---
id: crayons
version: "0.4.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# crayons — TextUI colors for Python.

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 500.8K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Crayons is a lightweight wrapper around colorama that simplifies colored terminal output in Python. It provides named color functions (red, green, yellow, blue, black, magenta, cyan, white) that automatically wrap text in the appropriate ANSI codes and reset the terminal state afterward, eliminating the need to manually manage color state. The package detects whether output is going to a TTY and suppresses colors when piped, and it correctly calculates string length for colored output.

The package is powered by colorama and has a single runtime dependency. It supports Python 2.7 and Python 3.4 through 3.8 according to its classifiers. Since its last release in 2020, the project is no longer actively maintained, though the core functionality remains stable for basic terminal coloring tasks.

Use it for:

- Add colored output to CLI tools and scripts for better readability and user feedback
- Highlight errors, warnings, and success messages in terminal applications with distinct colors
- Create visually distinct log output or status reports in command-line utilities
- Build interactive terminal UIs where color improves navigation and information hierarchy

## Worth the install?

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

Crayons provides colored text output for terminal applications by wrapping strings in ANSI color codes and automatically resetting to the original state afterward.

Yes, if you need simple terminal colors and don't require active maintenance. Crayons is lightweight, has no complex dependencies beyond colorama, and works reliably for basic colored output. However, the abandoned status means no bug fixes or Python version updates will be released—use it only if you're comfortable with a stable but unmaintained package, or if you're targeting Python versions it already supports.

## Install

pip install crayons
uv add crayons
poetry add crayons

## Installing crayons

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with low friction. The package is abandoned as of 2020-08-26, so no active maintenance is expected, though it remains stable for basic terminal color use.

License in practice: MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.

Quickstart:

pip install crayons

import crayons
print(crayons.red('red text'))
print(crayons.green('green text'))
print(crayons.blue('blue text'))

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably with Python versions beyond 3.8 (classifiers list 3.8 as the latest tested version)
- Current compatibility with modern versions of colorama, its sole runtime dependency

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 500.8K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

terminal text colors, colored output python, ansi color codes, terminal styling, console text coloring, tty color formatting, terminal ui colors, terminal-ui, cli-colors

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/crayons) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/crayons/)