How to print color in console using System.out.println?

Question

How can I print color in console? I want to show data in colors when the processor sends data and in different colors when it receives data.

Answer 1

If your terminal supports it, you can use ANSI escape codes to use color in your output. It generally works for Unix shell prompts; however, it doesn't work for Windows Command Prompt (Although, it does work for Cygwin). For example, you could define constants like these for the colors:

public static final String ANSI_RESET = "\u001B[0m";
public static final String ANSI_BLACK = "\u001B[30m";
public static final String ANSI_RED = "\u001B[31m";
public static final String ANSI_GREEN = "\u001B[32m";
public static final String ANSI_YELLOW = "\u001B[33m";
public static final String ANSI_BLUE = "\u001B[34m";
public static final String ANSI_PURPLE = "\u001B[35m";
public static final String ANSI_CYAN = "\u001B[36m";
public static final String ANSI_WHITE = "\u001B[37m";

Then, you could reference those as necessary.

For example, using the above constants, you could make the following red text output on supported terminals:

System.out.println(ANSI_RED + "This text is red!" + ANSI_RESET);

Update: You might want to check out the Jansi library. It provides an API and has support for Windows using JNI. I haven't tried it yet; however, it looks promising.

Update 2: Also, if you wish to change the background color of the text to a different color, you could try the following as well:

public static final String ANSI_BLACK_BACKGROUND = "\u001B[40m";
public static final String ANSI_RED_BACKGROUND = "\u001B[41m";
public static final String ANSI_GREEN_BACKGROUND = "\u001B[42m";
public static final String ANSI_YELLOW_BACKGROUND = "\u001B[43m";
public static final String ANSI_BLUE_BACKGROUND = "\u001B[44m";
public static final String ANSI_PURPLE_BACKGROUND = "\u001B[45m";
public static final String ANSI_CYAN_BACKGROUND = "\u001B[46m";
public static final String ANSI_WHITE_BACKGROUND = "\u001B[47m";

For instance:

System.out.println(ANSI_GREEN_BACKGROUND + "This text has a green background but default text!" + ANSI_RESET);
System.out.println(ANSI_RED + "This text has red text but a default background!" + ANSI_RESET);
System.out.println(ANSI_GREEN_BACKGROUND + ANSI_RED + "This text has a green background and red text!" + ANSI_RESET);

Answer 2

I created a library called JColor that works on Linux, macOS, and Windows 10.

It uses the ANSI codes mentioned by WhiteFang, but abstracts them using words instead of codes which is more intuitive. Recently I added support for 8 and 24 bit colors

Answer 3

Try the following enum :

enum Color {
    //Color end string, color reset
    RESET("\033[0m"),

    // Regular Colors. Normal color, no bold, background color etc.
    BLACK("\033[0;30m"),    // BLACK
    RED("\033[0;31m"),      // RED
    GREEN("\033[0;32m"),    // GREEN
    YELLOW("\033[0;33m"),   // YELLOW
    BLUE("\033[0;34m"),     // BLUE
    MAGENTA("\033[0;35m"),  // MAGENTA
    CYAN("\033[0;36m"),     // CYAN
    WHITE("\033[0;37m"),    // WHITE

    // Bold
    BLACK_BOLD("\033[1;30m"),   // BLACK
    RED_BOLD("\033[1;31m"),     // RED
    GREEN_BOLD("\033[1;32m"),   // GREEN
    YELLOW_BOLD("\033[1;33m"),  // YELLOW
    BLUE_BOLD("\033[1;34m"),    // BLUE
    MAGENTA_BOLD("\033[1;35m"), // MAGENTA
    CYAN_BOLD("\033[1;36m"),    // CYAN
    WHITE_BOLD("\033[1;37m"),   // WHITE

    // Underline
    BLACK_UNDERLINED("\033[4;30m"),     // BLACK
    RED_UNDERLINED("\033[4;31m"),       // RED
    GREEN_UNDERLINED("\033[4;32m"),     // GREEN
    YELLOW_UNDERLINED("\033[4;33m"),    // YELLOW
    BLUE_UNDERLINED("\033[4;34m"),      // BLUE
    MAGENTA_UNDERLINED("\033[4;35m"),   // MAGENTA
    CYAN_UNDERLINED("\033[4;36m"),      // CYAN
    WHITE_UNDERLINED("\033[4;37m"),     // WHITE

    // Background
    BLACK_BACKGROUND("\033[40m"),   // BLACK
    RED_BACKGROUND("\033[41m"),     // RED
    GREEN_BACKGROUND("\033[42m"),   // GREEN
    YELLOW_BACKGROUND("\033[43m"),  // YELLOW
    BLUE_BACKGROUND("\033[44m"),    // BLUE
    MAGENTA_BACKGROUND("\033[45m"), // MAGENTA
    CYAN_BACKGROUND("\033[46m"),    // CYAN
    WHITE_BACKGROUND("\033[47m"),   // WHITE

    // High Intensity
    BLACK_BRIGHT("\033[0;90m"),     // BLACK
    RED_BRIGHT("\033[0;91m"),       // RED
    GREEN_BRIGHT("\033[0;92m"),     // GREEN
    YELLOW_BRIGHT("\033[0;93m"),    // YELLOW
    BLUE_BRIGHT("\033[0;94m"),      // BLUE
    MAGENTA_BRIGHT("\033[0;95m"),   // MAGENTA
    CYAN_BRIGHT("\033[0;96m"),      // CYAN
    WHITE_BRIGHT("\033[0;97m"),     // WHITE

    // Bold High Intensity
    BLACK_BOLD_BRIGHT("\033[1;90m"),    // BLACK
    RED_BOLD_BRIGHT("\033[1;91m"),      // RED
    GREEN_BOLD_BRIGHT("\033[1;92m"),    // GREEN
    YELLOW_BOLD_BRIGHT("\033[1;93m"),   // YELLOW
    BLUE_BOLD_BRIGHT("\033[1;94m"),     // BLUE
    MAGENTA_BOLD_BRIGHT("\033[1;95m"),  // MAGENTA
    CYAN_BOLD_BRIGHT("\033[1;96m"),     // CYAN
    WHITE_BOLD_BRIGHT("\033[1;97m"),    // WHITE

    // High Intensity backgrounds
    BLACK_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT("\033[0;100m"),     // BLACK
    RED_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT("\033[0;101m"),       // RED
    GREEN_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT("\033[0;102m"),     // GREEN
    YELLOW_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT("\033[0;103m"),    // YELLOW
    BLUE_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT("\033[0;104m"),      // BLUE
    MAGENTA_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT("\033[0;105m"),   // MAGENTA
    CYAN_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT("\033[0;106m"),      // CYAN
    WHITE_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT("\033[0;107m");     // WHITE

    private final String code;

    Color(String code) {
        this.code = code;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return code;
    }
}

And now we will make a small example:

class RunApp {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        System.out.print(Color.BLACK_BOLD);
        System.out.println("Black_Bold");
        System.out.print(Color.RESET);

        System.out.print(Color.YELLOW);
        System.out.print(Color.BLUE_BACKGROUND);
        System.out.println("YELLOW & BLUE");
        System.out.print(Color.RESET);

        System.out.print(Color.YELLOW);
        System.out.println("YELLOW");
        System.out.print(Color.RESET);
    }
}

Answer 4

You could do this using ANSI escape sequences. I've actually put together this class in Java for anyone that would like a simple workaround for this. It allows for more than just color codes.

https://gist.github.com/nathan-fiscaletti/9dc252d30b51df7d710a

(Ported from: https://github.com/nathan-fiscaletti/ansi-util)

Example Use:

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();

System.out.println(
    sb.raw("Hello, ")
      .underline("John Doe")
      .resetUnderline()
      .raw(". ")
      .raw("This is ")
      .color16(StringBuilder.Color16.FG_RED, "red")
      .raw(".")
);

Answer 5

Here are a list of colors in a Java class with public static fields

Usage

System.out.println(ConsoleColors.RED + "RED COLORED" +
ConsoleColors.RESET + " NORMAL");

Note Don't forget to use the RESET after printing as the effect will remain if it's not cleared

public class ConsoleColors {
    // Reset
    public static final String RESET = "\033[0m";  // Text Reset

    // Regular Colors
    public static final String BLACK = "\033[0;30m";   // BLACK
    public static final String RED = "\033[0;31m";     // RED
    public static final String GREEN = "\033[0;32m";   // GREEN
    public static final String YELLOW = "\033[0;33m";  // YELLOW
    public static final String BLUE = "\033[0;34m";    // BLUE
    public static final String PURPLE = "\033[0;35m";  // PURPLE
    public static final String CYAN = "\033[0;36m";    // CYAN
    public static final String WHITE = "\033[0;37m";   // WHITE

    // Bold
    public static final String BLACK_BOLD = "\033[1;30m";  // BLACK
    public static final String RED_BOLD = "\033[1;31m";    // RED
    public static final String GREEN_BOLD = "\033[1;32m";  // GREEN
    public static final String YELLOW_BOLD = "\033[1;33m"; // YELLOW
    public static final String BLUE_BOLD = "\033[1;34m";   // BLUE
    public static final String PURPLE_BOLD = "\033[1;35m"; // PURPLE
    public static final String CYAN_BOLD = "\033[1;36m";   // CYAN
    public static final String WHITE_BOLD = "\033[1;37m";  // WHITE

    // Underline
    public static final String BLACK_UNDERLINED = "\033[4;30m";  // BLACK
    public static final String RED_UNDERLINED = "\033[4;31m";    // RED
    public static final String GREEN_UNDERLINED = "\033[4;32m";  // GREEN
    public static final String YELLOW_UNDERLINED = "\033[4;33m"; // YELLOW
    public static final String BLUE_UNDERLINED = "\033[4;34m";   // BLUE
    public static final String PURPLE_UNDERLINED = "\033[4;35m"; // PURPLE
    public static final String CYAN_UNDERLINED = "\033[4;36m";   // CYAN
    public static final String WHITE_UNDERLINED = "\033[4;37m";  // WHITE

    // Background
    public static final String BLACK_BACKGROUND = "\033[40m";  // BLACK
    public static final String RED_BACKGROUND = "\033[41m";    // RED
    public static final String GREEN_BACKGROUND = "\033[42m";  // GREEN
    public static final String YELLOW_BACKGROUND = "\033[43m"; // YELLOW
    public static final String BLUE_BACKGROUND = "\033[44m";   // BLUE
    public static final String PURPLE_BACKGROUND = "\033[45m"; // PURPLE
    public static final String CYAN_BACKGROUND = "\033[46m";   // CYAN
    public static final String WHITE_BACKGROUND = "\033[47m";  // WHITE

    // High Intensity
    public static final String BLACK_BRIGHT = "\033[0;90m";  // BLACK
    public static final String RED_BRIGHT = "\033[0;91m";    // RED
    public static final String GREEN_BRIGHT = "\033[0;92m";  // GREEN
    public static final String YELLOW_BRIGHT = "\033[0;93m"; // YELLOW
    public static final String BLUE_BRIGHT = "\033[0;94m";   // BLUE
    public static final String PURPLE_BRIGHT = "\033[0;95m"; // PURPLE
    public static final String CYAN_BRIGHT = "\033[0;96m";   // CYAN
    public static final String WHITE_BRIGHT = "\033[0;97m";  // WHITE

    // Bold High Intensity
    public static final String BLACK_BOLD_BRIGHT = "\033[1;90m"; // BLACK
    public static final String RED_BOLD_BRIGHT = "\033[1;91m";   // RED
    public static final String GREEN_BOLD_BRIGHT = "\033[1;92m"; // GREEN
    public static final String YELLOW_BOLD_BRIGHT = "\033[1;93m";// YELLOW
    public static final String BLUE_BOLD_BRIGHT = "\033[1;94m";  // BLUE
    public static final String PURPLE_BOLD_BRIGHT = "\033[1;95m";// PURPLE
    public static final String CYAN_BOLD_BRIGHT = "\033[1;96m";  // CYAN
    public static final String WHITE_BOLD_BRIGHT = "\033[1;97m"; // WHITE

    // High Intensity backgrounds
    public static final String BLACK_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT = "\033[0;100m";// BLACK
    public static final String RED_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT = "\033[0;101m";// RED
    public static final String GREEN_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT = "\033[0;102m";// GREEN
    public static final String YELLOW_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT = "\033[0;103m";// YELLOW
    public static final String BLUE_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT = "\033[0;104m";// BLUE
    public static final String PURPLE_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT = "\033[0;105m"; // PURPLE
    public static final String CYAN_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT = "\033[0;106m";  // CYAN
    public static final String WHITE_BACKGROUND_BRIGHT = "\033[0;107m";   // WHITE
}

Answer 6

A fairly portable way of doing it is with the raw escape sequences. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code

[edited for user9999999 on 2017-02-20]

Java doesn't "handle the codes", that's true, but Java outputs what you told it to output. it's not Java's fault that the Windows console treats ESC (chr(27)) as just another glyph (←).