nocol is a command-line tool designed to stream text output from commands, stripping away any embedded ANSI colour codes. Unlike other tools like ansi2txt, nocol streams logs instantly, avoiding the long pauses typical of tools that buffer before writing to tee or other destinations. This makes nocol perfect for scenarios where you need real-time log processing, such as piping logs from a Node.js service into a log file in /tmp for easier searching within NeoVim. It's particularly handy for use with program runners like Cargo or Yarn, which produce coloured log outputs.
Download the latest binary for your platform here.
If you haven't added the tap yet, do so with:
brew tap divanvisagie/homebrew-tapThen, install nocol with:
brew install nocol| Command Example | Description |
|---|---|
echo 'hello' | lolcat | nocol |
Strips colours from the output of lolcat. |
ifconfig | nocol |
Strips colours from the output of ifconfig. |
cat colorfulfile.txt | nocol |
Strips colours from the contents of a file. |
By using nocol, you ensure that your log files are clean and easily searchable, while benefiting from instant streaming without the delays experienced with other colour-stripping tools.