viniciusdaniel/bash_colors.md

## bash_colors.md

      
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              bash_colors.md
            
          
    Bash tips: Colors and formatting (ANSI/VT100 Control sequences)


The ANSI/VT100 terminals and terminal emulators are not just able to display black and white text ; they can display colors and formatted texts thanks to escape sequences. Those sequences are composed of the Escape character (often represented by “^[” or “<Esc>”) followed by some other characters: “<Esc>[FormatCodem”.
In Bash, the <Esc> character can be obtained with the following syntaxes:


`\e`


`\033`


`\x1B`


Examples:


Code (Bash)
Preview


echo -e "\e[31mHello World\e[0m"


echo -e "\033[31mHello\e[0m World"


NOTE¹: The -e option of the echo command enable the parsing of the escape sequences.
NOTE²: The “\e[0m” sequence removes all attributes (formatting and colors). It can be a good idea to add it at the end of each colored text. ;)
NOTE³: The examples in this page are in Bash but the ANSI/VT100 escape sequences can be used in every programming languages.

Formatting


Here are the most commonly supported control sequences for formatting text. Their support depends on the used terminal (see the compatibility list).

Set


Code
Description
Example
Preview


1
Bold/Bright

echo -e "Normal \e[1mBold"


2
Dim

echo -e "Normal \e[2mDim"


4
Underlined

echo -e "Normal \e[4mUnderlined"


5
Blink ¹⁾

echo -e "Normal \e[5mBlink"


7
Reverse (invert the foreground and background colors)

echo -e "Normal \e[7minverted"


8
Hidden (useful for passwords)

echo -e "Normal \e[8mHidden"


Reset


Code
Description
Example
Preview


0
Reset all attributes

echo -e "\e[0mNormal Text"


21
Reset bold/bright

echo -e "Normal \e[1mBold \e[21mNormal"


22
Reset dim

echo -e "Normal \e[2mDim \e[22mNormal"


24
Reset underlined

echo -e "Normal \e[4mUnderlined \e[24mNormal"


25
Reset blink

echo -e "Normal \e[5mBlink \e[25mNormal"


27
Reset reverse

echo -e "Normal \e[7minverted \e[27mNormal"


28
Reset hidden

echo -e "Normal \e[8mHidden \e[28mNormal"


8/16 Colors


The following colors works with most terminals and terminals emulators ²⁾, see the compatibility list for more informations.
NOTE: The colors can vary depending of the terminal configuration.

Foreground (text)


Code
Color
Example
Preview


39
Default foreground color

echo -e "Default \e[39mDefault"


30
Black

echo -e "Default \e[30mBlack"


31
Red

echo -e "Default \e[31mRed"


32
Green

echo -e "Default \e[32mGreen"


33
Yellow

echo -e "Default \e[33mYellow"


34
Blue

echo -e "Default \e[34mBlue"


35
Magenta

echo -e "Default \e[35mMagenta"


36
Cyan

echo -e "Default \e[36mCyan"


37
Light gray

echo -e "Default \e[37mLight gray"


90
Dark gray

echo -e "Default \e[90mDark gray"


91
Light red

echo -e "Default \e[91mLight red"


92
Light green

echo -e "Default \e[92mLight green"


93
Light yellow

echo -e "Default \e[93mLight yellow"


94
Light blue

echo -e "Default \e[94mLight blue"


95
Light magenta

echo -e "Default \e[95mLight magenta"


96
Light cyan

echo -e "Default \e[96mLight cyan"


97
White

echo -e "Default \e[97mWhite"


Background


Code
Color
Example
Preview


49
Default background color

echo -e "Default \e[49mDefault"


40
Black

echo -e "Default \e[40mBlack"


41
Red

echo -e "Default \e[41mRed"


42
Green

echo -e "Default \e[42mGreen"


43
Yellow

echo -e "Default \e[43mYellow"


44
Blue

echo -e "Default \e[44mBlue"


45
Magenta

echo -e "Default \e[45mMagenta"


46
Cyan

echo -e "Default \e[46mCyan"


47
Light gray

echo -e "Default \e[47mLight gray"


100
Dark gray

echo -e "Default \e[100mDark gray"


101
Light red

echo -e "Default \e[101mLight red"


102
Light green

echo -e "Default \e[102mLight green"


103
Light yellow

echo -e "Default \e[103mLight yellow"


104
Light blue

echo -e "Default \e[104mLight blue"


105
Light magenta

echo -e "Default \e[105mLight magenta"


106
Light cyan

echo -e "Default \e[106mLight cyan"


107
White

echo -e "Default \e[107mWhite"


88/256 Colors


Some terminals (see the compatibility list) can support 88 or 256 colors. Here are the control sequences that permit you to use them.
NOTE¹: The colors number 256 is only supported by vte (GNOME Terminal, XFCE4 Terminal, Nautilus Terminal, Terminator,…).
NOTE²: The 88-colors terminals (like rxvt) does not have the same color map that the 256-colors terminals. For showing the 88-colors terminals color map, run the “256-colors.sh” script in a 88-colors terminal.

Foreground (text)


For using one of the 256 colors on the foreground (text color), the control sequence is “<Esc>[38;5;ColorNumberm” where ColorNumber is one of the following colors:
")
Examples:


Code (Bash)
Preview


echo -e "\e[38;5;82mHello \e[38;5;198mWorld"


for i in {16..21} {21..16} ; do echo -en "\e[38;5;${i}m#\e[0m" ; done ; echo


Background


For using one of the 256 colors on the background, the control sequence is “<Esc>[48;5;ColorNumberm” where ColorNumber is one of the following colors:
")
Examples:


Code (Bash)
Preview


echo -e "\e[40;38;5;82m Hello \e[30;48;5;82m World \e[0m"


for i in {16..21} {21..16} ; do echo -en "\e[48;5;${i}m \e[0m" ; done ; echo


Attributes combination


Terminals allow attribute combinations. The attributes must be separated by a semicolon (“;”).
Examples:


Description
Code (Bash)
Preview


Bold + Underlined

echo -e "\e[1;4mBold and Underlined"


Bold + Red forground + Green background

echo -e "\e[1;31;42m Yes it is awful \e[0m"


Terminals compatibility


Terminal
Formatting
Colors
Comment


Bold
Dim
Underlined
Blink
invert
Hidden
8
16
88
256


[aTerm](http://www.afterstep.org/aterm.php "http://www.afterstep.org/aterm.php")
ok
-
ok
-
ok
-
ok
~
-
-
Lighter background instead of blink.


[Eterm](http://www.eterm.org/ "http://www.eterm.org/")
~
-
ok
-
ok
-
ok
~
-
ok
Lighter color instead of Bold. Lighter background instead of blink. Can overline a text with the “`^[``[6m`” sequence.


[GNOME Terminal](http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-terminal/ "http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-terminal/")
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.


[Guake](http://guake.org/ "http://guake.org/")
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.


[Konsole](http://konsole.kde.org/ "http://konsole.kde.org/")
ok
-
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
ok
-
ok
 

[Nautilus Terminal](https://github.com/flozz/nautilus-terminal "https://github.com/flozz/nautilus-terminal")
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.


[rxvt](http://rxvt.sourceforge.net/ "http://rxvt.sourceforge.net/")
ok
-
ok
~
ok
-
ok
ok
ok
-
If the background is not set to the default color, Blink make it lighter instead of blinking. Support of italic text with the “`^[``[3m`” sequence.


[Terminator](http://www.tenshu.net/terminator/ "http://www.tenshu.net/terminator/")
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.


[Tilda](http://tilda.sourceforge.net/tildaabout.php "http://tilda.sourceforge.net/tildaabout.php")
ok
-
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
ok
-
-
Underline instead of Dim. Convert 256-colors in 16-colors.


[XFCE4 Terminal](http://www.xfce.org/projects/terminal "http://www.xfce.org/projects/terminal")
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.


[XTerm](http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.html "http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.html")
ok
-
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
 

xvt
ok
-
ok
-
ok
-
-
-
-
-
 

Linux TTY
ok
-
-
-
ok
-
ok
~
-
-
Specials colors instead of Dim and Underlined. Lighter background instead of Blink, Bug with 88/256 colors.


[VTE Terminal](http://developer.gnome.org/vte/ "http://developer.gnome.org/vte/") ^{[3)](https://misc.flogisoft.com/bash/tip_colors_and_formatting#fn__3)}
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
-
ok
Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.


Notations used in the table:


“`ok`”: Supported by the terminal.


“`~`”: Supported in a special way by the terminal.


“`-`”: Not supported at all by the terminal.


Demonstration programs

Colors and formatting (16 colors)


The following shell script displays a lot of possible combination of the attributes (but not all, because it uses only one formatting attribute at a time).

[colors_and_formatting.sh](https://misc.flogisoft.com/_export/code/bash/tip_colors_and_formatting?codeblock=55 "Download Snippet")

#!/bin/bash

# This program is free software. It comes without any warranty, to
# the extent permitted by applicable law. You can redistribute it
# and/or modify it under the terms of the Do What The Fuck You Want
# To Public License, Version 2, as published by Sam Hocevar. See
# [http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/COPYING](http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/COPYING) for more details.

#Background
for clbg in {40..47} {100..107} 49 ; do
    #Foreground
    for clfg in {30..37} {90..97} 39 ; do
        #Formatting
        for attr in 0 1 2 4 5 7 ; do
            #Print the result
            echo -en "\e[${attr};${clbg};${clfg}m ^[${attr};${clbg};${clfg}m \e[0m"
        done
        echo #Newline
    done
done

exit 0


256 colors


The following script display the 256 colors available on some terminals and terminals emulators like XTerm and GNOME Terminal.

[256-colors.sh](https://misc.flogisoft.com/_export/code/bash/tip_colors_and_formatting?codeblock=56 "Download Snippet")

#!/bin/bash

# This program is free software. It comes without any warranty, to
# the extent permitted by applicable law. You can redistribute it
# and/or modify it under the terms of the Do What The Fuck You Want
# To Public License, Version 2, as published by Sam Hocevar. See
# [http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/COPYING](http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/COPYING) for more details.

for fgbg in 38 48 ; do # Foreground / Background
    for color in {0..255} ; do # Colors
        # Display the color
        printf "\e[${fgbg};5;%sm  %3s  \e[0m" $color $color
        # Display 6 colors per lines
        if [ $((($color + 1) % 6)) == 4 ] ; then
            echo # New line
        fi
    done
    echo # New line
done

exit 0


Links
Code (Bash)	Preview
echo -e "\e[31mHello World\e[0m"
echo -e "\033[31mHello\e[0m World"
Code	Description	Example
1	Bold/Bright	echo -e "Normal \e[1mBold"
2	Dim	echo -e "Normal \e[2mDim"
4	Underlined	echo -e "Normal \e[4mUnderlined"
5	Blink ¹⁾	echo -e "Normal \e[5mBlink"
7	Reverse (invert the foreground and background colors)	echo -e "Normal \e[7minverted"
8	Hidden (useful for passwords)	echo -e "Normal \e[8mHidden"
Code	Description	Example
0	Reset all attributes	echo -e "\e[0mNormal Text"
21	Reset bold/bright	echo -e "Normal \e[1mBold \e[21mNormal"
22	Reset dim	echo -e "Normal \e[2mDim \e[22mNormal"
24	Reset underlined	echo -e "Normal \e[4mUnderlined \e[24mNormal"
25	Reset blink	echo -e "Normal \e[5mBlink \e[25mNormal"
27	Reset reverse	echo -e "Normal \e[7minverted \e[27mNormal"
28	Reset hidden	echo -e "Normal \e[8mHidden \e[28mNormal"
Code	Color	Example
39	Default foreground color	echo -e "Default \e[39mDefault"
30	Black	echo -e "Default \e[30mBlack"
31	Red	echo -e "Default \e[31mRed"
32	Green	echo -e "Default \e[32mGreen"
33	Yellow	echo -e "Default \e[33mYellow"
34	Blue	echo -e "Default \e[34mBlue"
35	Magenta	echo -e "Default \e[35mMagenta"
36	Cyan	echo -e "Default \e[36mCyan"
37	Light gray	echo -e "Default \e[37mLight gray"
90	Dark gray	echo -e "Default \e[90mDark gray"
91	Light red	echo -e "Default \e[91mLight red"
92	Light green	echo -e "Default \e[92mLight green"
93	Light yellow	echo -e "Default \e[93mLight yellow"
94	Light blue	echo -e "Default \e[94mLight blue"
95	Light magenta	echo -e "Default \e[95mLight magenta"
96	Light cyan	echo -e "Default \e[96mLight cyan"
97	White	echo -e "Default \e[97mWhite"
Code	Color	Example
49	Default background color	echo -e "Default \e[49mDefault"
40	Black	echo -e "Default \e[40mBlack"
41	Red	echo -e "Default \e[41mRed"
42	Green	echo -e "Default \e[42mGreen"
43	Yellow	echo -e "Default \e[43mYellow"
44	Blue	echo -e "Default \e[44mBlue"
45	Magenta	echo -e "Default \e[45mMagenta"
46	Cyan	echo -e "Default \e[46mCyan"
47	Light gray	echo -e "Default \e[47mLight gray"
100	Dark gray	echo -e "Default \e[100mDark gray"
101	Light red	echo -e "Default \e[101mLight red"
102	Light green	echo -e "Default \e[102mLight green"
103	Light yellow	echo -e "Default \e[103mLight yellow"
104	Light blue	echo -e "Default \e[104mLight blue"
105	Light magenta	echo -e "Default \e[105mLight magenta"
106	Light cyan	echo -e "Default \e[106mLight cyan"
107	White	echo -e "Default \e[107mWhite"
Code (Bash)	Preview
echo -e "\e[38;5;82mHello \e[38;5;198mWorld"
for i in {16..21} {21..16} ; do echo -en "\e[38;5;${i}m#\e[0m" ; done ; echo
Code (Bash)	Preview
echo -e "\e[40;38;5;82m Hello \e[30;48;5;82m World \e[0m"
for i in {16..21} {21..16} ; do echo -en "\e[48;5;${i}m \e[0m" ; done ; echo
Description	Code (Bash)	Preview
Bold + Underlined	echo -e "\e[1;4mBold and Underlined"
Bold + Red forground + Green background	echo -e "\e[1;31;42m Yes it is awful \e[0m"
Terminal	Formatting						Colors				Comment
Terminal	Bold	Dim	Underlined	Blink	invert	Hidden	8	16	88	256	Comment
[aTerm](http://www.afterstep.org/aterm.php "http://www.afterstep.org/aterm.php")	ok	-	ok	-	ok	-	ok	~	-	-	Lighter background instead of blink.
[Eterm](http://www.eterm.org/ "http://www.eterm.org/")	~	-	ok	-	ok	-	ok	~	-	ok	Lighter color instead of Bold. Lighter background instead of blink. Can overline a text with the “`^[``[6m`” sequence.
[GNOME Terminal](http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-terminal/ "http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-terminal/")	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.
[Guake](http://guake.org/ "http://guake.org/")	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.
[Konsole](http://konsole.kde.org/ "http://konsole.kde.org/")	ok	-	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	ok	-	ok
[Nautilus Terminal](https://github.com/flozz/nautilus-terminal "https://github.com/flozz/nautilus-terminal")	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.
[rxvt](http://rxvt.sourceforge.net/ "http://rxvt.sourceforge.net/")	ok	-	ok	~	ok	-	ok	ok	ok	-	If the background is not set to the default color, Blink make it lighter instead of blinking. Support of italic text with the “`^[``[3m`” sequence.
[Terminator](http://www.tenshu.net/terminator/ "http://www.tenshu.net/terminator/")	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.
[Tilda](http://tilda.sourceforge.net/tildaabout.php "http://tilda.sourceforge.net/tildaabout.php")	ok	-	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	ok	-	-	Underline instead of Dim. Convert 256-colors in 16-colors.
[XFCE4 Terminal](http://www.xfce.org/projects/terminal "http://www.xfce.org/projects/terminal")	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.
[XTerm](http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.html "http://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.html")	ok	-	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	-	ok
xvt	ok	-	ok	-	ok	-	-	-	-	-
Linux TTY	ok	-	-	-	ok	-	ok	~	-	-	Specials colors instead of Dim and Underlined. Lighter background instead of Blink, Bug with 88/256 colors.
[VTE Terminal](http://developer.gnome.org/vte/ "http://developer.gnome.org/vte/") ^{[3)](https://misc.flogisoft.com/bash/tip_colors_and_formatting#fn__3)}	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	-	ok	Strikeout with the “`^[``[9m`” sequence.