---
id: ansicon
version: "1.89.0"
license: MPLv2.0
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: abandoned
---

# ansicon — Python wrapper for loading Jason Hood's ANSICON

License: copyleft · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 672.2K/mo

## What it is and what it does

ansicon is a Python wrapper around Jason Hood's ANSICON, a Windows console utility that enables ANSI escape sequence support for colored and styled terminal output. On Windows, standard terminal applications often do not interpret ANSI color codes natively, so this wrapper loads ANSICON to bridge that gap and allow terminal color code usage.

The package provides three main functions: load() to activate ANSICON, unload() to deactivate it, and loaded() to check its current state. It is designed for developers who write terminal applications with ANSI color codes and need those codes to work on Windows without rewriting their output logic. However, the package has been abandoned since its latest release on 2019-04-29 and receives no active maintenance, making it a legacy tool primarily useful for maintaining older Windows console applications.

Use it for:

- Enable ANSI color codes in legacy Windows console applications that were written for cross-platform terminal output.
- Add colored output to Python CLI tools running on Windows without rewriting color logic for platform-specific APIs.
- Support terminal styling in Windows batch or PowerShell-invoked Python scripts.
- Maintain existing codebases that depend on ANSICON and cannot migrate to alternative approaches.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Enables ANSI color and style codes in Windows console output by wrapping Jason Hood's ANSICON tool, allowing terminal color support.

No, unless you are maintaining legacy Windows console code that already depends on this package. The project is abandoned (last release 2019-04-29, no commits since 2023-04-13), and modern alternatives are better choices for new projects. The copyleft license also adds friction if you need to modify it.

## Install

pip install ansicon
uv add ansicon
poetry add ansicon

## Installing ansicon

Before you install: Installation is frictionless with no runtime dependencies, but the package is abandoned—last release was 2019-04-29 and no commits since 2023-04-13. Use only if you need legacy Windows console color support and are comfortable maintaining a frozen dependency.

License in practice: Licensed under MPLv2.0 (copyleft), which requires that modifications to this package be shared under the same license, though use of the package itself in your code does not impose restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install ansicon

import ansicon
ansicon.load()
print(u'\x1b[32mGreen\x1b[m')
ansicon.unload()

Windows-only; requires ANSICON binary to be installed or available on the system for the wrapper to function.

Verify before relying:

- Whether ANSICON binary is bundled with the package or must be installed separately on the target Windows system.
- Compatibility with Python versions beyond those listed in classifiers (3.7 and earlier).
- Whether the package works with current Windows console implementations.

## Package facts

- License: MPLv2.0 (copyleft)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 672.2K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

windows console color codes, ansi terminal support windows, colored terminal output, console text styling, windows ansicon wrapper, windows-only, abandoned

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