colorclass
Colorful worry-free console applications for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need basic ANSI color support in a stable, mature codebase and can accept no further maintenance. The library is production-stable and has no known vulnerabilities, but its abandonment since 2021-12-09 means no fixes for future Python versions or terminal changes. For new projects, consider actively maintained alternatives; for existing codebases already using it, the low install friction and lack of dependencies make it safe to keep.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- On Windows, call Windows.enable() before using colors; on Linux/macOS, call set_light_background() or set_dark_background() to toggle auto-colors.
- Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies.
- However, the package is archived and abandoned—last release was 2021-12-09, with no active maintenance or security updates expected.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it safe for commercial and open-source projects.
last release 2021-12-09 (1709 days) · last repo commit 2024-07-10 · 6 stars · archived
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 9,103,576 downloads/mo, #1,562 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install colorclass
from colorclass import Color
color_string = Color('{red}Test{/red}')
print(color_string)- Whether the package still works reliably with Python 3.10+ despite being abandoned since 2021.
- Whether Windows 10+ ANSI support mentioned in the description is fully functional without Windows.enable().
- Active community forks or maintained alternatives that may have addressed issues since abandonment.
What it is and what it does
colorclass is a library for adding ANSI color codes to console text in Python, with built-in support for automatic color selection based on terminal background brightness. It works by subclassing str (Python 3.x) or unicode (Python 2.x) and provides tag-based syntax like {red}text{/red} to mark colored regions. The library includes platform-specific initialization—Windows.enable() for Windows, set_light_background() or set_dark_background() for Linux/macOS—to enable automatic color detection and adjustment.
The package is designed for developers building command-line applications that need portable, readable color output across different terminal environments. It handles the complexity of terminal capability detection and provides helper attributes to access both colored and plain-text versions of strings. However, the project is archived and unmaintained since 2021-12-09, with no active development or security updates.
Use it for
- Add colored output to CLI tools and scripts that run on multiple platforms without manual ANSI code management.
- Build terminal-based applications that automatically adapt text colors to dark or light terminal backgrounds.
- Pipe colored or ANSI-coded text through Python for processing, stripping, or forcing color output via environment variables.
- Create cross-platform shell utilities in Python that display error/warning/success messages in distinct colors.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need basic ANSI color support in a stable, mature codebase and can accept no further maintenance.
The library is production-stable and has no known vulnerabilities, but its abandonment since 2021-12-09 means no fixes for future Python versions or terminal changes. For new projects, consider actively maintained alternatives; for existing codebases already using it, the low install friction and lack of dependencies make it safe to keep.
Install
colorclass on PyPI
Before you install
Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies. However, the package is archived and abandoned—last release was 2021-12-09, with no active maintenance or security updates expected.
On Windows, call Windows.enable() before using colors; on Linux/macOS, call set_light_background() or set_dark_background() to toggle auto-colors.
License in practice
MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it safe for commercial and open-source projects.
Quickstart
pip install colorclass
from colorclass import Color
color_string = Color('{red}Test{/red}')
print(color_string)Verify before relying
- Whether the package still works reliably with Python 3.10+ despite being abandoned since 2021.
- Whether Windows 10+ ANSI support mentioned in the description is fully functional without Windows.enable().
- Active community forks or maintained alternatives that may have addressed issues since abandonment.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=2.6 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 1,709 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | repository archived |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 9,103,576 / month, #1,562 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleEnvironment :: MacOS XEnvironment :: Win32 (MS Windows)Intended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: MacOS :: MacOS XOperating System :: Microsoft :: WindowsOperating System :: POSIXOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxProgramming Language :: Python :: 2Programming Language :: Python :: 2.6Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: TerminalsTopic :: Text Processing :: Markup |
Evidence: colorclass-2.2.2-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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See also colored · colorthief · python-printr · ansicon · termcolor · ansicolors · crayons · colorama · colorful · coloredlogs