gfn - generate fantasy names for games and stories on the commandline

Generate fantasy names for games and stories. It uses the fine fantasyname module by s0rg, which implements the code created by the rinkworks fantasy name generator. The code itself is outlined here, or take a quick look at the reference guide.

In case the site vanishes some day, a copy of those documents is contained here in the repository.

Installation

The tool does not have any dependencies. Just download the binary for your platform from the releases page and you're good to go.

Installation using a pre-compiled binary

Go to the latest release page and look for your OS and platform. There are two options to install the binary:

Directly download the binary for your platform, e.g. gfn-linux-amd64-0.0.2, rename it to gfn (or whatever you like more!) and put it into your bin dir (e.g. $HOME/bin or as root to /usr/local/bin).

Be sure to verify the signature of the binary file. For this also download the matching gfn-linux-amd64-0.0.2.sha256 file and:

cat gfn-linux-amd64-0.0.2.sha25 && sha256sum gfn-linux-amd64-0.0.2

You should see the same SHA256 hash.

You may also download a binary tarball for your platform, e.g. gfn-linux-amd64-0.0.2.tar.gz, unpack and install it. GNU Make is required for this:

tar xvfz gfn-linux-amd64-0.0.2.tar.gz
cd gfn-linux-amd64-0.0.2
sudo make install

Installation from source

You will need the Golang toolchain in order to build from source. GNU Make will also help but is not strictly neccessary.

If you want to compile the tool yourself, use git clone to clone the repository. Then execute go mod tidy to install all dependencies. Then just enter go build or - if you have GNU Make installed - make.

To install after building either copy the binary or execute sudo make install.

Usage

There are a bunch of pre compiled fantasy name codes builtin, you can get a list with:

% gfn -l

To use one of them and limit the number of words generated:

% gfn JapaneseNamesDiverse -n 24
iyonen     isuyaro    iwamo      remi       kikune     chikeyu    iwamun
ruri       orasenin   wamo       oramamo    ironisuru  hokoku     kumun
ewoyani    imanoma    enenoya    sawo       enunumiken wayumu     itamachi

You can also write a code yourself:

gfn '!sVm' -n 25
Angeeschnookum Arysmooch      Oraepookie     Rothaudoodle   Hinaypoochie
Keloosnookum   Esteeschnookum Ageausmoosh    Erucuddle      Tonuilover
Ghaeaschnoogle Seraylover     Dynysnoogle    Chaibunker     Poloebaby
Leroepoochie   Tinowuggy      Baniaschmoopie Banoesnoogy    Taseamoopie
Entheysmooch   Ustamooglie    Taneidoodle    Hatiesnoogy    Belacuddle 

A short outline of the code will be printed if you add the -h parameter:

This is gfn, a fantasy name generator cli.

Usage: gfn [-vld] [-c <config file>] [-n <number of names>] <name|code>

Options:
-c --config   Config file to use (optional)
-n --number   Number of names to generate
-l --list     List pre-compiled shortcuts
-d --debug    Show debugging output
-v --version  Show program version

pattern  syntax The  letters s,  v, V,  c, B,  C, i,  m, M,  D, and  d
represent different types of random replacements:

s - generic syllable
v - vowel
V - vowel or vowel combination
c - consonant
B - consonant or consonant combination suitable for beginning a word
C - consonant or consonant combination suitable anywhere in a word
i - insult
m - mushy name
M - mushy name ending
D - consonant suited for a stupid person's name
d - syllable suited for a stupid person's name (begins with a vowel)
Everything else is emitted literally.

All  characters  between parenthesis  ()  are  emitted literally.  For
example, the pattern s(dim), emits  a random generic syllable followed
by dim.

Characters  between angle  brackets <>  emit patterns  from the  table
above. Imagine the entire pattern is wrapped in one of these.

In  both  types of  groupings,  a  vertical  bar  | denotes  a  random
choice. Empty groups are allowed.  For example, (foo|bar) emits either
foo or bar. The pattern <c|v|>  emits a constant, vowel, or nothing at
all.

An exclamation point ! means  to capitalize the component that follows
it. For  example, !(foo) will emit  Foo and v!s will  emit a lowercase
vowel followed by a capitalized syllable, like eRod.

You can use a config file to store your own codes, once you found one you like. A configfile is searched in these locations in this order:

• /etc/gfn.conf
• /usr/local/etc/gfn.conf
• $HOME/.config/gfn/config
• $HOME/.gfn

You may also specify a config file on the commandline using the -c flag.

You can add multiple codes, here's an example:

# example config file
[[Templates]]
morph = "!s(na|ha|ma|va)v"
morphium = "!s(na|ha|ma|va)v(ius|ium|aum|oum|eum)"

Config files are expected to be in the TOML format.

Report bugs

Please open an issue. Thanks!

License

This work is licensed under the terms of the General Public Licens version 3.

Author

Copyleft (c) 2024 Thomas von Dein