chalk-skilld

name	chalk-skilld
description	ALWAYS use when writing code importing "chalk". Consult for debugging, best practices, or modifying chalk.
metadata	{"version":"5.6.2","generated_by":"Anthropic · Haiku 4.5","generated_at":"2026-06-26T00:00:00.000Z"}

chalk/chalk chalk@5.6.2

Tags: next: 3.0.0-beta.2, latest: 5.6.2

References: package.json • Issues • Releases

Search

Use skilld search "query" -p chalk instead of grepping .skilld/ directories. Run skilld search --guide -p chalk for full syntax, filters, and operators.

API Changes

This section documents version-specific API changes — prioritise recent major/minor releases.

• BREAKING: Package is now ESM-only — requires Node.js 12.20+. CommonJS consumers must use Chalk v4 or add a transpilation step. This is the most significant v5.0.0 change and will cause runtime errors if ignored source

• BREAKING: Removed colour methods .keyword(), .hsl(), .hsv(), .hwb(), .ansi() — use the color-convert package if you need these conversions. This reduces bundle size by ~20% source

• BREAKING: Export moved: chalk.Instance is now the named export Chalk — use import {Chalk} from 'chalk' instead of chalk.Instance source

• BREAKING: Export moved: chalk.supportsColor is now the named export supportsColor — use import {supportsColor} from 'chalk' source

• BREAKING: Export moved: chalk.stderr is now the named export chalkStderr — use import {chalkStderr} from 'chalk' source

• BREAKING: Export moved: chalk.stderr.supportsColor is now the named export supportsColorStderr — use import {supportsColorStderr} from 'chalk' source

• BREAKING: Tagged template literal syntax moved to separate package — chalk\...`is no longer valid. Use thechalk-templatepackage withimport chalkTemplate from 'chalk-template'` instead source``

• NEW: modifierNames, foregroundColorNames, backgroundColorNames, colorNames arrays — expose all supported style names as arrays. Use when validating user input or building dynamic style selectors source

• NEW: overline style modifier — applies a horizontal line above text. Available as chalk.overline source

Also deprecated: Modifiers, ForegroundColor, BackgroundColor, Color types (use ModifierName, ForegroundColorName, BackgroundColorName, ColorName instead) · modifiers, foregroundColors, backgroundColors, colors exports (use modifierNames, foregroundColorNames, backgroundColorNames, colorNames instead) source

Best Practices

• Create reusable Chalk instances with new Chalk() for modules that need consistent color configuration instead of relying on the global default, which can be overridden by consumers source

• Define semantic style themes by composing chalk styles into an object once rather than repeating styled expressions throughout your codebase, enabling centralized style updates without refactoring multiple call sites source

• Use the visible modifier to conditionally display cosmetic text only in terminals that support colors, preventing unnecessary output in piped or non-color environments source

• Leverage modifierNames, foregroundColorNames, backgroundColorNames, and colorNames arrays when validating style input in wrapper functions or CLI tools source

• Use supportsColor or supportsColorStderr to detect terminal capabilities and conditionally apply styles only when colors are actually supported, rather than attempting colors in all environments source

• Set the FORCE_COLOR environment variable for CI systems that don't auto-detect color support (level 0-3), or use --color and --no-color flags to let users override detection source

• Use chalkStderr instead of the default chalk instance when styling stderr output, as it detects color support separately from stdout source

• Pass multiple style arguments as separate parameters to chalk functions rather than concatenating strings, which automatically joins them with spaces and improves readability source

• Use the named brightness color properties (redBright, greenBright, etc.) instead of manually calculating RGB values with rgb(), as they are optimized for terminal display source

• Use hex() and rgb() methods for custom colors instead of relying on the removed .keyword() method from v4; if you need CSS color name support, use the color-convert library source

• Override only the level property in Chalk options when creating instances, as it's the primary configuration point; avoid global mutations that affect all consumers source

• Chain styles in any order since later styles take precedence for conflicting attributes; leverage this to create adaptive styles without worrying about declaration order source

• Rely on Chalk's automatic color-level downsampling when using RGB or hex colors—specify the color you want and let Chalk handle terminal-specific reduction (ANSI 16/256/truecolor) source

• Validate version compatibility and migration paths if upgrading from v4 to v5, as v5 is ESM-only and removes several color methods; keep v4 if you need CommonJS or the removed color APIs source