Cowsay

cowsay

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Thanks: original cowsay — Tony Monroe / cowsay-org  │
│ https://github.com/cowsay-org/cowsay                │
│                                                     │
│ npx skills add kodexArg/cowsay                      │
│                                                     │
│ /cowsay tux                                         │
│ /cowsay moose                                       │
│ /cowsay default                                     │
│ /cowsay <text>                                      │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
        \   ^__^
         \  (oo)\_______
            (__)\       )\/\
                ||----w |
                ||     ||

Deterministic cowsay for AI agents. Python 3 stdlib only. MIT. Page: https://skills.sh/kodexArg/cowsay/cowsay

Skill root after install: wherever the agent placed it (e.g. ~/.agents/skills/cowsay). Binary: $SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay.

Prerequisites

python3 --version          # 3.x
test -x "$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay"
"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -l
"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -V

No network, no extra packages, no system cowsay.

How to use (chat)

User says	What happens
/cowsay	Enter cowsay mode until “basta vaca” / “normal mode” / “salí de cowsay”
/cowsay tux	Switch art to Tux (persist with --set-cow tux)
/cowsay moose	Switch art to moose
/cowsay default	Switch art to default cow
/cowsay <stem>	Switch art if stem is listed by cowsay -l
/cowsay <text>	One-shot: render that text if text is not a loaded stem
“change the cow” / “cambiar la vaca” (no name)	List every stem from -l, wait for pick, then --set-cow
“cowthink” / “pensá”	Render with --think
“solo esta vez” + a stem	One-shot art via -f <stem> (do not persist)

Example — TUX

/cowsay tux

1. Confirm stem is loaded: "$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -l
2. Persist: "$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" --set-cow tux
3. Confirm by rendering through the binary (Tux art, not freehand ASCII)

Other cows: whatever ./bin/cowsay -l returns (bundled set is typically default, moose, tux; plus any extra .cow under cows/ or COWPATH).

CLI (local / agent shell)

printf '%s' 'moo' | "$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay"
printf '%s' 'hi'  | "$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -W 40
printf '%s' 'hi'  | "$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -W 20 -f tux
printf '%s' 'hmm' | "$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -W 40 --think
"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -l
"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" --set-cow tux
"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" --show-cow
python3 "$SKILL_ROOT/tests/test_cowsay.py"

Prefer a quoted heredoc for multi-line answers:

"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -W "$W" <<'COWEOF'
Your full answer here.
COWEOF

Flags (common)

Flag	Effect
-W N	Wrap width (display columns). Prefer terminal width; never hardcode 48
-f <stem>	One-shot cow (does not write .active-cow)
--set-cow <stem>	Persist active cow to .active-cow
--show-cow	Print active stem
-l	List loaded stems
--think	Thought bubbles instead of speech
-d / faces	Classic face flags when asked

Environment

Env	Effect
COLUMNS	Terminal width when -W omitted
COWSAY_WIDTH	Pin wrap width (tests/CI; beats COLUMNS)
COWSAY_COW	Force active cow stem (beats .active-cow)
COWPATH	Extra directories of .cow files

Active cow priority

-f → COWSAY_COW → .active-cow → default

Agent instructions

Renderer is law. Never freehand the dialog box or the ASCII animal. Always run $SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay and show only its stdout (one fenced code block).

1. Resolve width

if [ -n "${COWSAY_WIDTH:-}" ]; then
  W="$COWSAY_WIDTH"
elif [ -n "${COLUMNS:-}" ] && [ "$COLUMNS" -gt 0 ] 2>/dev/null; then
  W=$((COLUMNS - 4))
else
  W=$(stty size 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $2}')
  W=${W:-80}
  W=$((W - 4))
fi
[ "$W" -lt 8 ] && W=8

2. Switch cow when the user names a stem

"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -l
"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" --set-cow <stem>
"$SKILL_ROOT/bin/cowsay" -W "$W" <<'COWEOF'
Listo: vaca activa = <stem>
COWEOF

Do not invent stem names. Source of truth is -l.

3. Every final reply in cowsay mode

1. Write the full answer in the user’s language.
2. Pipe it through the binary (heredoc above).
3. User-visible output = that stdout only.

4. Failure

If the binary exits non-zero, report stderr and exit code in plain text. Do not invent art.

5. Confinement

Only operate inside $SKILL_ROOT. After code changes: python3 "$SKILL_ROOT/tests/test_cowsay.py".

Layout

skills/cowsay/
  SKILL.md          this file (Agent Skills format)
  bin/cowsay        CLI compose only
  lib/dialog.py     balloon, wrap, terminal width
  lib/art.py        COWPATH, load .cow, faces, active cow
  cows/*.cow        ASCII resources ($thoughts $eyes $tongue)
  tests/            goldens

Dialog and art are separate layers so figures can change without rewriting the balloon.

License

MIT — Copyright (c) 2026 kodexArg (Gabriel Cavedal) / kodexarg.com.

Full text: repository root LICENSE.