Customize console colors for command-line tools
The following command-line tools output colored help and messages:
TPPTool.exe, TPPConfiguration.exe, and TPPPki.
If you prefer different colors—or no color—you can override the defaults using Windows Registry values under:
HKLM\Software\Venafi\Platform.
See Microsoft’s Windows Registry overview for general background.
About the Windows Registry
Before you start
- You need administrative privileges to write to
HKLM. - Restart the tool (or the console session) after changing values.
- Defaults use ANSI escape sequences. Background on ANSI codes: ANSI escape codes
- In all defaults,
\u001b(or\001b) represents the<ESC>character.
Registry values
Create one string value for each color you want to customize under HKLM\Software\Venafi\Platform. If a value is missing, the tool uses its built-in default.
| Registry Value (Name) | Applies to | Purpose | Type | Default Value | Default Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Console Title Color
|
Product | ANSI color sequence for the application title | REG_SZ | \u001b[32m
|
Green text (tool name/title) |
Console Category Color
|
Product | ANSI color sequence for argument category headings | REG_SZ | \u001b[36m
|
Cyan text (headings) |
Console Option Color
|
Product | Color for the mandatory part of an option | REG_SZ | \u001b[97m
|
Bright white text (required options) |
Console Optional Color
|
Product | Color for the optional part of an option | REG_SZ | \u001b[38;5;250m
|
Light gray text (optional parts) |
Console Argument Color
|
Product | Color for the argument indicator of an option | REG_SZ | \u001b[38;5;220m
|
Golden yellow text (arguments) |
Console Description Color
|
Product | Color for option descriptions | REG_SZ | \u001b[0m
|
Reset to system default (descriptive text) |
Console Error Color
|
Product | Color for errors | REG_SZ | \u001b[97;101m
|
Bright white on red background (errors) |
Console Example Color
|
Product | Color for examples | REG_SZ | \u001b[36m
|
Cyan text (examples) |
Console Reset Color
|
Product | Sequence that resets to the default system color | REG_SZ | \u001b[0m
|
Reset to system default (end of formatting) |
Examples
PowerShell (run as Administrator)
# Set errors to bright white on red
New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\Venafi\Platform" -Force | Out-Null
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\Venafi\Platform" `
-Name "Console Error Color" -PropertyType String -Value "\u001b[97;101m" -Force | Out-Null
# Turn off color by resetting sequences to no-op (ESC[0m immediately)
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\Venafi\Platform" `
-Name "Console Title Color" -PropertyType String -Value "\u001b[0m" -Force | Out-Null
Command Prompt (reg.exe)
REM Set optional text to gray (xterm 250)
reg add "HKLM\Software\Venafi\Platform" /v "Console Optional Color" /t REG_SZ /d "\u001b[38;5;250m" /f
Disabling color completely
To effectively remove color, set each value you care about to \u001b[0m (reset). If a value is not present, the tool uses its built-in default color.
Troubleshooting
- If you see raw sequences (like
[36m) instead of color, your terminal may not support ANSI colors (for example, very old consoles) or the escape character wasn’t written correctly. - Make sure there are no extra quotes or spaces around the values.
- Confirm the values are under
HKLM\Software\Venafi\Platform(not per-userHKCU).