rrbe · rrbe · Aug 6, 2026 · Aug 6, 2026
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ termdown uses the Kitty graphics protocol to render Markdown with large-font hea
 termdown rasterizes H1-H3 headings as PNG images and draws them directly in the terminal through the Kitty graphics protocol. It provides two modes:
 
 - **Interactive TUI** (default) -- `termdown README.md` provides a vim/less-like experience with paging, search, a table of contents, and link navigation for longer documents.
-- **Direct output** -- `termdown --cat README.md` prints rendered Markdown like `cat`, making it suitable for short documents or piping to other programs.
+- **Direct output** -- `termdown --cat README.md` prints rendered Markdown like `cat`, making it suitable for short documents. Piped or redirected output uses text headings instead of Kitty images.
 
 H4-H6 headings always use ANSI bold text instead of simulating more font sizes and weights that could reduce readability in a terminal.
 

diff --git a/README_CN.md b/README_CN.md
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ termdown 基于 Kitty 图形协议，在终端中以大字体标题渲染 Markdo
 termdown 将 H1-H3 标题栅格化为 PNG 图片，通过 Kitty 图形协议直接绘制到终端。提供两种使用模式：
 
 - **交互式 TUI**（默认）—— `termdown README.md`，提供类似 vim/less 的体验，支持翻页、搜索、查看目录和链接跳转，适合阅读较长文档。
-- **直接输出** —— `termdown --cat README.md`，像 `cat` 一样直接输出渲染后的 Markdown，适合查看短文档或通过管道交给其他程序处理。
+- **直接输出** —— `termdown --cat README.md`，像 `cat` 一样直接输出渲染后的 Markdown，适合查看短文档；通过管道或重定向输出时，标题使用文本而不是 Kitty 图片。
 
 H4-H6 标题始终以 ANSI 粗体文本渲染，不再模拟更多字号和字重，以免损害终端中的可读性。
 

diff --git a/docs/USAGE.md b/docs/USAGE.md
@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@ termdown [OPTIONS] [FILE]
 | `-V`, `--version` | Show version. |
 
 By default, passing a `FILE` opens it in the interactive TUI. Piped/redirected
-stdout, stdin input, or `--cat` all fall back to cat mode.
+stdout, stdin input, or `--cat` all fall back to cat mode. Piped or redirected
+output uses text headings instead of Kitty images so downstream programs retain
+the heading content.
 
 ### Examples
 

diff --git a/docs/USAGE_CN.md b/docs/USAGE_CN.md
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ termdown [选项] [文件]
 | `-V`, `--version` | 显示版本。 |
 
 默认情况下，传入文件会进入交互式 TUI。stdout 被管道/重定向、输入来自 stdin、或加
-`--cat` 时都会回退到 cat 模式。
+`--cat` 时都会回退到 cat 模式。通过管道或重定向输出时，标题使用文本而不是 Kitty
+图片，确保下游程序保留标题内容。
 
 ### 示例
 

diff --git a/fixtures/expected/specialized/metadata-none.ansi b/fixtures/expected/specialized/metadata-none.ansi
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<IMG>
+[1mPlain Document, No Frontmatter[0m
 
 This file has no YAML or TOML metadata block. The [38;5;213m[48;5;236m --- [0m line further down
 should be rendered as a normal horizontal rule, [1mnot[0m as the opening

diff --git a/fixtures/expected/supported-syntax.ansi b/fixtures/expected/supported-syntax.ansi
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [2m[metadata · title=Supported Syntax Showcase, author=termdown, tags=[markdown, …][0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1mSupported Syntax Showcase[0m
 
 This fixture is the [1msingle source of truth[0m for syntax termdown currently
 supports
@@ -12,47 +12,47 @@ The YAML frontmatter above is parsed and rendered as a single dim summary line
 in [38;5;213m[48;5;236m --cat [0m, or as a collapsible inline box in TUI (toggle with [38;5;213m[48;5;236m m [0m). It does
 not leak into body content.
 
-<IMG>
+[1m1. Headings[0m
 
 This section exercises all six heading levels, depth nesting, repeated titles,
 and
 long-title wrapping — covering both the heading rasterizer and the TUI
 table-of-contents
 panel.
 
-<IMG>
+[1m1.1 Levels[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1mH1 标题 / Heading One[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1mH2 标题 / Heading Two[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1mH3 标题 / Heading Three[0m
 
 [1mH4 — 四级标题[0m
 
 [1mH5 — 五级标题[0m
 
 [1mH6 — 六级标题 (the deepest level Markdown supports)[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m1.2 Headings with emoji & mixed scripts[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m🚀 Launch builders, not just code[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m✨ 标题里的 emoji 和中文混排[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m🧪 Body Text Baseline · 正文基线[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m1.3 Repeated titles (slug disambiguation)[0m
 
 [1mDuplicate[0m
 
 [1mDuplicate[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m1.4 Very long heading that should wrap inside a narrow TOC panel across multiple lines[0m
 
 Filler paragraph so the long heading above is followed by some body content.
 
-<IMG>
+[1m2. Emphasis[0m
 
 [3mItalic via underscores[23m, [3mitalic via asterisks[23m.
 
@@ -64,9 +64,9 @@ Filler paragraph so the long heading above is followed by some body content.
 
 [3m斜体[23m · [1m粗体[0m · [1m[3m粗斜体组合[0m · [9m中文删除线[29m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m3. Lists[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m3.1 Unordered, nested[0m
 
   • Item 1
   • Item 2
@@ -76,32 +76,32 @@ Filler paragraph so the long heading above is followed by some body content.
       • Item 2b.ii
   • Item 3
 
-<IMG>
+[1m3.2 Ordered, nested[0m
 
   1. Step one
   2. Step two
     1. Sub-step 2.1
     2. Sub-step 2.2
   3. Step three
 
-<IMG>
+[1m3.3 中英混排列表[0m
 
   • 第一项 (item 1)
   • 第二项 (item 2)
     • 嵌套 a / nested a
     • 嵌套 b / nested b
 
-<IMG>
+[1m4. Task lists[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m4.1 Project TODO[0m
 
   [✓] Setup project structure
   [✓] Add markdown parser
   [ ] Implement task list rendering
   [ ] Add configuration options
   [ ] Write documentation
 
-<IMG>
+[1m4.2 Nested tasks[0m
 
   [✓] Phase 1
     [✓] Design architecture
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ Filler paragraph so the long heading above is followed by some body content.
     [ ] Performance optimization
     [ ] Integration testing
 
-<IMG>
+[1m4.3 Mixed with regular list items & inline formatting[0m
 
   1. Ordered item one
   2. Ordered item two
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ Filler paragraph so the long heading above is followed by some body content.
   [ ] Task with [1mbold[0m and [3mitalic[23m text
   [ ] Task with [38;5;213m[48;5;236m inline code [0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m5. Links[0m
 
 Inline link: [36m[4mMarkdown Live Preview[24m[0m [38;5;245m(https://markdownlivepreview.com/)[0m.
 
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ Reference-style link: [36m[4mreference example[24m[0m [38;5;245m(https://ex
 Bare URL (GFM autolink): https://example.com/docs/readme.html — bare email:
 support@example.com — these are part of the autolink roadmap.
 
-<IMG>
+[1m6. Images[0m
 
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250mRoadmap feature — [38;5;213m[48;5;236m TODO.md [0m 中"图片支持"。当前 termdown[0m
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250m渲染图片的能力还不完整，本节[0m
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ Reference-style image:
 
 [2m[🖼 ref image](https://example.com/banner.png)[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m7. Blockquotes[0m
 
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250mMarkdown is a lightweight markup language with plain-text-formatting syntax,[0m
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250mcreated in 2004 by John Gruber with Aaron Swartz.[0m
@@ -169,17 +169,17 @@ Reference-style image:
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250m中文引用块：Markdown 是一种轻量级标记语言，使用纯文本格式语法。[0m
 [38;5;240m│  [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250m嵌套引用：常用于编写 readme 文件与在线论坛中的消息格式化。[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m8. Tables[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m8.1 Three alignment modes[0m
 
 [1mLeft[0m             [2m  │  [0m[1mCenter[0m      [2m  │  [0m[1mRight[0m 
 [2m─────────────────[0m[2m  ┼  [0m[2m────────────[0m[2m  ┼  [0m[2m──────[0m
 a                [2m  │  [0mb           [2m  │  [0mc     
 long left content[2m  │  [0mcenter      [2m  │  [0m1     
 x                [2m  │  [0m[1mbold[0m in cell[2m  │  [0m[38;5;213m[48;5;236m code [0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m8.2 Mixed scripts & emoji in cells[0m
 
 [1mCase[0m              [2m  │  [0m[1mExample[0m            
 [2m──────────────────[0m[2m  ┼  [0m[2m───────────────────[0m
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ Mixed text        [2m  │  [0m修正版 ✨ version 2
 Symbol-like       [2m  │  [0m✅ ⚠ ❌            
 Variation selector[2m  │  [0m☀️ ❤️ ⭐️             
 
-<IMG>
+[1m9. Code blocks[0m
 
 Fenced block with language tag:
 
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ Indented code block:
 Inline code: this web site is using [38;5;213m[48;5;236m markedjs/marked [0m, and shell command
 [38;5;213m[48;5;236m cargo run -- fixtures/supported-syntax.md [0m should render this file.
 
-<IMG>
+[1m10. HTML tags[0m
 
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250mRoadmap feature — [38;5;213m[48;5;236m TODO.md [0m 中"测试 html 标签支持"。覆盖块级 HTML、行内[0m
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250mHTML、HTML 注释。[0m
@@ -233,29 +233,29 @@ An HTML comment:  end of line.
 Self-closing void element: line one
 line two on the same paragraph.
 
-<IMG>
+[1m11. Long-text wrap & indent[0m
 
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250mRoadmap feature — [38;5;213m[48;5;236m TODO.md [0m[0m
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250m中"长文本换行时缩进的处理"。本节专门用于验证：长行换行后[0m
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250m续行的缩进是否与首行对齐（特别是在列表、引用、标题里）。[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m11.1 Long paragraph[0m
 
 This is a deliberately long English paragraph that should wrap multiple times
 in a narrow terminal so we can verify that continuation lines start flush with
 the left margin and do not get an accidental indent.
 这是一段足够长的中文段落，用来验证终端窗口较窄时，软换行产生的续行应该与首行左对齐而不应该出现额外缩进，特别是混排了
 emoji 🚀 与英文 ASCII 之后宽度计算仍然正确。
 
-<IMG>
+[1m11.2 Long line in a nested list[0m
 
   • 顶级列表项 / Top-level list item
     •
 第二层项目，这一项里写一段非常长的中英混排正文，用来验证在嵌套列表内部软换行后续行是否能够正确缩进到列表项内容的起始列，而不是退到列表标记本身的位置
 — this nested item should wrap with its continuation lines aligned to the start
 of the item text, not to the bullet marker.
 
-<IMG>
+[1m11.3 Long line in a blockquote[0m
 
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250m引用块里的长行也需要正确换行：这是一段被包在 [38;5;213m[48;5;236m > [0m[0m
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250m引用标记里的中英混排长文，软换行[0m
@@ -264,35 +264,35 @@ of the item text, not to the bullet marker.
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250mEnglish — wrapped continuation lines must remain inside the blockquote prefix[0m
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250mrather than escape to the outer margin.[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m11.4 Long heading (continuation indent test)[0m
 
 [1m一个超长四级标题，包含中文、English、还有 emoji 🚀，用来验证标题在窄终端中换行后续行的缩进表现[0m
 
 After the long heading above, this short paragraph anchors the test so the
 heading is followed by body content.
 
-<IMG>
+[1m12. Emoji & 中英混排[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1m12.1 Inline emoji[0m
 
   • 单个 emoji: 😀 😎 ✨ 🚀
   • 中英混排: Hello 世界 🌍
   • 符号混排: ✅ Done · ⚠ Warning · ❌ Failed
   • 常见 emoji 变体: ☀️ ❤️ ⭐️
 
-<IMG>
+[1m12.2 Complex ZWJ sequences[0m
 
 观察复杂 ZWJ emoji 的边界表现：👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 👩🏽‍💻 🧑‍🚀
 
-<IMG>
+[1m12.3 Bidirectional & mixed-script paragraph[0m
 
 正文仍然由终端自身字体渲染，所以这里主要用来对比标题图片化与正文文本化的表现差异。
 Body text mixes 中文、English、ASCII punctuation, and emoji 🌍 within the same
 line.
 
 [38;5;240m│  [3;38;5;250m引用块里也放几个字符：💡 🛠 📦[0m
 
-<IMG>
+[1mEnd[0m
 
 如果以上每一节都能正确（或按当前能力部分正确）渲染，termdown
 的核心语法覆盖就达标了。