feat: coloring prefixes

README.md

@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ Check out documentation and other usage examples in the [`docs` directory](./doc
   - `prefix`: the prefix type to use when logging processes output.
     Possible values: `index`, `pid`, `time`, `command`, `name`, `none`, or a template (eg `[{time} process: {pid}]`).
     Default: the name of the process, or its index if no name is set.
+    Templates can wrap any portion of the prefix with `{color}` and `{/color}` to restrict coloring to that region (eg `[{color}{name}{/color}]` colors only the name, leaving the brackets uncolored). If either marker is omitted the missing side is implicit, so a template with no markers is colored in full.
   - `prefixColors`: a list of colors or a string as supported by [Chalk](https://www.npmjs.com/package/chalk) and additional style `auto` for an automatically picked color.
     Supports all Chalk color functions: `#RRGGBB`, `bg#RRGGBB`, `hex()`, `bgHex()`, `rgb()`, `bgRgb()`, `ansi256()`, `bgAnsi256()`.
     Functions and modifiers can be chained (e.g., `rgb(255,136,0).bold`, `black.bgHex(#00FF00).dim`).

lib/flow-control/logger-padding.spec.ts

@@ -42,6 +42,15 @@ it('sets prefix length to the longest prefix of all commands', () => {
     expect(logger.setPrefixLength).toHaveBeenCalledWith(6);
 });
 
+it('ignores color markers when measuring prefix length', () => {
+    logger.getPrefixContent
+        .mockReturnValueOnce({ type: 'template', value: '{color}foo{/color}' })
+        .mockReturnValueOnce({ type: 'template', value: '{color}abcd{/color}' });
+
+    controller.handle(commands);
+    expect(logger.setPrefixLength).toHaveBeenCalledWith(4);
+});
+
 it('does not shorten the prefix length', () => {
     logger.getPrefixContent
         .mockReturnValueOnce({ type: 'default', value: '100' })

lib/flow-control/logger-padding.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 import { Command } from '../command.js';
-import { Logger } from '../logger.js';
+import { COLOR_MARKER_RE, Logger } from '../logger.js';
 import { FlowController } from './flow-controller.js';
 
+function visibleLength(value: string | undefined): number {
+    return value ? value.replace(COLOR_MARKER_RE, '').length : 0;
+}
+
 export class LoggerPadding implements FlowController {
     private readonly logger: Logger;
 
@@ -14,7 +18,7 @@ export class LoggerPadding implements FlowController {
         // Compute the prefix length now, which works for all styles but those with a PID.
         let length = commands.reduce((length, command) => {
             const content = this.logger.getPrefixContent(command);
-            return Math.max(length, content?.value.length || 0);
+            return Math.max(length, visibleLength(content?.value));
         }, 0);
         this.logger.setPrefixLength(length);
 
@@ -25,7 +29,7 @@ export class LoggerPadding implements FlowController {
             command.timer.subscribe((event) => {
                 if (!event.endDate) {
                     const content = this.logger.getPrefixContent(command);
-                    length = Math.max(length, content?.value.length || 0);
+                    length = Math.max(length, visibleLength(content?.value));
                     this.logger.setPrefixLength(length);
                 }
             }),

lib/logger.spec.ts

@@ -476,6 +476,79 @@ describe('#logCommandText()', () => {
     });
 });
 
+describe('#logCommandText() with color markers', () => {
+    it('colors only the text inside {color}...{/color} within a template prefix', () => {
+        const { logger } = createLogger({ prefixFormat: '[{color}{name}{/color}]' });
+
+        const cmd = new FakeCommand('bar', undefined, 1, { prefixColor: 'blue' });
+        logger.logCommandText('foo', cmd);
+
+        expect(logger.log).toHaveBeenCalledWith(`[${chalk.blue('bar')}] `, 'foo', cmd);
+    });
+
+    it('supports multiple {color}...{/color} pairs in one template', () => {
+        const { logger } = createLogger({
+            prefixFormat: '{color}[{/color}{name}{color}]{/color}',
+        });
+
+        const cmd = new FakeCommand('bar', undefined, 1, { prefixColor: 'blue' });
+        logger.logCommandText('foo', cmd);
+
+        expect(logger.log).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            `${chalk.blue('[')}bar${chalk.blue(']')} `,
+            'foo',
+            cmd,
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('auto-closes an unclosed {color} so the tail stays colored', () => {
+        const { logger } = createLogger({ prefixFormat: '[{color}{name}]' });
+
+        const cmd = new FakeCommand('bar', undefined, 1, { prefixColor: 'blue' });
+        logger.logCommandText('foo', cmd);
+
+        expect(logger.log).toHaveBeenCalledWith(`[${chalk.blue('bar]')} `, 'foo', cmd);
+    });
+
+    it('auto-opens a bare {/color} so the head stays colored', () => {
+        const { logger } = createLogger({ prefixFormat: '{name}{/color}]' });
+
+        const cmd = new FakeCommand('bar', undefined, 1, { prefixColor: 'blue' });
+        logger.logCommandText('foo', cmd);
+
+        expect(logger.log).toHaveBeenCalledWith(`${chalk.blue('bar')}] `, 'foo', cmd);
+    });
+
+    it('templates without markers stay fully colored (backward compat)', () => {
+        const { logger } = createLogger({ prefixFormat: '{name}-{index}' });
+
+        const cmd = new FakeCommand('bar', undefined, 1, { prefixColor: 'blue' });
+        logger.logCommandText('foo', cmd);
+
+        expect(logger.log).toHaveBeenCalledWith(`${chalk.blue('bar-1')} `, 'foo', cmd);
+    });
+
+    it('pads templated prefix based on visible length, ignoring marker tokens', () => {
+        const { logger } = createLogger({ prefixFormat: '{color}{name}{/color}' });
+
+        const cmd = new FakeCommand('foo', undefined, 0, { prefixColor: 'blue' });
+        logger.setPrefixLength(6);
+        logger.logCommandText('bar', cmd);
+
+        expect(logger.log).toHaveBeenCalledWith(`${chalk.blue('foo')}    `, 'bar', cmd);
+    });
+
+    it('strips markers and emits no ANSI escapes when colors are globally off', () => {
+        const { logger } = createLogger({ prefixFormat: '[{color}{name}{/color}]' });
+
+        logger.toggleColors(false);
+        const cmd = new FakeCommand('bar', undefined, 1, { prefixColor: 'blue' });
+        logger.logCommandText('foo', cmd);
+
+        expect(logger.log).toHaveBeenCalledWith('[bar] ', 'foo', cmd);
+    });
+});
+
 describe('#logCommandEvent()', () => {
     it('does nothing if in raw mode', () => {
         const { logger } = createLogger({ raw: true });

lib/logger.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ const noColorChalk = new Chalk({ level: 0 });
 
 const HEX_PATTERN = /^#[0-9A-Fa-f]{3,6}$/;
 
+const COLOR_OPEN = '{color}';
+const COLOR_CLOSE = '{/color}';
+export const COLOR_MARKER_RE = /\{\/?color\}/g;
+
 /**
  * Applies a single color segment to a chalk instance.
  * Handles: function calls (hex, bgHex, rgb, bgRgb, ansi256, bgAnsi256, etc.),
@@ -201,9 +205,11 @@ export class Logger {
             return '';
         }
 
+        const visibleLength = content.value.replace(COLOR_MARKER_RE, '').length;
+        const padding = ' '.repeat(Math.max(0, this.prefixLength - visibleLength));
         return content.type === 'template'
-            ? content.value.padEnd(this.prefixLength, ' ')
-            : `[${content.value.padEnd(this.prefixLength, ' ')}]`;
+            ? content.value + padding
+            : `[${content.value}${padding}]`;
     }
 
     setPrefixLength(length: number) {
@@ -214,7 +220,34 @@ export class Logger {
         const prefixColor = command.prefixColor ?? '';
         const defaultColor = applyColor(this.chalk, defaults.prefixColors) as ChalkInstance;
         const color = applyColor(this.chalk, prefixColor) ?? defaultColor;
-        return color(text);
+
+        // Segment the text around `{color}` / `{/color}` markers and only apply `color`
+        // inside opened regions. If either marker is missing, it's implicitly added to
+        // the start or end respectively — so a marker-free input stays fully colored,
+        // preserving backward compatibility.
+        let normalized = text;
+        if (!normalized.includes(COLOR_OPEN)) normalized = COLOR_OPEN + normalized;
+        if (!normalized.includes(COLOR_CLOSE)) normalized = normalized + COLOR_CLOSE;
+
+        let output = '';
+        let rest = normalized;
+        let inColorRegion = false;
+        while (rest.length > 0) {
+            const marker = inColorRegion ? COLOR_CLOSE : COLOR_OPEN;
+            const idx = rest.indexOf(marker);
+            if (idx === -1) {
+                // Tail after the last closing marker: normalization guarantees a
+                // `{/color}` exists, so once opened a region always finds its close —
+                // reaching here implies `inColorRegion` is false and the tail is plain.
+                output += rest;
+                break;
+            }
+            const segment = rest.slice(0, idx);
+            output += inColorRegion ? color(segment) : segment;
+            rest = rest.slice(idx + marker.length);
+            inColorRegion = !inColorRegion;
+        }
+        return output;
     }
 
     /**