pytermor 1.6.0

ANSI formatted terminal output library

pytermor

(yet another) Python library designed for formatting terminal output using ANSI escape codes. Implements automatic "soft" format termination. Provides a registry of ready-to-use SGR sequences and formats (=combined sequences).

Motivation

Key feature of this library is providing necessary abstractions for building complex text sections with lots of formatting, while keeping the application code clear and readable.

Installation

pip install pytermor

Use cases

Format is a combination of two control sequences; it wraps specified string with pre-defined leading and trailing SGR definitions.

from pytermor import fmt

print(fmt.blue('Use'), fmt.cyan('cases'))

Examples (click)

*

Preset formats can safely overlap with each other (as long as they require different breaker sequences to reset).

from pytermor import fmt

print(fmt.blue(fmt.underlined('Nested') + fmt.bold(' formats')))

*

Compose text formats with automatic content-aware format termination.

from pytermor import autof

fmt1 = autof('hi_cyan', 'bold')
fmt2 = autof('bg_black', 'inversed', 'underlined', 'italic')

msg = fmt1(f'Content{fmt2("-aware format")} nesting')
print(msg)

*

Create your own SGR sequences with build() method, which accepts color/attribute keys, integer codes and even existing SGRs, in any amount and in any order. Key resolving is case-insensitive.

from pytermor import seq, build

seq1 = build('red', 1)  # keys or integer codes
seq2 = build(seq1, seq.ITALIC)  # existing SGRs as part of a new one
seq3 = build('underlined', 'YELLOW')  # case-insensitive

msg = f'{seq1}Flexible{seq.RESET} ' + \
      f'{seq2}sequence{seq.RESET} ' + \
      str(seq3) + 'builder' + str(seq.RESET)
print(msg)

*

Use build_c256() to set foreground/background color to any of ↗ xterm-256 colors.

from pytermor import build_c256, seq, autof

txt = '256 colors support'
start_color = 41
msg = ''
for idx, c in enumerate(range(start_color, start_color+(36*6), 36)):
    msg += f'{build_c256(c)}{txt[idx*3:(idx+1)*3]}{seq.COLOR_OFF}'

print(autof(seq.BOLD).wrap(msg))

*

It's also possible to use 16M-color mode (or True color) — with build_rgb() wrapper method.

from pytermor import build_rgb, seq, fmt

txt = 'True color support'
msg = ''
for idx, c in enumerate(range(0, 256, 256//18)):
    r = max(0, 255-c)
    g = max(0, min(255, 127-(c*2)))
    b = c
    msg += f'{build_rgb(r, g, b)}{txt[idx:(idx+1)]}{seq.COLOR_OFF}'

print(fmt.bold(msg))

Format soft reset

There are two ways to manage color and attribute termination:

• hard reset (SGR 0 | \e[0m)
• soft reset (SGR 22, 23, 24 etc.)

The main difference between them is that hard reset disables all formatting after itself, while soft reset disables only actually necessary attributes (i.e. used as opening sequence in Format instance's context) and keeps the other.

That's what Format class and autof method are designed for: to simplify creation of soft-resetting text spans, so that developer doesn't have to restore all previously applied formats after every closing sequence.

Example: we are given a text span which is initially bold and underlined. We want to recolor a few words inside of this span. By default this will result in losing all the formatting to the right of updated text span (because RESET|\e[0m clears all text attributes).

However, there is an option to specify what attributes should be disabled or let the library do that for you:

from pytermor import seq, fmt, autof, Format

# automatically:
fmt_warn = autof(seq.HI_YELLOW + seq.UNDERLINED)
# or manually:
fmt_warn = Format(
    seq.HI_YELLOW + seq.UNDERLINED,  # sequences can be summed up, remember?
    seq.COLOR_OFF + seq.UNDERLINED_OFF,  # "counteractive" sequences
    hard_reset_after=False
)

orig_text = fmt.bold(f'this is {seq.BG_GRAY}the original{seq.RESET} string')
updated_text = orig_text.replace('original', fmt_warn('updated'), 1)
print(orig_text, '\n', updated_text)

As you can see, the update went well — we kept all the previously applied formatting. Of course, this method cannot be 100% applicable — for example, imagine that original text was colored blue. After the update "string" word won't be blue anymore, as we used COLOR_OFF escape sequence to neutralize our own yellow color. But it still can be helpful for a majority of cases (especially when text is generated and formatted by the same program and in one go).

API: module

autof

Signature: autof(*params str|int|SequenceSGR) -> Format

Create new Format with specified control sequence(s) as a opening/starter sequence and automatically compose closing sequence that will terminate attributes defined in opening sequence while keeping the others (soft reset).

Resulting sequence params' order is the same as argument's order.

Each sequence param can be specified as:

• string key (see API: Registries)
• integer param value
• existing SequenceSGR instance (params will be extracted)

build

Signature: build(*params str|int|SequenceSGR) -> SequenceSGR

Create new SequenceSGR with specified params. Resulting sequence params order is the same as argument order. Parameter specification is the same as for autof.

SequenceSGR with zero params was specifically implemented to translate into empty string and not into \e[m, which wolud make sense, but also would be very entangling, as it's equivavlent of \e[0m — hard reset sequence.

build_c256

Signature:build_c256(color: int, bg: bool = False) -> SequenceSGR

Create new SequenceSGR that sets foreground color or background color, depending on bg value, in 256-color mode. Valid values for color are [0; 255], see more at ↗ xterm-256 colors page.

build_rgb

Signature:build_rgb(r: int, g: int, b: int, bg: bool = False) -> SequenceSGR

Create new SequenceSGR that sets foreground color or background color, depending on bg value, in 16M-color mode. Valid values for r, g and b are [0; 255]; this range is linearly translated into [0x00; 0xFF] for each channel; the result value is composed as #RRGGBB.

API: SGR sequences

Class representing SGR-mode ANSI escape sequence with varying amount of parameters.

Details (click)

Creating the sequence

You can use any of predefined sequences from pytermor.seq or create your own via standard constructor (see below). Valid argument values as well as preset constants are described in API: Registries section.

Applying the sequence

To get the resulting sequence chars use print() method or cast instance to str:

from pytermor import SequenceSGR

seq = SequenceSGR(4, 7)
msg = f'({seq})'
print(msg + f'{SequenceSGR(0).print()}', str(msg.encode()), msg.encode().hex(':'))

1st part is "applied" escape sequence; 2nd part shows up a sequence in raw mode, as if it was ignored by the terminal; 3rd part is hexademical sequence byte values.

SGR sequence structure (click)

1. \x1b|1b is ESC control character, which opens a control sequence.

2. [ is sequence introducer, it determines the type of control sequence (in this case it's CSI, or "Control Sequence Introducer").

3. 4 and 7 are parameters of the escape sequence; they mean "underlined" and "inversed" attributes respectively. Those parameters must be separated by ;.

4. m is sequence terminator; it also determines the sub-type of sequence, in our case SGR, or "Select Graphic Rendition". Sequences of this kind are most commonly encountered.

Combining SGRs

One instance of SequenceSGR can be added to another. This will result in a new SequenceSGR with combined params.

from pytermor import seq, SequenceSGR

combined = SequenceSGR(1, 31) + SequenceSGR(4)
print(f'{combined}combined{seq.RESET}', str(combined).encode())

API: Formats

Format is a wrapper class that contains starting (i.e. opening) SequenceSGR and (optionally) closing SequenceSGR.

Details (click)

Creating the format

You can define your own reusable Formats (see below) or import predefined ones from pytermor.fmt (see API: Registries section).

Applying the format

Use wrap() method of Format instance or call the instance itself to enclose specified string in starting/terminating SGR sequences:

from pytermor import seq, fmt, Format

fmt_error = Format(seq.BG_HI_RED + seq.UNDERLINED, seq.BG_COLOR_OFF + seq.UNDERLINED_OFF)
msg = fmt.italic.wrap('italic might ' + fmt_error('not') + ' work')
print(msg)

API: String filters

StringFilter is common string modifier interface with dynamic configuration support.

Details (click)

Implementations

• ReplaceSGR
• ReplaceCSI
• ReplaceNonAsciiBytes

Standalone usage

Can be applied using .apply() method or with direct call.

from pytermor import fmt, ReplaceSGR

formatted = fmt.red('this text is red')
replaced = ReplaceSGR('[LIE]').apply(formatted)
# replaced = ReplaceSequenceSGRs('[LIE]')(formatted)

print(formatted, '\n', replaced)

Usage with helper

Helper function apply_filters accepts both StringFilter implementation instances and types, but latter is not configurable and will be invoked using default settings.

from pytermor import apply_filters, ReplaceNonAsciiBytes

ascii_and_binary = b'\xc0\xff\xeeQWE\xffRT\xeb\x00\xc0\xcd\xed'
result = apply_filters(ascii_and_binary, ReplaceNonAsciiBytes)
print(ascii_and_binary, '\n', result)

API: Registries

Sequences (click)

• code — SGR integer code(s) for specified sequence (order is important)
• name — variable name; usage: from pytermor.seq import RESET
• key — string that will be recognised by build()|autof() etc.
• description — effect of applying the sequence / additional notes

As a rule of a thumb, key equals to name in lower case.

code	name	key	description
0	RESET	reset	Reset all attributes and colors
attributes
1	BOLD	bold	Bold or increased intensity
2	DIM	dim	Faint, decreased intensity
3	ITALIC	italic	Italic; not widely supported
4	UNDERLINED	underlined	Underline
5	BLINK_SLOW	blink_slow	Sets blinking to < 150 cpm
6	BLINK_FAST	blink_fast	150+ cpm; not widely supported
7	INVERSED	inversed	Swap foreground and background colors
8	HIDDEN	hidden	Conceal characters; not widely supported
9	CROSSLINED	crosslined	Strikethrough
21	DOUBLE_UNDERLINED	double_underlined	Double-underline; on several terminals disables BOLD instead
53	OVERLINED	overlined	Not widely supported
breakers
22	BOLD_DIM_OFF	bold_dim_off	Disable BOLD and DIM attributes. Special aspects... It's impossible to reliably disable them on a separate basis.
23	ITALIC_OFF	italic_off	Disable italic
24	UNDERLINED_OFF	underlined_off	Disable underlining
25	BLINK_OFF	blink_off	Disable blinking
27	INVERSED_OFF	inversed_off	Disable inversing
28	HIDDEN_OFF	hidden_off	Disable conecaling
29	CROSSLINED_OFF	crosslined_off	Disable strikethrough
39	COLOR_OFF	color_off	Reset foreground color
49	BG_COLOR_OFF	bg_color_off	Reset bg color
55	OVERLINED_OFF	overlined_off	Disable overlining
[foreground] colors
30	BLACK	black	Set foreground color to black
31	RED	red	Set foreground color to red
32	GREEN	green	Set foreground color to green
33	YELLOW	yellow	Set foreground color to yellow
34	BLUE	blue	Set foreground color to blue
35	MAGENTA	magenta	Set foreground color to magneta
36	CYAN	cyan	Set foreground color to cyan
37	WHITE	white	Set foreground color to white
38;5	Use color_c256() instead		Set foreground color [256 mode]
38;2	Use color_rgb() instead		Set foreground color [16M mode]
background colors
40	BG_BLACK	bg_black	Set background color to black
41	BG_RED	bg_red	Set background color to red
42	BG_GREEN	bg_green	Set background color to green
43	BG_YELLOW	bg_yellow	Set background color to yellow
44	BG_BLUE	bg_blue	Set background color to blue
45	BG_MAGENTA	bg_magenta	Set background color to magenta
46	BG_CYAN	bg_cyan	Set background color to cyan
47	BG_WHITE	bg_white	Set background color to white
48;5	Use color_c256() instead		Set background color [256 mode]
48;2	Use color_rgb() instead		Set background color [16M mode]
high-intensity [foreground] colors
90	GRAY	gray	Set foreground color to bright black/gray
91	HI_RED	hi_red	Set foreground color to bright red
92	HI_GREEN	hi_green	Set foreground color to bright green
93	HI_YELLOW	hi_yellow	Set foreground color to bright yellow
94	HI_BLUE	hi_blue	Set foreground color to bright blue
95	HI_MAGENTA	hi_magenta	Set foreground color to bright magenta
96	HI_CYAN	hi_cyan	Set foreground color to bright cyan
97	HI_WHITE	hi_white	Set foreground color to bright white
high-intensity background colors
100	BG_GRAY	bg_gray	Set background color to bright black/gray
101	BG_HI_RED	bg_hi_red	Set background color to bright red
102	BG_HI_GREEN	bg_hi_green	Set background color to bright green
103	BG_HI_YELLOW	bg_hi_yellow	Set background color to bright yellow
104	BG_HI_BLUE	bg_hi_blue	Set background color to bright blue
105	BG_HI_MAGENTA	bg_hi_magenta	Set background color to bright magenta
106	BG_HI_CYAN	bg_hi_cyan	Set background color to bright cyan
107	BG_HI_WHITE	bg_hi_white	Set background color to bright white

Formats (click)

• name — variable name; usage: from pytermor.fmt import bold
• opening seq, closing seq — corresponding SGRs

As a rule of a thumb, name equals to opening seq in lower case.

name	opening seq	closing seq
attributes
bold	BOLD	BOLD_DIM_OFF
dim	DIM	BOLD_DIM_OFF
italic	ITALIC	ITALIC_OFF
underlined	UNDERLINED	UNDERLINED_OFF
inversed	INVERSED	INVERSED_OFF
overlined	OVERLINED	OVERLINED_OFF
[foreground] colors
red	RED	COLOR_OFF
green	GREEN	COLOR_OFF
yellow	YELLOW	COLOR_OFF
blue	BLUE	COLOR_OFF
magenta	MAGENTA	COLOR_OFF
cyan	CYAN	COLOR_OFF
gray	GRAY	COLOR_OFF
background colors
bg_red	BG_RED	BG_COLOR_OFF
bg_green	BG_GREEN	BG_COLOR_OFF
bg_yellow	BG_YELLOW	BG_COLOR_OFF
bg_blue	BG_BLUE	BG_COLOR_OFF
bg_magenta	BG_MAGENTA	BG_COLOR_OFF
bg_cyan	BG_CYAN	BG_COLOR_OFF
bg_gray	BG_GRAY	BG_COLOR_OFF

You can of course create your own sequences and formats, but with one limitation — autoformatting will not work with custom defined sequences; unless you add the corresponding rule to pytermor.registry.sgr_parity_registry.

Changelog

v1.6.0

• Ridded of EmptyFormat and AbstractFormat classes.
• Renamed code module to sgr because of conflicts in PyCharm debugger (pydevd_console_integration.py).

v1.5.0

• Removed excessive EmptySequenceSGR — default SGR class without params was specifically implemented to print out as empty string instead of \e[m.

v1.4.0

• Format.wrap() now accepts any type of argument, not only str.
• Rebuilt Sequence inheritance tree.
• Added equality methods for Sequence and Format classes/subclasses.
• Added some tests for fmt.* and seq.* classes.

v1.3.2

• Added gray and bg_gray format presets.

v1.3.1

• Interface revisioning.

v1.2.1

• opening_seq and closing_seq properties for Format class.

v1.2.0

• EmptySequenceSGR and EmptyFormat classes.

v1.1.0

• Autoformat feature.

v1.0.0

• First public version.

References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code
• ANSI Escape Sequences