Sometime I am trying to print a text message in the terminal using echo command.
I want to print the message in a different color.
How can I do that?
Usage
Specific tput sub-commands are discussed later.
Direct
Call tput as part of a sequence of commands:
tput setaf 1; echo "this is red text"
Use ; instead of && so if tput errors the text still shows.
Shell variables
Another option is to use shell variables:
red=`tput setaf 1`
green=`tput setaf 2`
reset=`tput sgr0`
echo "${red}red text ${green}green text${reset}"
tput produces character sequences that are interpreted by the terminal as having a special meaning. They will not be shown themselves. Note that they can still be saved into files or processed as input by programs other than the terminal.
substitution
It may be more convenient to insert tput ‘s output directly into your echo strings using command substitution:
echo "$(tput setaf 1)Red text $(tput setab 7)and white background$(tput sgr 0)"
Example
An example on ubuntu
Fore & background
tput setab [1-7] # Set the background colour using ANSI escape
tput setaf [1-7] # Set the foreground colour using ANSI escape
Colors are as follows:
| Num | Color | #define | R G B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | black | COLOR_BLACK | 0,0,0 |
| 1 | red | COLOR_RED | 1,0,0 |
| 2 | green | COLOR_GREEN | 0,1,0 |
| 3 | yellow | COLOR_YELLOW | 1,1,0 |
| 4 | blue | COLOR_BLUE | 0,0,1 |
| 5 | magenta | COLOR_MAGENTA | 1,0,1 |
| 6 | cyan | COLOR_CYAN | 0,1,1 |
| 7 | white | COLOR_WHITE | 1,1,1 |
There are also non-ANSI versions of the colour setting functions (setb instead of setab, and setf instead of setaf) which use different numbers, not given here.
Text mode
tput bold # Select bold mode
tput dim # Select dim (half-bright) mode
tput smul # Enable underline mode
tput rmul # Disable underline mode
tput rev # Turn on reverse video mode
tput smso # Enter standout (bold) mode
tput rmso # Exit standout mode
Cursor movement
tput cup Y X # Move cursor to screen postion X,Y (top left is 0,0)
tput cuf N # Move N characters forward (right)
tput cub N # Move N characters back (left)
tput cuu N # Move N lines up
tput ll # Move to last line, first column (if no cup)
tput sc # Save the cursor position
tput rc # Restore the cursor position
tput lines # Output the number of lines of the terminal
tput cols # Output the number of columns of the terminal
Clear & insert
tput ech N # Erase N characters
tput clear # Clear screen and move the cursor to 0,0
tput el 1 # Clear to beginning of line
tput el # Clear to end of line
tput ed # Clear to end of screen
tput ich N # Insert N characters (moves rest of line forward!)
tput il N # Insert N lines
Other
tput sgr0 # Reset text format to the terminal's default
tput bel # Play a bell
Scripts
tput accepts scripts containing one command per line, which are executed in order before tput exits.
Avoid temporary files by echoing a multiline string and piping it:
echo -e "setf 7\nsetb 1" | tput -S # set fg white and bg red
More Information
- See
man 1 tput - See
man 5 terminfo
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