th><td>“Tired”, uses --.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-w</th><td>“Wired”, uses OO.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-y</th><td>“Youthful”, uses .. to represent smaller eyes.</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2"></th></tr><tr><th scope="row">-e eye_string</th><td>Manually specifies the cow′s eye-type, e.g. cowsay -e ^^ (see <a href="/facts/Eastern-style_emoticon/f0jk3C14">Eastern-style emoticon</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-T tongue_string</th><td>Manually specifies the cow′s tongue shape, e.g. cowsay -T \(\) for a pair of <a href="/facts/Parentheses/yzGM9J8A">parentheses</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-f cowfile</th><td>Specifies a .cow file from which to load alternative ASCII art. Accepts both absolute file-paths and those relative to the <a href="/facts/Environment_variable/WxkrJQpP">environment variable</a> COWPATH.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">-l</th><td>Lists the names of available cow-files in the COWPATH directory instead of displaying a quote.</td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li>Sandra Henry-Stocker (Dec 15, 2020). <a href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3601114/creating-your-own-cowsay-messenger.html">"Creating your own cowsay messenger"</a>. Unix as a Second Language; <i>Network World</i>. networkworld.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.</li> <li><a href="/facts/C%2527t/6pbWadaU">c't</a> Spaß mit Technik (2018): Einfache Computerprojekte zum Selbermachen. p. 120. c't-Redaktion; <a href="/facts/Heise_(company)/jbFl3SV2">Heise</a> Medien GmbH & Co. KG. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9783957882073. Retrieved 21 September 2023.</li> <li>Sreenath (5 July 2023). <a href="https://itsfoss.com/cowsay/">"Moo! There is a Cow in My Linux Terminal"</a>. <i>It's FOSS</i>. itsfoss.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120225123719/http://www.nog.net/~tony/warez/cowsay.shtml">"Official website"</a>. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2004.</li> <li><a href="https://f-droid.org/packages/ch.fixme.cowsay/"><i>Cowsay</i></a> Android package at the <a href="/facts/F-Droid/yNEV0XLW">F-Droid</a> repository</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Orr, Mike (June 2001). "cowsay--ASCII Art for Your Screen". Linux Gazette. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-04-24. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120319053732/http://linuxgazette.net/issue67/orr.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120319053732/http://linuxgazette.net/issue67/orr.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Newborough, Philip (2007-10-05). "A Virtual Richard Stallman for Cowsay Hack". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110725210040/http://crunchbang.org/archives/2007/10/05/a-virtual-richard-stallman-for-cowsay-hack/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110725210040/http://crunchbang.org/archives/2007/10/05/a-virtual-richard-stallman-for-cowsay-hack/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Beshenov, Alexey (2007-10-28). "cowsay: a configurable talking and thinking cow". Debian Package of the Day. Archived from the original on 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2022-01-31. <a href="http://debaday.debian.net/2007/10/28/cowsay-a-configurable-talking-and-thinking-cow/" target="_blank">http://debaday.debian.net/2007/10/28/cowsay-a-configurable-talking-and-thinking-cow/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Characters other than printable in C0 controls and basic Latin (U+0021–U+007E) will not display properly as these parameters accept only the first two bytes of input value. Using a pre-defined cow-face will over-ride any value of -e and -T. <a href="/wiki/C0_controls_and_basic_Latin" target="_blank">/wiki/C0_controls_and_basic_Latin</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Characters other than printable in C0 controls and basic Latin (U+0021–U+007E) will not display properly as these parameters accept only the first two bytes of input value. Using a pre-defined cow-face will over-ride any value of -e and -T. <a href="/wiki/C0_controls_and_basic_Latin" target="_blank">/wiki/C0_controls_and_basic_Latin</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>