Execute a colorized command from a php script

Question

I have a command, for example 'git diff' that output a colorized result when I run it from the terminal.

Now, I want to call that command from a CLI php script and display in the console the colorized result. I have try with exec(), system(), passthru() but in all case the output has been converted to plain black and white text.

Is there a way to preserve the color of the standard result? If not, does someone know why this information get lost?

Just an idea: it's probably environment-variable related. A quick test might provide clues: env > env_a.out && php -r 'system("env");' > env_b.out && diff env_a.out env_b.out — gamen
– gamen, Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 20:58
I try your test, once both env file reordered, the diff is only like this: 'SHLVL=1 against SHLVL=2' — jeanmonod
– jeanmonod, Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 21:10
That similar? I'm surprised to be honest. Perhaps providing further detail about your environment would be helpful in your question, as well as simplifying the problem by trying to output a color yourself first (php -r 'printf("%c[32mGreen%c[0m\n", 27, 27);') rather than from invoking a command like git. — gamen
– gamen, Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 21:29

Mark Reed · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-15 05:39:07Z

10

In all likelihood the command you are running is checking to see if output is to a terminal and not colorizing it if it isn't. There is usually a way to force it, but that's going to be specific to the command itself; in the case of git diff, you can specify --color=always.

answered Apr 15, 2012 at 5:39

Mark Reed

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2 Comments

jeanmonod Over a year ago

Yes, your are right, if I did something like that: <?php system('git diff --color=always'); ?> I got the color. So the question now is: Is there a way, from php, to tell the commands that yes, we are in a terminal?

Mark Reed Over a year ago

Unfortunately, the command really isn't attached to a terminal the way PHP executes it (unlike the way the shell does). Even when you use passthru, PHP places itself in between the command and the terminal; it just doesn't modify the output as it passes through. It's not just colors; full-screen commands will simply not work at all when run this way. So short of some elaborate pseudo-terminal setup, which I don't think you can do from PHP anyway, I don't think there's a general solution.

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