What are ANSI escape codes?

ANSI escape codes are sequences of characters that control text formatting, color, and other visual attributes in terminal emulators. They start with the ESC character (\033 or \e) followed by bracket and parameters. For example, \033[31m sets the foreground color to red.

What is the difference between 8-color, 256-color, and true-color modes?

8-color mode uses ANSI codes 30–37 (foreground) and 40–47 (background) for classic terminal colors. 256-color mode (\033[38;5;Nm) expands this to 256 colors — 16 basic, a 6×6×6 color cube, and 24 grayscale shades. True-color (24-bit) mode (\033[38;2;R;G;Bm) supports the full RGB color space with over 16 million colors.

Which terminals support true-color (24-bit) ANSI codes?

Most modern terminals support true-color: iTerm2, Alacritty, Kitty, Windows Terminal, GNOME Terminal, Konsole, and recent versions of tmux. You can check support by setting the COLORTERM environment variable — if it is 'truecolor' or '24bit', the terminal supports it.

How do I use ANSI codes in Python?

In Python, use print() with an f-string or string concatenation containing the escape sequences. Alternatively, use the colorama library for cross-platform compatibility. The generator produces ready-to-paste Python print() statements for each style combination.

Do ANSI codes work on Windows?

Yes — Windows 10 version 1511 and later (and all of Windows 11) support ANSI escape codes in the Windows Console and Windows Terminal. In Python, import colorama and call colorama.init() for compatibility with older Windows versions.

What does the reset code \033[0m do?

\033[0m resets all text attributes (color, bold, italic, underline, etc.) back to the terminal's default. Always append a reset at the end of styled text so subsequent output is not accidentally styled.

Terminal Styling Made Easy

Generate ANSI
Escape Codes Instantly

Pick colors and styles visually, then copy the exact escape codes for your terminal scripts. Supports 8-color, 256-color, and true-color (24-bit RGB) modes.

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8 / 256 / True Color

Switch between classic 8-color mode, the full 256-color palette, or 24-bit RGB for precise terminal colors.

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Text Style Options

Apply bold, italic, underline, dim, blink, and strikethrough — mix and match any combination.

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Ready-to-Use Snippets

One-click copy of escape codes for bash/shell, Python, and Node.js. No memorizing escape sequences.

Color Mode

Colors

Foreground (text) color

#22D3EE

Background color

Toggle to add a background color.

Text Styles

Sample Text

Terminal Preview

bash

user@machine~$echo -e "...styled text..."

Hello, World!

\033[38;2;34;211;238m

Code Snippets

echo -e "\033[38;2;34;211;238mHello, World!\033[0m"

Use echo -e to interpret escape sequences. On macOS with Zsh, use print -P or install coreutils.

Quick Reference

Style Codes

\033[0mReset all

\033[1mBold

\033[2mDim

\033[3mItalic

\033[4mUnderline

\033[5mBlink

\033[9mStrikethrough

Color Formats

\033[3Nm8-color foreground (N=0–7)

\033[4Nm8-color background (N=0–7)

\033[9NmBright foreground (N=0–7)

\033[38;5;Nm256-color foreground

\033[48;5;Nm256-color background

\033[38;2;R;G;BmTrue-color foreground

\033[48;2;R;G;BmTrue-color background

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about ANSI Color Code Generator.

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