textstyle

Simple, powerful, cross-platform terminal text styling for Python

textstyle is a lightweight Python library that makes terminal text styling effortless. With support for colors, backgrounds, text styles, and an intuitive markup format, you can create beautiful CLI applications with just a few lines of code.

✨ Features

• Rich Color Support - Named colors, hex codes (#FF5733), and RGB tuples
• Text Styling - Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, and more
• Markup Format - Intuitive XML-style tags for easy formatting
• Theme System - Built-in themes (dark/light) and custom themes
• Utility Functions - Strip tags, clean ANSI codes, measure visible length
• Cross-Platform - Works seamlessly on Linux, macOS, and Windows
• NO_COLOR Support - Respects NO_COLOR and FORCE_COLOR environment variables
• Zero Dependencies - Pure Python, no external packages required
• Composable - Mix and match styles, nest tags, create reusable components

📦 Installation

pip install textstyle

Or install from source:

git clone https://github.com/crystallinecore/textstyle.git
cd textstyle
pip install -e .

🚀 Quick Start

import textstyle as ts

# Basic styling
print(ts.style("Error", color="red", look="bold"))
print(ts.style("Success", color="green", look="bold"))

# Markup format
print(ts.format("This is <red>red</red> and <bold>bold</bold>!"))

# Hex colors
print(ts.style("Custom", color="#FF5733", look="bold"))

# Create custom styles
ts.create("error", color="red", look="bold")
print(ts.format("An <error>error</error> occurred!"))

# Use themes
ts.set_theme("dark")
print(ts.format("<error>Error:</error> Connection failed"))

📖 Documentation

Basic Usage

style(text, color=None, bg=None, look=None)

Apply styling to text directly.

import textstyle as ts

# Simple colors
print(ts.style("Hello", color="red"))
print(ts.style("World", color="blue", look="bold"))

# Background colors
print(ts.style("Alert", color="white", bg="red", look="bold"))

# Hex colors
print(ts.style("Brand", color="#FF5733"))

# RGB tuples
print(ts.style("Custom", color=(255, 87, 51)))

# Multiple looks
print(ts.style("Fancy", color="cyan", look=["bold", "underline"]))

Available colors:

• black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white
• bright_black, bright_red, bright_green, bright_yellow, bright_blue, bright_magenta, bright_cyan, bright_white

Available looks:

• bold, dim, italic, underline, blink, reverse, hidden, strikethrough

Background colors:

• Prefix any color name with bg_ (e.g., bg="red" or bg="bright_blue")

format(text)

Format text using markup-style tags.

import textstyle as ts

# Predefined color tags
print(ts.format("This is <red>red</red> text"))

# Predefined look tags
print(ts.format("This is <bold>bold</bold> text"))

# Background tags
print(ts.format("Alert: <bg_red><white>WARNING</white></bg_red>"))

# Hex color tags
print(ts.format("Brand: <#FF5733>orange</#FF5733>"))

# Nested tags
print(ts.format("<red><bold>Bold Red</bold></red>"))

# Complex combinations
print(ts.format(
    "Status: <green>Connected</green> | "
    "Warnings: <yellow>2</yellow> | "
    "Errors: <red>0</red>"
))

Custom Styles

create(name, color=None, bg=None, look=None)

Create reusable custom styles.

import textstyle as ts

# Create custom styles
ts.create("error", color="red", look="bold")
ts.create("success", color="green", look="bold")
ts.create("warning", color="yellow", look="bold")
ts.create("highlight", color="black", bg="yellow")

# Use in format()
print(ts.format("<error>ERROR:</error> Connection failed"))
print(ts.format("<success>SUCCESS:</success> File saved"))
print(ts.format("Please <highlight>note</highlight> this"))

# Use as function (dynamic attribute access)
print(ts.error("Direct error styling"))
print(ts.success("Direct success styling"))

delete(name)

Remove a custom style.

ts.delete("error")  # Returns True if deleted, False if not found

Theme System

set_theme(theme)

Apply a theme with multiple predefined styles.

Built-in themes:

import textstyle as ts

# Dark theme (bright colors)
ts.set_theme("dark")
print(ts.format("<error>Error</error> <success>Success</success>"))

# Light theme (standard colors)
ts.set_theme("light")
print(ts.format("<warning>Warning</warning> <info>Info</info>"))

Custom themes:

ts.set_theme({
    "primary": {"color": "#007AFF", "look": "bold"},
    "secondary": {"color": "#5856D6"},
    "danger": {"color": "white", "bg": "#FF3B30", "look": "bold"},
    "success": {"color": "#34C759", "look": "bold"},
    "muted": {"color": "bright_black"}
})

print(ts.format("<primary>Primary Button</primary>"))
print(ts.format("<danger>Delete Account</danger>"))

Built-in theme styles:

• error - Error messages
• success - Success messages
• warning - Warning messages
• info - Informational messages
• debug - Debug output
• critical - Critical alerts

Temporary Styles

temporary(name, color=None, bg=None, look=None)

Context manager for temporary styles.

import textstyle as ts

# Temporary style exists only in context
with ts.temporary("temp", color="magenta", look="italic"):
    print(ts.format("<temp>This is temporary</temp>"))
    print(ts.format("Still using <temp>temp</temp>"))

# After context, style is automatically deleted
print(ts.format("<temp>This is plain text</temp>"))

Utility Functions

strip(text)

Remove all markup tags from text.

import textstyle as ts

markup = "<red>Hello</red> <bold>World</bold>"
print(ts.strip(markup))  # Output: "Hello World"

clean(text)

Remove all ANSI escape codes from text.

import textstyle as ts

styled = ts.style("Hello", color="red", look="bold")
print(ts.clean(styled))  # Output: "Hello"

length(text)

Calculate visible text length (ignoring ANSI codes).

import textstyle as ts

styled = ts.style("Hello", color="red", look="bold")
print(len(styled))        # Output: 19 (includes ANSI codes)
print(ts.length(styled))  # Output: 5 (visible length)

enable() / disable()

Globally enable or disable styling.

import textstyle as ts

print(ts.style("Styled", color="red"))  # Colored output

ts.disable()
print(ts.style("Plain", color="red"))   # Plain text

ts.enable()
print(ts.style("Styled", color="red"))  # Colored output again

🎯 Real-World Examples

Logging System

import textstyle as ts
import time

ts.set_theme({
    "timestamp": {"color": "bright_black"},
    "info": {"color": "cyan"},
    "success": {"color": "green", "look": "bold"},
    "error": {"color": "red", "look": "bold"},
})

def log(level, message):
    timestamp = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
    print(ts.format(
        f"<timestamp>[{timestamp}]</timestamp> "
        f"<{level}>{level.upper():<8}</{level}> {message}"
    ))

log("info", "Application started")
log("success", "Database connected")
log("error", "Failed to load configuration")

CLI Menu

import textstyle as ts

ts.set_theme({
    "title": {"color": "cyan", "look": "bold"},
    "option": {"color": "green"},
    "key": {"color": "yellow", "look": "bold"},
})

menu = """
<title>╔═══════════════════════════╗</title>
<title>║     MAIN MENU             ║</title>
<title>╚═══════════════════════════╝</title>

<key>[1]</key> <option>New Project</option>
<key>[2]</key> <option>Open Project</option>
<key>[3]</key> <option>Settings</option>
<key>[Q]</key> <option>Quit</option>
"""

print(ts.format(menu))

Progress Bar

import textstyle as ts
import time

ts.set_theme({
    "filled": {"color": "green", "look": "bold"},
    "empty": {"color": "bright_black"},
    "percent": {"color": "cyan", "look": "bold"},
})

def progress(current, total):
    percent = int((current / total) * 100)
    filled = int((current / total) * 20)
    empty = 20 - filled
    
    bar = ts.format(
        f"<filled>{'█' * filled}</filled>"
        f"<empty>{'░' * empty}</empty>"
    )
    
    print(f"\r{bar} {ts.format(f'<percent>{percent}%</percent>')}", 
          end="", flush=True)

for i in range(101):
    progress(i, 100)
    time.sleep(0.05)

Data Table

import textstyle as ts

ts.set_theme({
    "header": {"color": "cyan", "look": "bold"},
    "good": {"color": "green"},
    "warn": {"color": "yellow"},
    "error": {"color": "red"},
})

print(ts.format("""
┌─────────────┬─────────┬──────┐
│ <header>Server</header>      │ <header>Status</header>  │ <header>CPU</header>  │
├─────────────┼─────────┼──────┤
│ web-01      │ <good>● Up</good>    │ 23%  │
│ web-02      │ <warn>◐ Warn</warn>  │ 78%  │
│ db-01       │ <error>○ Down</error>  │ 95%  │
└─────────────┴─────────┴──────┘
"""))

Form Validation

import textstyle as ts

ts.set_theme({
    "field": {"color": "cyan", "look": "bold"},
    "valid": {"color": "green"},
    "invalid": {"color": "red"},
})

validation = """
<field>Email:</field> user@example.com <valid>✓ Valid</valid>
<field>Password:</field> ********** <valid>✓ Strong</valid>
<field>Username:</field> ab <invalid>✗ Too short</invalid>
<field>Phone:</field> 555-1234 <valid>✓ Valid</valid>
"""

print(ts.format(validation))

Git-Style Output

import textstyle as ts

ts.set_theme({
    "branch": {"color": "cyan", "look": "bold"},
    "added": {"color": "green"},
    "modified": {"color": "yellow"},
    "deleted": {"color": "red"},
})

output = """
On branch <branch>main</branch>

Changes to be committed:
  <added>new file:   src/app.py</added>
  <added>new file:   README.md</added>

Changes not staged:
  <modified>modified:   config.yaml</modified>
  <deleted>deleted:    old_file.py</deleted>
"""

print(ts.format(output))

🎨 Color Reference

Named Colors

# Standard colors
black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white

# Bright colors
bright_black, bright_red, bright_green, bright_yellow,
bright_blue, bright_magenta, bright_cyan, bright_white

Hex Colors

# Full hex
print(ts.style("Text", color="#FF5733"))

# Short hex
print(ts.style("Text", color="#F00"))

# In markup
print(ts.format("<#FF5733>Colored text</#FF5733>"))

RGB Colors

# RGB tuples
print(ts.style("Text", color=(255, 87, 51)))
print(ts.style("Text", bg=(0, 128, 255)))

🌍 Environment Variables

textstyle respects standard terminal environment variables:

NO_COLOR

Disable all styling when set (any value):

export NO_COLOR=1
python your_script.py  # No colors or styles

FORCE_COLOR

Force enable styling even in non-TTY environments:

export FORCE_COLOR=1
python your_script.py | tee output.log  # Colors preserved

🔧 Advanced Usage

Nested Tags

import textstyle as ts

print(ts.format(
    "<red><bold>Error:</bold> <underline>Connection failed</underline></red>"
))

print(ts.format(
    "<bg_blue><white>Info: <bold>Processing...</bold></white></bg_blue>"
))

Combining Multiple Styles

import textstyle as ts

# Multiple looks in style()
print(ts.style("Text", color="red", look=["bold", "underline"]))

# Combining custom styles
ts.create("alert", color="white", bg="red", look="bold")
ts.create("code", color="cyan", look="italic")

print(ts.format(
    "<alert>Warning:</alert> Check <code>config.yaml</code>"
))

Dynamic Styling

import textstyle as ts

def status_color(value):
    if value < 50:
        return "green"
    elif value < 80:
        return "yellow"
    else:
        return "red"

cpu_usage = 75
print(ts.style(
    f"CPU: {cpu_usage}%",
    color=status_color(cpu_usage),
    look="bold"
))

Working with Alignment

import textstyle as ts

# Align with visible length
def align_text(text, width):
    visible_len = ts.length(text)
    padding = width - visible_len
    return text + " " * padding

styled = ts.style("Status", color="green", look="bold")
print(align_text(styled, 20) + "OK")

🧪 Testing

Run the comprehensive test suite:

python -m textstyle

Or create your own tests:

import textstyle as ts

# Disable for testing
ts.disable()
assert ts.style("Test", color="red") == "Test"

# Re-enable
ts.enable()
assert "\033[" in ts.style("Test", color="red")

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Report bugs - Open an issue with details
2. Suggest features - Describe your use case
3. Submit PRs - Fork, create a branch, and submit
4. Improve docs - Help make documentation clearer

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/crystallinecore/textstyle.git
cd textstyle
pip install -e .

# Run examples
python examples/usage_examples.py

# Run main module tests
python -m textstyle

📋 Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• No external dependencies

Platform Support

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Additional Resources

• GitHub Repository: github.com/crystallinecore/textstyle
• Issue Tracker: Report bugs or request features
• PyPI Package: pypi.org/project/textstyle

💡 Tips & Tricks

Disable Styling in Production

import os
import textstyle as ts

if os.getenv("PRODUCTION"):
    ts.disable()

Custom Logger Integration

import logging
import textstyle as ts

class ColoredFormatter(logging.Formatter):
    COLORS = {
        'DEBUG': 'bright_black',
        'INFO': 'cyan',
        'WARNING': 'yellow',
        'ERROR': 'red',
        'CRITICAL': 'white'
    }
    
    def format(self, record):
        levelname = record.levelname
        msg = super().format(record)
        
        if levelname in self.COLORS:
            color = self.COLORS[levelname]
            bg = 'red' if levelname == 'CRITICAL' else None
            look = 'bold' if levelname in ['ERROR', 'CRITICAL'] else None
            
            parts = msg.split(levelname, 1)
            if len(parts) == 2:
                styled_level = ts.style(levelname, color=color, bg=bg, look=look)
                msg = parts[0] + styled_level + parts[1]
        
        return msg

handler = logging.StreamHandler()
handler.setFormatter(ColoredFormatter('%(levelname)s: %(message)s'))
logger = logging.getLogger()
logger.addHandler(handler)
logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)

Performance Considerations

import textstyle as ts

# For high-frequency output, disable if not needed
if not sys.stdout.isatty():
    ts.disable()

# Reuse styled strings
HEADER = ts.style("Header", color="cyan", look="bold")
ERROR = ts.style("ERROR", color="red", look="bold")

# Use format() for complex markup
# It's more efficient than multiple style() calls

🎓 Learning Path

1. Beginner - Start with style() function
2. Intermediate - Use format() with markup tags
3. Advanced - Create themes and custom styles
4. Expert - Build reusable components and utilities