rst2ansi

What it is and what it does

rst2ansi is a Python module that converts reStructuredText markup into ANSI-escaped strings for display in terminal environments. It handles RST formatting directives like bold and emphasis, translating them into terminal escape codes that render formatted text in console output.

The package works both as a standalone CLI tool (accepting a file path and printing formatted output) and as an importable module for programmatic use. It has no runtime dependencies, making installation straightforward. However, the package has not been actively maintained since 2016, raising questions about compatibility with modern Python releases.

Use it for:

• Display formatted RST documentation in terminal environments without rendering to HTML or PDF
• Build CLI tools that present rich, formatted help text or documentation from RST source files
• Convert RST markup to terminal-friendly output for log files or console-based documentation viewers
• Render project README files written in RST with formatting preserved in terminal output

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Converts reStructuredText documents to ANSI-escaped terminal output, suitable for rendering formatted text in console environments.

Yes, with caution. The package is lightweight, has no dependencies, and carries no known vulnerabilities. However, its last release was in 2016 and maintenance is stalled. Install it if you need simple RST-to-ANSI conversion and can test compatibility with your Python version; avoid it if you require active maintenance.

Install

rst2ansi on PyPI

pip install rst2ansi

uv add rst2ansi

poetry add rst2ansi

Installing rst2ansi

Before you install

Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. However, the package is aging—last release was 2016-05-24 and the last commit 2026-01-07, with no recent activity.

License in practice

MIT license is permissive, allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart

pip install rst2ansi

from rst2ansi import rst2ansi
print(rst2ansi('I **love** reStructuredText!'))

Verify before relying

• Whether the package works reliably with Python versions beyond 3.5 despite classifiers listing 3.3–3.5
• Current compatibility with modern reStructuredText syntax and edge cases
• Whether ANSI escape sequence handling covers all terminal types

Package facts

Evidence: rst2ansi-0.1.5-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: rst, restructuredtext, ansi, console, code, converter

Tags

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