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[](https://crates.io/crates/farben)
[](https://docs.rs/farben)
[](https://github.com/razkar-studio/farben/blob/main/LICENSE)
[](https://crates.io/crates/farben)
[](https://github.com/razkar-studio/farben/stargazers)
[](https://github.com/razkar-studio/farben/issues)
[](https://github.com/razkar-studio/farben/commits/main)
[](https://doc.rust-lang.org/edition-guide/rust-2024/)
[](https://deps.rs/repo/github/razkar-studio/farben)
[](https://github.com/razkar-studio/farben)
[](https://github.com/razkar-studio/farben)
### A minimal terminal coloring library using markup-like syntax.
</div>
> [!WARNING]
> Farben, in this current state, is **extremely unstable**. It only has one or two public interface,
> unfinished features, and is experimetal.
> I do not recommend using it in production, at least not yet.
## What Is Farben
Look at the tagline up there ^
## Documentation
> [!NOTE]
> The user guide right now is literally unreadable.
- **User Guide**: [https://razkar-studio.github.io/farben](https://razkar-studio.github.io/farben)
- **API Reference**: [https://docs.rs/farben](https://docs.rs/farben)
## Usage
```rust
// Using no features
use farben::color;
println!("{}", color("[red]I'm red!")); // Runtime
let color = "red";
println!("{}", color_fmt!("[bold red]I'm bold and {color}!")); // Arguments supported
println!("{}", color("[rgb(255,128,0)]I'm orange![/] Back to normal."));
```
```rust
// Using the "compile" feature
use farben::color;
println!("{}", color!("[red]I'm red!")); // Compile-time
let color = "red";
println!("{}", color_fmt!("[bold red]I'm bold and {color}!")); // Compile time validation, not processing
println!("{}", color!("[rgb(255,128,0)]I'm orange![/] Back to normal."));
```
## Features
* **Markup-like Syntax**: Easy to parse, understand, and powerful when used.
* **Only 1 required runtime dependencies**: Having only 1 dependency, and that being the logic itself, farben doesn't introduce a complicated dependency tree.
* **Opt-in Compile-time Processing**: Colorize at compile time with no runtime overhead, completely opt-in with one additional dependency: `farben-macros`.
* **Complete Toolkit**: Supports basic named ANSI, ANSI256, and even RGB.
## Installation
To add `farben` as a dependency, run the following command on your Cargo project:
```sh
cargo add farben
```
Or alternatively, put directly on your `Cargo.toml`:
```toml
[dependencies]
farben = "0.2"
```
To enable compile-time processing, use the `compile` feature, like so:
```sh
cargo add farben --features compile
```
Or in the `Cargo.toml`:
```toml
[dependencies]
farben = { version: "0.2", features: ["compile"] }
```
> [!NOTE]
> If you're using the `compile` feature, `color` is a **macro**, not a function. Use as `color!` going forward.
## Syntax
Tags are written as `[tag]` and apply from that point forward. Multiple tags can be combined in a single bracket: `[bold red]`.
> [!WARNING]
> Spaces inside `ansi()` and `rgb()` are not supported at the moment, and it will error.
| `[red]`, `[blue]`, ... | Named colors (black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white) |
| `[rgb(r,g,b)]` | 24-bit RGB color |
| `[ansi(n)]` | 256-color palette index |
| `[bold]`, `[italic]`, `[dim]`, `[underline]`, `[blink]`, `[strikethrough]` | Emphasis styles |
| `[/]` | Reset all styles |
| `\\[` | Escaped bracket, treated as literal `[` (notice the double escape `\\`) |
## Error Handling
`color()` panics on invalid markup. For graceful error handling, use `try_color()`:
```rust
use farben::try_color;
match try_color("[invalid]oops") {
Ok(s) => println!("{s}"),
Err(e) => eprintln!("Error: {e}"),
}
```
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit a Pull Request.
## License
This project is protected under the RazkarStudio Permissive License (RSPL). See [LICENSE.md](LICENSE.md) for more details.
Cheers, RazkarStudio.
© 2026 RazkarStudio. All rights reserved.