bash prompt coloring for Mac OS X

Question

The Goal

I'm trying to colorize my bash prompt on Mac OS X with the git branch (where available).

What I've Tried

With my limited bash knowledge, I pieced together the following code from Google searches and other questions:

function parse_git_branch() {
        branch=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>/dev/null)

        if [[ -z "$branch" ]]; then
                return
        fi

        if [[ -z "$(git status -s 2>/dev/null)" ]]; then
                color=$'\e[1;32m'
        else
                color=$'\e[1;31m'
        fi

        echo "\[$color\] (${branch}) "
}

PS1="\h:\W \u\$(parse_git_branch)\[\e[0m\]\$ "

The Problem

While the coloration works, the prompt contains some of the escape sequences from parse_git_branch.

leonidas:AYI jason\[\] (master) $

In addition, things like command history (up) and recursive search (ctrl+r) yield extra characters.

leonidas:AYI jason\[\] (master) $h)`re': git status

The Questions

How can I fix the escaping with proper visible and non-visible characters.
Should I use tput instead of these color codes for wider support?

(1) switch to zsh, (2) get oh-my-zsh, (3) choose a theme, (4) never look back! — Oliver Charlesworth
– Oliver Charlesworth, Commented Dec 30, 2013 at 2:07
@Oli Charlesworth, thanks for the suggestion. But I'd like to solve the current problem. — Jason McCreary
– Jason McCreary, Commented Dec 30, 2013 at 2:10
When you set PS1="...$(parse_git_branch)...", it is evaluated precisely once, while sourcing the file. You need PS1='...' to have it evaluated every time. — Kevin
– Kevin, Commented Dec 30, 2013 at 16:39
@Kevin, that's not the problem I am having. It is evaluated every time. — Jason McCreary
– Jason McCreary, Commented Dec 30, 2013 at 16:43

Milliways · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-30 03:42:38Z

3

Why go to all this trouble. Just create a .bash_profile Mine is:-

export PS1="\[\033[0;30;33m\]\w\[\e[0m\]$ "

You should set .bashrc to reference this

[ -r ~/.bash_profile ] && source ~/.bash_profile

answered Dec 30, 2013 at 3:42

Milliways

1,2751 gold badge12 silver badges27 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Jason McCreary Over a year ago

See my update, I'm trying to include the git branch (if available).

that other guy · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-30 04:53:08Z

2

The problem is that \[ \] is not respected in expanded data.

To get around it, you can set PS1 to a post-expansion version of itself in PROMPT_COMMAND, whose contents is evaluated before every prompt:

PROMPT_COMMAND='PS1="\h:\W \u$(parse_git_branch)\[\e[0m\]\\\$ "'

Since the \[ \] are now part of the literal value of PS1, and not created by prompt expansion, they're correctly interpretted.

answered Dec 30, 2013 at 4:53

that other guy

125k12 gold badges187 silver badges214 bronze badges

2 Comments

Mark Reed Over a year ago

yup. Simpler example: ps1() { echo '\h:\W$ '; }; PS1='$(ps1)'; Your prompt will be literally \h:\W$ .

Jason McCreary Over a year ago

While I will try this, it feels hackish to me. There must be a way to fix what I have.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

bash prompt coloring for Mac OS X

The Goal

What I've Tried

The Problem

The Questions

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

2 Comments

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

The Goal

What I've Tried

The Problem

The Questions

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

2 Comments

Related