crs.h - Console Rich Style

crs.h is a lightweight, header-only C++ library that provides advanced console text styling capabilities using ANSI escape sequences. Designed for developers targeting MSYS2, MinGW, Linux, and other Unix-like terminals, it offers an easy and flexible way to format console output with:

• Text effects: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, reset
• 24-bit RGB color support: foreground and background colors specified by RGB hex values
• No namespace required – all functions are global for simplicity
• Utility functions for terminal formatting

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Table of Contents

1. Features
2. Installation
3. Usage
4. Example Code
5. Integration with MSYS2 / MinGW
6. Compilation Instructions
7. Notes & Best Practices
8. Troubleshooting
9. License
10. Credits

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✅ Features

🎨 Color Controls

• setTextColor(hex) – Set text color (e.g., #ff0000)
• setBackgroundColor(hex) – Set background color (e.g., #000000)
• resetColors() – Reset both foreground and background

🖋️ Text Formatting

• setBold() / unsetBold()
• setItalic() / unsetItalic()
• setUnderline() / unsetUnderline()
• setReverse() / unsetReverse()
• setStrikethrough() / unsetStrikethrough()

⚠️ Deprecated

• printGradientText(...) – was used for gradients, but is now deprecated and non-functional.

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📁 Installation & Usage Guide

Watch: CRS - Console rich style (installing Guide)

This guide will show you how to "install" your CRS library so you can use it easily in any MinGW C++ project with VS Code.

🛠️ Part 1: Install CRS as a System Library (One-Time Setup)

These steps make your CRS library available to all your MinGW C++ projects.

Prepare crs.h and crs.cpp: Place your crs.h (containing only function declarations) and crs.cpp (containing function implementations) files in a temporary working directory (e.g., C:\temp\crs_build).

Compile crs.cpp into an object file: Open your terminal (MSYS2, Git Bash, or CMD/PowerShell if g++ is in your PATH), navigate to your temporary directory, and run: Bash

g++ -c crs.cpp -o crs.o -std=c++17

Create the static library libcrs.a: In the same directory, run: Bash

ar rcs libcrs.a crs.o

Copy crs.h to MinGW's include directory: Bash

copy crs.h C:\msys64\mingw64\include\

(If using MSYS2/Git Bash, you can use cp crs.h /mingw64/include/)

Copy libcrs.a to MinGW's lib directory: Bash

copy libcrs.a C:\msys64\mingw64\lib\

(If using MSYS2/Git Bash, you can use cp libcrs.a /mingw64/lib/)

🖥️ Part 2: Configure VS Code for IntelliSense (One-Time Setup for MinGW)

This ensures VS Code's IntelliSense (for autocompletion, error checking) can find crs.h.

Open VS Code Command Palette: Press Ctrl+Shift+P.

Select C/C++: Edit Configurations (UI).

Under "Include path", click "+ Add Folder".

Add the path to your MinGW's include directory:

C:\msys64\mingw64\include

You'll likely already have ${workspaceFolder}/** and other paths. Just add this one.

Save the c_cpp_properties.json file.

Reload VS Code (or Ctrl+Shift+P and "Reload Window") for changes to take effect.

🚀 Part 3: Create a VS Code Project Template (Optional but Recommended)

This step streamlines creating new projects, so you don't have to edit tasks.json every time.

Create a template folder: Make a new folder, for example, C:\Users\YourUser\Documents\CppProjectTemplate.

Create .vscode/tasks.json: Inside this template folder, create a .vscode subfolder, and then a tasks.json file inside .vscode. Paste the following content into tasks.json: JSON

{
    "tasks": [
        {
            "type": "cppbuild",
            "label": "Build C++ Project (CRS & C++17)",
            "command": "C:\\msys64\\mingw64\\bin\\g++.exe",
            "args": [
                "-fdiagnostics-color=always",
                "-g",
                "${file}",
                "-o",
                "${fileDirname}\\${fileBasenameNoExtension}.exe",
                "-std=c++17",
                "-lcrs"
            ],
            "options": {
                "cwd": "${fileDirname}"
            },
            "problemMatcher": [
                "$gcc"
            ],
            "group": {
                "kind": "build",
                "isDefault": true
            },
            "detail": "General build task for C++17."
        }
    ],
    "version": "2.0.0"
}

⚡ Part 4: Use CRS in Your Projects (For Every Project)

Now, when you want to start a new C++ project that uses CRS, follow these simple steps:

Start a new project: Copy your CppProjectTemplate folder. Paste and rename it to your new project's name (e.g., MyNewAwesomeApp). Open this new project folder in VS Code (File > Open Folder...). Include crs.h in your C++ code: In any .cpp file where you want to use CRS functions (e.g., main.cpp), add: C++

#include <crs.h> // Use angle brackets for system-installed headers

Compile your project: Open the .cpp file you want to compile in VS Code. Press Ctrl+Shift+B (or Cmd+Shift+B on macOS). VS Code will automatically use the tasks.json from your project folder to compile and link your application with CRS.

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🧪 Usage & Experimental

#include "crs.h"
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    setTextColor("00ff00");
    setBackgroundColor("000000");
    setBold();
    std::cout << "Bold green on black" << std::endl;

    unsetBold();
    resetColors();

    setUnderline();
    std::cout << "Underlined text" << std::endl;
    unsetUnderline();

    return 0;
}

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🖥️ Integration with MSYS2 / MinGW

Global Usage

Copy the file into:

C:\msys64\mingw64\include

Then use:

#include <crs.h>

Local Usage

Keep crs.h in your project and include it directly:

#include "crs.h"

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⚙️ Compilation Instructions

Compile in MSYS2 / MinGW like this:

g++ main.cpp -o app
./app

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📌 Notes & Best Practices

• Use ANSI-compatible terminals (Windows Terminal, macOS Terminal, Linux).
• Always reset styles with resetColors() to avoid style bleed.
• Avoid mixing std::cerr and std::cout without resetting styles.

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❓ Troubleshooting

• Colors not working? Terminal might not support ANSI. Try Windows Terminal.
• Escape codes visible as text? Ensure output encoding and terminal compatibility.
• Header not found? Confirm that crs.h is in the include path.

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📄 License

MIT License — free to use and modify.

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✨ Credits

Created by Dominik [VEX7]
Inspired by UNIX and ANSI escape standards.

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🙏 Support

If you enjoy using crs.h, give it a ⭐ on GitHub!

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Thank you for using crs.h for beautiful console output!