API Reference

generate

def generate(
    code: str,
    *,
    language: str = "python",
    theme: str = "Dracula",
    font: list[tuple[str, float]] | None = None,
    show_line_numbers: bool = True,
    show_window_controls: bool = True,
    window_title: str | None = None,
    round_corner: bool = True,
    background: str = "#abb8c3",
    shadow_color: str = "#707070",
    shadow_blur_radius: float = 50.0,
    pad_horiz: int = 80,
    pad_vert: int = 100,
    shadow_offset_x: int = 0,
    shadow_offset_y: int = 0,
    code_pad_right: int = 25,
    highlight_lines: list[int] | None = None,
    tab_width: int = 4,
    line_offset: int = 1,
    line_pad: int = 2,
) -> bytes

Generate a code image and return raw PNG bytes.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
code	str	(required)	Source code to render
language	str	"python"	Language for syntax highlighting. Accepts language names ("python", "rust") or file extensions ("py", "rs").
theme	str	"Dracula"	Color theme. Use list_themes() to see options.
font	list[tuple[str, float]] \| None	None	Font list as [(name, size)] tuples. Falls back to bundled Hack 26pt.
show_line_numbers	bool	True	Display line numbers
show_window_controls	bool	True	Show macOS-style window buttons
window_title	str \| None	None	Title bar text
round_corner	bool	True	Round image corners
background	str	"#abb8c3"	Background color as hex (#RGB, #RRGGBB, or #RRGGBBAA)
shadow_color	str	"#707070"	Shadow color as hex
shadow_blur_radius	float	50.0	Gaussian blur radius for shadow
pad_horiz	int	80	Horizontal padding in pixels
pad_vert	int	100	Vertical padding in pixels
shadow_offset_x	int	0	Shadow offset in X axis
shadow_offset_y	int	0	Shadow offset in Y axis
code_pad_right	int	25	Padding to the right of the code in pixels
highlight_lines	list[int] \| None	None	1-based line numbers to highlight
tab_width	int	4	Spaces per tab character
line_offset	int	1	Starting line number
line_pad	int	2	Spacing between lines in pixels

Returns: bytes — Raw PNG image data.

Raises: ValueError — If the language, theme, or color format is invalid.

Example:

import silicate

png = silicate.generate(
    "console.log('hello')",
    language="js",
    theme="Nord",
)

# Use the bytes directly (e.g., in a web response)
# or write to file
with open("output.png", "wb") as f:
    f.write(png)

---

to_file

def to_file(
    code: str,
    output: str,
    *,
    # ... same keyword arguments as generate()
) -> None

Generate a code image and save it directly to a file.

Accepts the same parameters as generate(), plus:

Parameter	Type	Description
output	str	Output file path. Format is determined by extension (.png, .jpg, etc.)

Returns: None

Raises: ValueError — If parameters are invalid or the file cannot be written.

Example:

silicate.to_file(
    "SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = true;",
    "query.png",
    language="sql",
    theme="GitHub",
    show_window_controls=False,
)

---

list_themes

def list_themes() -> list[str]

Return a sorted list of all available syntax highlighting theme names.

Returns: list[str] — Theme names that can be passed to the theme parameter.

Example:

>>> silicate.list_themes()
['1337', 'Coldark-Cold', 'Coldark-Dark', 'DarkNeon', 'Dracula', ...]

---

list_languages

def list_languages() -> list[tuple[str, list[str]]]

Return a sorted list of all available languages as (name, [extensions]) tuples.

Returns: list[tuple[str, list[str]]] — Each entry is (language_name, [file_extensions]).

Example:

>>> silicate.list_languages()[:3]
[('ActionScript', ['as']),
 ('Apache Conf', ['envvars', 'htaccess', ...]),
 ('AppleScript', ['applescript', 'script editor'])]

The language parameter in generate() and to_file() accepts either the language name or any of its file extensions.