png-glitch: a tool to glitch PNG images

Installation

To install png-glitch from source, run the following command:

% cargo install png-glitch --locked 

Usage

png-glitch glitches given PNG file (or directory) and emits the result. By default, it saves to glitched.png.

Command Line Options

Option	Description	Visual Impact
--transpose <N>	Randomly swaps blocks of scanlines.	Creates horizontal "slicing" and shearing.
--shift-channels <R,G,B>	Shifts color channels independently.	Color fringing or radical color shifts.
--invert	Inverts all color values.	Classic "negative" look.
--brighten <N>	Adjusts brightness (0-255).	Can cause "blown out" or solarized effects.
--replace <N>	Replaces pixels with noise (0.0 - 1.0).	Digital "snow" or "static".
--set-zero <N>	Sets random pixels to zero (0.0 - 1.0).	Black pixel noise.
--remove-filter	Strips all PNG filters before glitching.	Cleans the canvas for more predictable results.
--sub, --up, --paeth	Force a specific PNG filter type.	Dramatic vertical or horizontal streaking.
--seed <N>	Set a seed for random operations.	Reproducible glitch patterns.

Batch Processing

To glitch multiple images at once, provide a directory as the main argument and use the --batch-output flag:

% png-glitch ./my_images --batch-output ./glitched_results --invert --seed 12345

The tool will recursively find all .png files and process them with a progress bar.

Configuration File

You can define complex glitch pipelines in a YAML file:

filters:
  - type: RemoveFilter
  - type: Invert
  - type: Brighten
    strength: 30
  - type: Transpose
    magnitude: 0.1
  - type: ChangeFilterType
    magnitude: 0.05

Run it with:

% png-glitch input.png --config my_glitch.yaml

Documentation

• Developer & Architecture Guide: Deep dive into the internal design and core concepts.
• Spec: Filter System: Technical details on PNG filters.
• Spec: Pixel Formats: How we handle different bit depths and color types.

Example

The original image:

And the glitched one:

In this repository

This repository consists of the following things:

• png-glitch-cli, a binary crate for a command line interface (CLI) to glitch PNG files.
• png-glitch crate, a library to glitch PNG images.
• glitch-context crate, a high-level API to orchestrate glitch filters.

Licence

MIT License. Please refer to LICENCE file for details.