Console¶

The Console is your primary interface for all terminal output in Fast-Rich. It handles color detection, terminal sizing, and rendering of styled content.

Creating a Console¶

use fast_rich::prelude::*;

fn main() {
    let console = Console::new();
    console.print("[bold green]Ready![/]");
}

Basic Output Methods¶

`print()` - Styled Output¶

Prints text with markup processing, no trailing newline:

console.print("[bold]Hello[/] ");
console.print("[blue]World[/]");
// Output: Hello World (on same line)

`println()` - Styled Output with Newline¶

Same as print() but adds a newline:

console.println("[green]Line 1[/]");
console.println("[blue]Line 2[/]");

`print_renderable()` - Complex Objects¶

For tables, panels, trees, and other renderables:

let mut table = Table::new();
table.add_column("Name");
table.add_row_strs(&["Fast-Rich"]);

console.print_renderable(&table);

Decorative Methods¶

`rule()` - Horizontal Divider¶

Creates a decorative horizontal line:

console.rule("[bold]Section Title[/]");

Output:

───────────────────── Section Title ──────────────────────

Customize with plain text or leave empty:

console.rule("");  // Plain line
console.rule("[red]Chapter 1[/]");  // Styled title

`newline()` - Blank Line¶

Adds a blank line:

console.print("[bold]Before[/]");
console.newline();
console.print("[bold]After[/]");

Console Configuration¶

Force Color Output¶

By default, Fast-Rich detects if the terminal supports colors. Override this behavior:

// Force colors on (useful for CI/piped output)
let console = Console::new().force_color(true);

// Force colors off
let console = Console::new().force_color(false);

Terminal Width¶

Get the current terminal width:

let console = Console::new();
let width = console.get_width();
println!("Terminal is {} columns wide", width);

Capture Mode (Testing)¶

For testing, capture output instead of printing to stdout:

use fast_rich::prelude::*;

fn main() {
    let console = Console::capture();

    console.print("[bold]Hello[/]");
    console.println(" World");

    let output = console.get_captured_output();
    assert!(output.contains("Hello"));
    assert!(output.contains("World"));
}

This is useful for:

Unit testing styled output
Generating output for export
Comparing expected vs. actual rendering

Real Terminal Output¶

Command:

cargo run --example console_print

Output:

Console API Demo
This is a regular print.

This is a println which adds a newline.

─────── Padding ───────
Explicit Renderable

Emoji: 🐍🦀

Best Practices¶

Use Prelude Import

The prelude re-exports everything you need:

use fast_rich::prelude::*;

Reuse Console Instance

Create one Console and reuse it throughout your application:

struct App {
    console: Console,
}

impl App {
    fn new() -> Self {
        Self { console: Console::new() }
    }
}

Thread Safety

Console is not Send or Sync. For multi-threaded applications, create a new Console in each thread or protect with appropriate synchronization.