Support output colors PLEASE

[OnkelTem]

I don't understand what is wrong with the output buffers of VSCode as they don't seem to support... colors!

I still cannot believe this, I searched stackoverflow, forums, this issue queue, trying to find an option which (for some awkward reason) might be accidentally disabled or something... But no. No Colors.

There was a thread 7 years ago on exactly this problem:
#243

At first it looked promising, but finally it was closed in fact unresolved due to its narrow scope (gulp tasks).
I then tried to find its follow-ups, but none found.

So let me put it clear: service facilities as well as our programs intentionally produce colors to help us read the output, and then VSCode removes the colors to make our life... harder? And the fact that the output doesn't contain any escape-sequences means that VSCode is just filtering them out. Correct me if I'm wrong please, but doesn't it look like a sabotage?

So please, give us our colors back.

P.S. I'm aware of an extension called "Output Colorizer" which is regularly recommended as a "workaround". Listen, it's not a workaround, as all what it does - is making some false assumptions and speculations on the output. It simply doesn't make any sense.

[melroy89]

I fully agree!

The "Output Colorizer" from IBM is really NOT what we want. We just want default color support in the output buffers in VSCode.

[tailaiw]

Agree! I almost feel like I'm too dumb to figure out how to set it up because this is such a basic feature. I really hope someone can tell me it is me too dumb and there's a native way.

[gjsjohnmurray]

Please provide more information. It sounds like you are referring to what VS Code calls Output Channels. By default these are displayed on a tab of the Panel, which appears at the bottom of the window and has a dropdown where you pick which channel to view.

What are you running, and how exactly, which is sending its output to an Output Channel?

[melroy89]

Please provide more information. It sounds like you are referring to what VS Code calls Output Channels. By default these are displayed on a tab of the Panel, which appears at the bottom of the window and has a dropdown where you pick which channel to view.

What are you running, and how exactly, which is sending its output to an Output Channel?

Yes we are all talking about the output channel.

In my case it's the cmake build system that output to this output channel.

And more precisely I added a custom target command in cmake which also executes Google Test (ctest). In my normal terminal it shows colors (yes I set the Google test environment variable for color in the cmake custom command). But there is no color at all in the vscode output channel.

[gjsjohnmurray]

There is a long-open request at microsoft/vscode-cmake-tools#478 for that extension to use a VS Code Terminal for its output instead of an Output Channel.

[melroy89]

You're right. Seeing the 56 likes and 13 hearts. I think people would love to see this getting changed to a normal (vscode) terminal.

Edit: cmake is always using the output channel for the build. Regardless of the build type.

[OnkelTem]

Here's how vscode-jest behaves here:

1. When it runs in the "debug" mode, it switches to the Terminal output and colors are preserved;
2. When it runs in the "run" mode, it uses an Output channel, no colors are displayed, the output is "blind".

I don't know if it's done intentionally or it's a sort of a side-effect.

[melroy89]

That sounds more like a specific extension related issue. Report that here: https://github.com/jest-community/vscode-jest

I was actually aiming for a generic solution in vscode core itself.

[gjsjohnmurray]

@Danger89 maybe this could help you ATM

https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-cmake-tools/blob/main/docs/debug-launch.md#run-without-debugging

[securisec]

@gjsjohnmurray Wanted to add another use case. See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57940666/how-can-i-get-colored-output-in-vs-code-output-window

[sandy081]

Thanks @gjsjohnmurray for providing very useful information. We do not want to support colors in Output channel, it is like an editor that shows text. We are planning to provide support for configuring language to it but not colors. One has to use terminals for that. Please file issue against corresponding extensions for that.

[IGR2014]

Visualization of the issue:
("Output" window when colors are enabled for both Clang and Ninja)

P.S. Actually, why don't just give us setting to enable/disable this possibility (defaulted with disable)