Color Modes

RichColorLog automatically detects terminal color capabilities and adapts output accordingly.

Color Support Detection

The library uses the Check class to detect terminal capabilities:

from richcolorlog.logger import Check, ColorSupport

# Detect current terminal support
mode = Check()  # Returns one of the ColorSupport values
print(f"Color support: {mode}")

Color Support Levels

Mode	Description
`truecolor`	24-bit color (16.7 million colors)
`256color`	256 color palette
`basic`	8/16 basic ANSI colors
`none`	No color support

Detection Logic

The detection follows this priority:

Environment Variables
- COLORTERM=truecolor or COLORTERM=24bit → TrueColor
- WT_SESSION set (Windows Terminal) → TrueColor
- TERM contains 256color → 256 colors
- TERM contains color → Basic colors
curses/terminfo (Unix-like systems)
- Queries terminal capabilities via curses.tigetnum("colors")
Windows Detection
- Enables ANSI processing via Windows API
- Windows 10+ typically supports TrueColor
TTY Check
- Non-TTY output (pipes, files) defaults to no colors

Forcing Color Mode

Override automatic detection:

from richcolorlog.logger import Check, ColorSupport

# Force specific mode
mode = Check(force=ColorSupport.TRUECOLOR)
mode = Check(force=ColorSupport.COLOR_256)
mode = Check(force=ColorSupport.BASIC)
mode = Check(force=ColorSupport.NONE)

Or use environment variables:

# Force colors in pipe
FORCE_COLOR=1 python myapp.py | cat

# Disable colors
NO_COLOR=1 python myapp.py

Color Schemes

The Colors class provides color schemes for different modes:

TrueColor (24-bit)

Full RGB color support with exact color values:

from richcolorlog.logger import Colors

# With background
colors = Colors(color_type='ansi', show_background=True).check()

# Example: debug color
# "\x1b[38;2;0;0;0;48;2;255;170;0m" (black on orange)

# Without background
colors = Colors(color_type='ansi', show_background=False).check()

# Example: debug color
# "\x1b[38;2;255;170;0m" (orange foreground only)

256 Color Mode

Uses 256-color palette approximations:

colors = Colors(color_type='ansi', show_background=True).check()
# On 256-color terminal:
# debug: "\x1b[30;48;5;214m" (black on color 214)

Basic (8/16 Colors)

Falls back to standard ANSI colors:

colors = Colors(color_type='ansi', show_background=True).check()
# On basic terminal:
# debug: "\x1b[30;43m" (black on yellow)

Rich Color Format

For Rich library output:

colors = Colors(color_type='rich', show_background=True).check()
# Returns Rich-compatible style strings:
# debug: "#000000 on #FFAA00"
# error: "white on red"

Default Color Palette

With Background

Level	TrueColor	Description
DEBUG	`#000000 on #FFAA00`	Black on orange
INFO	`#000000 on #00FF00`	Black on green
NOTICE	`#000000 on #00FFFF`	Black on cyan
WARNING	`black on #FFFF00`	Black on yellow
ERROR	`white on red`	White on red
CRITICAL	`bright_white on #0000FF`	White on blue
FATAL	`blue on #FF557F`	Blue on pink
ALERT	`bright_white on #005500`	White on dark green
EMERGENCY	`bright_white on #AA00FF`	White on purple

Without Background

Level	TrueColor	Description
DEBUG	`#FFAA00`	Orange
INFO	`#00FF00`	Green
NOTICE	`#00FFFF`	Cyan
WARNING	`#FFFF00`	Yellow
ERROR	`red`	Red
CRITICAL	`#0000FF`	Blue
FATAL	`#FF557F`	Pink
ALERT	`#005500`	Dark green
EMERGENCY	`#AA00FF`	Purple

Custom Colors

Override default colors:

from richcolorlog import setup_logging

logger = setup_logging(
    # Rich format colors
    debug_color='bold yellow',
    info_color='bold cyan',
    warning_color='black on bright_yellow',
    error_color='bold white on red',
    critical_color='bold white on dark_red',
    notice_color='bold magenta',
    alert_color='blink bold white on red',
    emergency_color='bold white on bright_red',
    fatal_color='bold red',
)

Or for ANSI handler:

from richcolorlog import setup_logging_custom

logger = setup_logging_custom(
    # ANSI escape codes
    debug_color='\x1b[93m',          # Bright yellow
    info_color='\x1b[96m',           # Bright cyan
    error_color='\x1b[91m',          # Bright red
)

Windows Support

On Windows, RichColorLog enables ANSI support automatically:

from richcolorlog.logger import Check

# This is called automatically but can be called manually
Check.enable_windows_ansi()

Requirements for Windows:

Windows 10 version 1511 or later
Windows Terminal recommended for best results
Legacy cmd.exe has limited support

Testing Color Support

from richcolorlog import setup_logging
from richcolorlog.logger import Check, ColorSupport

# Check detected mode
mode = Check()
print(f"Detected color mode: {mode}")

# Test all levels
logger = setup_logging(level='DEBUG')

logger.debug("Debug message")
logger.info("Info message")
logger.notice("Notice message")
logger.warning("Warning message")
logger.error("Error message")
logger.critical("Critical message")
logger.fatal("Fatal message")
logger.alert("Alert message")
logger.emergency("Emergency message")