Skip to content

Add to your Home Screen

  1. Tap the Share button in Safari's toolbar.
  2. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add. The generator opens full-screen and works offline.

ASCII Border Generator

These ASCII borders wrap your text in a box that grows to fit. Choose one of 12 styles, set alignment and padding, then copy it plain or as a Discord code block.

  • Free
  • No sign-up
  • Nothing to install
  • Runs in your browser

Press Enter for more lines. The box grows to fit the longest line.

Border
Align text

ASCII box (27 wide × 3 lines, pure ASCII)

The box lines up only in a monospace font, so paste it into a code block, terminal or text file. Emoji and Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters are twice as wide as other characters, so they push the right edge out.

By Maya Chen, lettering designer and type educator · Checked by Jordan Hale · · How we review content

Key facts

  • ASCII borders come in 12 styles: six pure-ASCII ones (ASCII, Hash, Stars, Equals, Slashes, Dots) and six Unicode ones, including single, rounded, heavy, double and solid block.
  • The ASCII border styles use only the 95 printable ASCII characters, so they work in terminals, code comments, plain text email and old systems.
  • Unicode line borders such as single, rounded, heavy and double look smoother but need UTF-8 and a font that has box drawing characters.
  • Every line of a box must have the same number of characters; the generator counts each character as one column, so emoji and CJK characters can make the right edge uneven.
  • Discord About Me holds up to 190 characters including line breaks and backticks, so a four-line box around a short phrase fits.

These ASCII borders wrap any text in a box drawn with keyboard or box drawing characters. Type your text, choose one of 12 border styles, set alignment and padding, and copy the box as plain text or as a Discord code block, ready for code comments, READMEs, bios and plain text email.

How to use the ASCII borders generator

  1. Type your text in the Text inside the box field. Each line you type becomes one line in the box.
  2. Pick a Border style, then set Align text, Side padding and Empty lines above and below until it looks balanced.
  3. Press Copy, or Copy for Discord to add the backticks of a code block.

Choosing a border

Style Corners and edges Best for
ASCII +-+ ` `
Hash or Stars ### *** Headings in config files and scripts
Single line ┌─┐ │ Clean boxes in chats and READMEs
Rounded ╭─╮ │ Friendly, modern look
Heavy or Double ┏━┓ ╔═╗ Titles and emphasis
Solid block █▀█ Bold banners

Alignment places each line inside the box, which matters when lines differ in length. Side padding is the space between the text and the left and right edges; one or two spaces looks balanced. Empty lines add breathing room above and below.

Making boxes by hand

A box is three parts: a top line (corner, a run of the edge character, corner), body lines (edge, your text padded with spaces to the same width, edge) and a bottom line. The only rule is that every line must have the same number of characters, which is exactly what the generator calculates.

For all the line pieces, including tees and crosses for tables, see box drawing characters. For single-line separators, use the ASCII divider maker.

Once you know a box is just equal-length lines, ASCII borders become easy to adjust by hand, and the generator is a quick way to get the widths right.

Frequently asked questions

Basics

What are ASCII borders?
ASCII borders are boxes drawn around text with keyboard characters, such as plus signs, dashes and pipes, or with Unicode box drawing lines. This generator offers 12 styles, six pure ASCII and six Unicode, and sizes the box to your text so every line has the same width.
How do I put a box around text?
Type your text in the Text inside the box field, with each line on its own line, then pick a Border style. Set Align text, Side padding and Empty lines above and below until it looks balanced, then press Copy.
How many ASCII border styles are there?
Twelve. Six are pure ASCII (ASCII, Hash, Stars, Equals, Slashes and Dots) and six are Unicode line or block styles, including single, rounded, heavy, double and solid block. The ASCII six work in terminals and plain email; the Unicode six look smoother.
Can I copy an ASCII border for Discord?
Yes. Press Copy for Discord and the tool adds the three backticks of a code block, which keeps the box in a monospace font so the edges line up. Without the backticks Discord uses a proportional font and the right edge drifts.

Where it works

Which border style works everywhere?
The ASCII styles (ASCII, Hash, Stars, Equals, Slashes and Dots) use only characters from the 95 printable ASCII characters, so they work in any terminal, code comment, plain text email and old system. The line styles use Unicode box drawing characters, which look smoother but need UTF-8 and a font that has them.
How do I use a box in a code comment?
Choose an ASCII style so it survives every editor and encoding, then put your comment marker in front of each line, for example // or #. Keep the box under your project's line length, usually 80 or 100 characters.
Can I put a box in my Discord bio?
Yes, inside a code block. Discord's About Me holds up to 190 characters including line breaks and the backticks, so a box of four lines around a short phrase fits. Copy for Discord adds the backticks for you.
Do ASCII borders work in plain text email?
Yes, the six ASCII styles do. They use only the 95 printable ASCII characters, so they survive any email client, encoding and old system. Show them in a monospace font if you can, since a proportional font makes the right edge uneven.

How it works

Why is the right edge of my box uneven?
Either the font is not monospace, or your text contains characters that are twice as wide as the others, such as emoji or Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters. The generator counts every character as one column. Remove wide characters or add a space after each one to compensate.
What do Align text, Side padding and Empty lines do?
Align text places each line inside the box, which matters when lines differ in length. Side padding is the space between the text and the left and right edges, and one or two spaces looks balanced. Empty lines adds blank rows above and below the text.
How do I make an ASCII box by hand?
A box has a top line, body lines and a bottom line. The top is a corner, a run of the edge character and a corner; each body line is an edge, your text padded with spaces to a fixed width and an edge. Every line must be the same length.
Why do Unicode border styles need UTF-8?
Single, rounded, heavy and double borders use box drawing characters outside the 95 printable ASCII characters. They show correctly only when the file or field is saved as UTF-8 and the font has those glyphs. Otherwise you may see boxes or question marks.

Tips & limits

Which border style suits headings in config files?
Hash or Stars. A line of ### or *** looks like a comment banner in many scripts and config formats. Check that your file format uses # as a comment marker, or add the marker yourself in front of each line of the box.
How much side padding looks best?
One or two spaces. That leaves room between the text and the edges without making the box wide. Use more padding for a short phrase in a big banner, and less when the box has to stay narrow, such as inside a Discord About Me.

Related generators & guides