# Pretty 🌸 Pretty
[](https://github.com/apparebit/prettypretty/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[](https://github.com/apparebit/prettypretty/actions/workflows/gh-pages.yml)
\[ [**Docs.rs**](https://docs.rs/prettypretty/latest/prettypretty/)
| [**GitHub Pages**](https://apparebit.github.io/prettypretty/prettypretty/)
| [**Rust Crate**](https://crates.io/crates/prettypretty)
| [**Python Package**](https://pypi.org/project/prettypretty/)
| [**Repository**](https://github.com/apparebit/prettypretty)
\]
🎖️ As featured on [Real Python #211](https://realpython.com/podcasts/rpp/211/)
🎖️ Inspired [iTerm2's color preferences](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apparebit/prettypretty/main/docs/figures/iterm2-color-preferences.jpg)
Prettypretty is a Rust library with optional Python bindings that applies
**2020s color science to 1970s terminals** to facilitate scalable user
interfaces. However, instead of progressive enhancement, it primarily relies on
graceful degradation from high-resolution colors down to more limited terminal
colors.
The **three steps for better terminal styles** are:
1. Fluently declare high-resolution styles.
2. Let prettypretty adjust styles to terminal capabilities and user preferences at
program startup.
3. Use adjusted styles at will.
Prettypretty seamlessly integrates with
[prettytty](https://crates.io/crates/prettytty) for **querying the terminal for
its current color theme**. It then uses said color theme to produce more
accurate results when converting high resultion colors down to 256 or 16
terminal colors. The integration also is entirely optional, controlled by the
`tty` feature, and fairly small, requiring about 80 lines of code for
[`Theme::query`](https://apparebit.github.io/prettypretty/prettypretty/theme/struct.Theme.html#method.query).
Hence integration with another terminal library should be easy enough.
As far as colors are concerned, prettypretty comes with all the expressivity and
convenience of **high-resolution, floating point colors and [color
spaces](https://lab.ardov.me/spaces-3d)**, including the perceptually uniform
[Oklab](https://bottosson.github.io/posts/oklab/), whether in Cartesian or polar
form, with original or [revised
lightness](https://bottosson.github.io/posts/colorpicker/#intermission---a-new-lightness-estimate-for-oklab).
It further implements state-of-the-art algorithms for
[gamut-mapping](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-color-4/#gamut-mapping), [color
interpolation](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-color-4/#interpolation), [perceptual
contrast](https://github.com/Myndex/apca-w3), as well as its own hue- and
lightness-based downsampling for optimal selection of ANSI colors.
## Python Integration
The optional Python integration is enabled with the `pyffi` feature and relies
on [PyO3](https://pyo3.rs/) and [Maturin](https://www.maturin.rs) for building
an extension module with the same functionality. Only where the Rust library
uses trait implementations, the Python module [uses dedicated
methods](https://github.com/apparebit/prettypretty/blob/main/prettypretty/color/__init__.pyi).
While prettytty takes care of terminal access for Rust, the Python version of
prettypretty has its own terminal abstraction, with its own Pythonic interface.
## Acknowledgements
I wrote much of prettypretty over a two-month period in 2024. Twice. I first
implemented the core color routines in Python and then I did so again in Rust.
At this point, only the Rust version survives. But Python remains a tier-1
runtime target for prettypretty. Two things really helped with getting this
project started. First, I had been toying with different approaches to terminal
styles for a while and knew what I was looking for. Second, I benefitted
tremendously from [Lea Verou](http://lea.verou.me/)'s and [Chris
Lilley](https://svgees.us/)'s work on the [Color.js](https://colorjs.io) library
and [CSS Color 4](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-color-4/) specification.
Prettypretty directly reuses Color.js' formulae for conversion between color
spaces and implements several CSS Color 4 algorithms.
---
Copyright 2024-2025 Robert Grimm. The code in this repository has been released
as open source under the [Apache
2.0](https://github.com/apparebit/prettypretty/blob/main/LICENSE) license.