toAnsi(md, options?): string

Converts a Markdown string to an ANSI-escaped terminal string suitable for printing in a terminal emulator.

Import

import { toAnsi } from 'md-to-rich'
// or sub-path:
import { toAnsi } from 'md-to-rich/ansi'

Signature

function toAnsi(md: string, options?: AnsiOptions): string

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
columns	number	process.stdout.columns ?? 80	Terminal column width for word-wrap and horizontal rules
hyperlinks	boolean	false	Emit OSC 8 hyperlink sequences (clickable links in supported terminals)
theme	Partial<AnsiTheme>	built-in	Override individual ANSI styles — only specified keys are replaced
gfm	boolean	true	Enable GitHub Flavored Markdown
remarkPlugins	Plugin[]	[]	Additional remark plugins applied before serialization

Examples

Basic

import { toAnsi } from 'md-to-rich'

const output = toAnsi('# Hello\n\n**bold** and *italic*', { columns: 80 })
process.stdout.write(output)

OSC 8 hyperlinks

toAnsi('[Docs](https://example.com)', { hyperlinks: true })
// → OSC 8 ;; https://example.com \a Docs OSC 8 ;; \a

Supported in iTerm2, Kitty, WezTerm, and most modern terminal emulators.

Custom theme

import type { AnsiTheme } from 'md-to-rich'

const theme: Partial<AnsiTheme> = {
  h1: { open: '\x1b[1m', close: '\x1b[0m' },
  listBullet: '→',
}

toAnsi('# Title\n\n- item', { theme })

Default Theme

The built-in theme uses only inline ANSI constants — no external dependencies like chalk:

Key	Effect
h1	Bold + underline
h2	Bold
h3	Bold
bold	Bold
italic	Italic
strikethrough	Strikethrough
inlineCode	Reverse video
codeBlock	Box-drawing border
blockquote	Dim + │ prefix
link	Underline
listBullet	• character
hrChar	─ character

See the ANSI Theme guide for full details and examples.