How do I print colored text to the terminal in Python?

Printing colored text in Python can be done using ANSI escape codes, libraries like Colorama or termcolor, or advanced tools like Rich. Below is a detailed guide with examples for each method:

1. ANSI Escape Codes (Manual Method)

ANSI codes are universal for most terminals (Linux/macOS/Windows 10+). They use escape sequences to style text.

Syntax

\033[<STYLE>;<COLOR>;<BACKGROUND>mTEXT\033[0m

• \033[: Start of the escape sequence.
• <STYLE>: Text style (e.g., bold, underline).
• <COLOR>: Text color (30-37, 90-97).
• <BACKGROUND>: Background color (40-47, 100-107).
• m: End of the escape sequence.
• \033[0m: Reset all styles.

Color Codes

Type	Codes	Examples
Text	30-37, 90-97	31 = Red
Background	40-47, 100-107	42 = Green
Styles	0 (reset), 1 (bold), 4 (underline), 7 (invert)

Examples

# Red text
print("\033[31mThis is red text\033[0m")

# Bold yellow text
print("\033[1;33mBold yellow text\033[0m")

# Blue text on a white background
print("\033[34;107mBlue on white\033[0m")

# Underlined bright cyan (90-97 for bright colors)
print("\033[4;96mUnderlined bright cyan\033[0m")

# Combine styles: bold + underline + magenta text + cyan background
print("\033[1;4;35;46mBold, underlined magenta on cyan\033[0m")

2. Colorama (Cross-Platform Solution)

Colorama simplifies ANSI codes and ensures compatibility with Windows.

Installation

pip install colorama

Usage

from colorama import Fore, Back, Style, init

# Initialize for Windows (automatically strips ANSI on non-supported terminals)
init(autoreset=True)  # Auto-reset styles after each print

print(Fore.RED + "Red text")
print(Back.GREEN + "Green background")
print(Fore.YELLOW + Back.BLUE + "Yellow on blue")
print(Style.BRIGHT + Fore.CYAN + "Bright cyan text")
print(Style.DIM + "Dim text")  # Less common style

Key Features:

• autoreset=True: Automatically reset styles after each print.
• Fore: Text colors (e.g., Fore.RED).
• Back: Background colors (e.g., Back.GREEN).
• Style: Text styles (e.g., Style.BRIGHT).

3. termcolor (Simpler Syntax)

The termcolor library provides a user-friendly API.

Installation

pip install termcolor

Usage

from termcolor import colored, cprint

# Basic colored text
print(colored("Hello World!", "red"))

# Text with background and attributes
print(colored("Warning!", "yellow", "on_red", ["bold", "underline"]))

# Direct print using cprint
cprint("This is cyan", "cyan")
cprint("Bold magenta underline", "magenta", attrs=["bold", "underline"])

# List all supported colors and attributes
print(termcolor.COLORS)      # Shows all text colors
print(termcolor.HIGHLIGHTS)  # Shows all background colors
print(termcolor.ATTRIBUTES)  # Shows all styles (bold, underline, etc.)

Supported Options

• Colors: grey, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white.
• Backgrounds: Prefix on_ (e.g., on_blue).
• Attributes: bold, dark, underline, blink, reverse, concealed.

4. Advanced: Rich Library

For complex terminal styling (tables, progress bars, etc.), use Rich.

Installation

pip install rich

Usage

from rich.console import Console

console = Console()

# Basic colored text
console.print("This is [bold red]bold red[/] text")

# Combine styles
console.print("This is [underline green on yellow]styled text[/]")

# RGB/Hex colors (if terminal supports it)
console.print("[#FF00FF]Magenta text[/]")
console.print("[rgb(255,165,0)]Orange text[/]")

5. Practical Examples

Error/Warning Messages

# Using ANSI codes
print("\033[1;31m[ERROR]\033[0m File not found!")

# Using termcolor
from termcolor import colored
print(colored("[WARNING]", "yellow", attrs=["bold"]) + " Low disk space")

# Using Colorama
from colorama import Fore, Style
print(f"{Fore.RED}{Style.BRIGHT}[CRITICAL]{Style.RESET_ALL} System overheating")

Colorize Logs

import logging
from colorama import Fore, Style

logging.basicConfig(
    format=f"{Fore.GREEN}%(asctime)s{Style.RESET_ALL} {Fore.BLUE}%(levelname)s{Style.RESET_ALL}: %(message)s",
    level=logging.INFO
)

logging.info("This is an info message")
logging.warning("This is a warning message")

Notes

1. Windows Compatibility: Use colorama.init() for ANSI support on older Windows versions.
2. Terminal Support: Not all terminals support ANSI codes (e.g., basic Windows Command Prompt).
3. Reset Styles: Always reset styles with \033[0m or Style.RESET_ALL to avoid unintended formatting.

Choose the method that fits your use case:

• Quick Scripts: ANSI codes or termcolor.
• Cross-Platform Apps: Colorama.
• Complex UIs: Rich.