Colorix

Colorix provides a simple way to define and layer color presets, and helps you recognize and track ANSI escape sequences in your code. Each module uses template literals (and a bit of magic 🪄) to construct a type representation of the color sequences applied to your strings.

import cx from 'colorix'

const goblinInk = cx('bgGreen', 'black', 'bold')
console.log(goblinInk('hello goblin', '!'))

With TypeScript, always know when a string has hidden characters

declare const goblinMessage: Colorix<['bgGreen', 'black', 'bold'], ['hello goblin', '!']>
// => `\u001B[42;30;1mhello goblin!\u001B[0m`

This is useful with primitive strings as well

declare const goblinMessage: Colorix<['bgGreen', 'black', 'bold'], [string, ...string[]]>
// => `\u001B[42;30;1m${string}\u001B[0m`

How it works

// create a theme by passing colors to the first function.
declare const cx: <Colors extends Color[]>(
  ...colors: Colors
) => // then pass stringifiable values to the second function to colorize them.
<Strings extends Stringifiable[]>(
  ...strings: Strings
) => // the returned value is an ansified string.
Colorix<Colors, Strings>

Installation

Add colorix to your project using your favorite package manager.

NPM

npm install colorix

PNPM

pnpm add colorix

Yarn

yarn add colorix

How to support terminals without color

safe, colorixSafe, cxs

You can use safe to check if the terminal supports color before applying a preset.

import cx, { safe } from 'colorix'
const errorInk = cx('bold', 'red')

console.log(errorInk('That tasted purple...'))
// "\u001B[mThat tasted purple...\u001B[0m"

console.log(safe(errorInk)('That tasted purple...'))
// "That tasted purple..." | "\u001B[mThat tasted purple...\u001B[0m"

Alternatively, use colorixSafe / cxs for an Ink preset that only applies colors if the terminal supports it.

import { cxs, colorixSafe } from 'colorix'

const safeErrorInk = cxs('bold', 'red') // or colorixSafe('bold', 'red')
console.log(safeErrorInk('That tasted purple...'))

Bonus Features

ColorixError

Fun way to colorize error messages without worrying about the terminal supporting color, or importing colorix / cx / safe into many files.

import { ColorixError } from 'colorix'

const BasicError = new ColorixError(
  'simple message that is always safe to display'
)
const PrettyError = new ColorixError((cx) =>
  cx(
    'white',
    'bgBlue',
    'dim',
    'bold'
  )(
    'Pretty Message',
    cx('reset')(' '),
    cx('underline', 'green')(
      'npmjs.com/package/colorix',
      cx('reset', 'italic')(' '),
      '(this message will always be stripped of color if supportsColor is false)'
    )
  )
)

throw PrettyError

PrettyError

For an "out-of-the-box" solution, use PrettyError. It provides the same naming and fallback message behavior as Colorix without an api for customizing the rest of the error.

import { PrettyError } from 'colorix'

const IOError = PrettyError('IOError', 'An unknown IO error occurred.')

try {
  throw new IOError()
} catch (err) {
  console.log(err)
}

try {
  throw new IOError('Illegal write operation.', 'more info...')
} catch (err) {
  console.log(err)
}

Exports

default, colorix, cx

Colorix	Description
default / cx / colorix	Create presets for colorizing Stringifiable values.
cxs / colorixSafe	Create presets for colorizing when the terminal supports it Stringifiable.
safe	Call a colorix preset safely safe(cx( ...colors )).
ColorixError	Create child Error classes with colorized messages.

Constants

Name	Description
CSI	control sequence introducer ("\x1b[")
SGRT	select graphic rendition terminator ("m")
FOREGROUND	readonly foreground lookup object
BACKGROUND	readonly background lookup object
MODIFIER	readonly modifier lookup object
COLORS	readonly color lookup object (foreground, background, and modifiers)
hasBasicColors	boolean indicating if the terminal supports basic colors
has256Colors	boolean indicating if the terminal supports 256 colors
has16mColors	boolean indicating if the terminal supports 16 million colors
supportsColor	boolean indicating if the terminal supports any color

Types

Generic	Description
Colorix	utility for creating literals wrapped in ANSI sequences
ColorSequence	utility for creating literal ANSI sequences

Alias	Description
ResetSequence	literal reset sequence that is always appended to the end of a color sequence
ColorTable	readonly record of color aliases and color codes
Color	a foreground, background, or modifier color (keyof ColorTable)
ColorCode	an SGR color code
Foreground	a foreground color
Background	a background color
Modifier	a modifier color

Color Tables

Foreground	Code	Foreground Bright	Code
"black"	30	"gray"	90
"red"	31	"redBright"	91
"green"	32	"greenBright"	92
"yellow"	33	"yellowBright"	93
"blue"	34	"blueBright"	94
"magenta"	35	"magentaBright"	95
"cyan"	36	"cyanBright"	96
"white"	37	"whiteBright"	97

Background	Code	Background Bright	Code
"bgBlack"	40	"bgGray"	100
"bgRed"	41	"bgRedBright"	101
"bgGreen"	42	"bgGreenBright"	102
"bgYellow"	43	"bgYellowBright"	103
"bgBlue"	44	"bgBlueBright"	104
"bgMagenta"	45	"bgMagentaBright"	105
"bgCyan"	46	"bgCyanBright"	106
"bgWhite"	47	"bgWhiteBright"	107

Modifier	Code
"reset"	0
"bold"	1
"dim"	2
"italic"	3
"underline"	4
"inverse"	7
"hidden"	8
"strikethrough"	9