Console output coloring

10 April 2023, by Goodman. Last update at 14 March 2026

Colour

Black        0;30     Dark Gray     1;30
Red          0;31     Light Red     1;31
Green        0;32     Light Green   1;32
Brown/Orange 0;33     Yellow        1;33
Blue         0;34     Light Blue    1;34
Purple       0;35     Light Purple  1;35
Cyan         0;36     Light Cyan    1;36
Light Gray   0;37     White         1;37

Format

echo -e "\e[<style>;<color>mYour text here\e[0m"

\e[ - start escape sequence
<style> text style (bold, underline, etc.)
<color> - foreground color
m - apply formatting
\e[0m - reset formatting

Bold Text

Code	Style
0	Reset
1	Bold
2	Dim
3	Italic
4	Underline
5	Blink
7	Reverse

Foreground Colors

Color	Code
Black	30
Red	31
Green	32
Yellow	33
Blue	34
Magenta	35
Cyan	36
White	37

Background Colors

Color	Code
Black	40
Red	41
Green	42
Yellow	43
Blue	44
Magenta	45
Cyan	46
White	47

RED='\033[0;31m'
NC='\033[0m' # No Color
printf "I ${RED}Red message${NC} \n"

echo -e "\e[1;31mBold red error\e[0m"
echo -e "\e[1;32mBold green text\e[0m"
echo -e "\e[1;37;41mBold white on red\e[0m"

NC='\033[0m'
RED='\033[0;31m'
GREEN='\033[0;32m'
YELLOW='\033[0;33m'
BLUE='\033[0;34m'
MAGENTA='\033[0;35m'
CYAN='\033[0;36m'
WHITE='\033[0;37m'

RED="\e[31m"
GREEN="\e[32m"
BOLD="\e[1m"
RESET="\e[0m"

echo -e "${BOLD}${GREEN}Success${RESET}"
echo -e "${BOLD}${RED}Error${RESET}"