rudironsoni dotnet-spectre-console
Spectre.Console for building rich console output (tables, trees, progress bars, prompts, markup, live displays) and Spectre.Console.Cli for structured command-line application parsing. Cross-platform across Windows, macOS, and Linux terminals.
Version assumptions: .NET 8.0+ baseline. Spectre.Console 0.54.0 (latest stable). Spectre.Console.Cli 0.53.1 (latest stable). Both packages target net8.0+ and netstandard2.0.
Scope
- Spectre.Console rich output: markup, tables, trees, progress bars, prompts, live displays
- Spectre.Console.Cli command-line application framework
Out of scope
- Full TUI applications (windows, menus, dialogs, views) -- see [skill:dotnet-terminal-gui]
- System.CommandLine parsing -- see [skill:dotnet-system-commandline]
- CLI application architecture and distribution -- see [skill:dotnet-cli-architecture] and [skill:dotnet-cli-distribution]
Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-terminal-gui] for full TUI alternative, [skill:dotnet-system-commandline] for System.CommandLine scope boundary, [skill:dotnet-cli-architecture] for CLI structure, [skill:dotnet-csharp-async-patterns] for async patterns, [skill:dotnet-csharp-dependency-injection] for DI with Spectre.Console.Cli, [skill:dotnet-accessibility] for TUI accessibility limitations and screen reader considerations.
Package References
<ItemGroup>
<!-- Rich console output: markup, tables, trees, progress, prompts, live displays -->
<PackageReference Include="Spectre.Console" Version="0.54.0" />
<!-- CLI command framework (adds command parsing, settings, DI support) -->
<PackageReference Include="Spectre.Console.Cli" Version="0.53.1" />
</ItemGroup>
```bash
Spectre.Console.Cli has a dependency on Spectre.Console -- install both only when you need the CLI framework. For rich output only, Spectre.Console alone is sufficient.
---
## Markup and Styling
Spectre.Console uses a BBCode-inspired markup syntax for styled console output.
### Basic Markup
```csharp
using Spectre.Console;
// Styled text with markup tags
AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[bold red]Error:[/] File not found.");
AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[green]Success![/] Build completed in [blue]2.3s[/].");
AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[underline]https://example.com[/]");
AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[dim italic]This is subtle text[/]");
// Nested styles
AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[bold [red on white]Warning:[/] check config[/]");
// Escape brackets with double brackets
AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("Use [[bold]] for bold text.");
```text
### Figlet Text
```csharp
AnsiConsole.Write(
new FigletText("Hello!")
.Color(Color.Green)
.Centered());
```text
### Rule (Horizontal Line)
```csharp
// Simple rule
AnsiConsole.Write(new Rule());
// Titled rule
AnsiConsole.Write(new Rule("[yellow]Section Title[/]"));
// Aligned rule
AnsiConsole.Write(new Rule("[blue]Left Aligned[/]").LeftJustified());
```text
---
## Tables
```csharp
var table = new Table();
// Add columns
table.AddColumn("Name");
table.AddColumn(new TableColumn("Age").Centered());
table.AddColumn(new TableColumn("City").RightAligned());
// Add rows
table.AddRow("Alice", "30", "Seattle");
table.AddRow("[green]Bob[/]", "25", "Portland");
table.AddRow("Charlie", "35", "Vancouver");
// Styling
table.Border(TableBorder.Rounded);
table.BorderColor(Color.Grey);
table.Title("[underline]Team Members[/]");
table.Caption("[dim]Updated daily[/]");
// Column configuration
table.Columns[0].PadLeft(2);
table.Columns[0].NoWrap();
AnsiConsole.Write(table);
```text
### Nested Tables
```csharp
var innerTable = new Table()
.AddColumn("Detail")
.AddColumn("Value")
.AddRow("Role", "Developer")
.AddRow("Level", "Senior");
var outerTable = new Table()
.AddColumn("Name")
.AddColumn("Info")
.AddRow("Alice", innerTable);
AnsiConsole.Write(outerTable);
```text
---
## Trees
```csharp
var tree = new Tree("Solution");
// Add nodes
var srcNode = tree.AddNode("[yellow]src[/]");
var apiNode = srcNode.AddNode("Api");
apiNode.AddNode("Controllers/");
apiNode.AddNode("Program.cs");
var libNode = srcNode.AddNode("Library");
libNode.AddNode("Services/");
var testNode = tree.AddNode("[blue]tests[/]");
testNode.AddNode("Api.Tests/");
// Styling
tree.Style = Style.Parse("dim");
AnsiConsole.Write(tree);
```text
---
## Panels
```csharp
var panel = new Panel("This is [green]important[/] content.")
.Header("[bold]Notice[/]")
.Border(BoxBorder.Rounded)
.BorderColor(Color.Blue)
.Padding(2, 1) // horizontal, vertical
.Expand(); // fill available width
AnsiConsole.Write(panel);
```text
### Composing Renderables with Columns
```csharp
AnsiConsole.Write(new Columns(
new Panel("Left panel").Expand(),
new Panel("Right panel").Expand()));
```csharp
---
## Progress Displays
### Progress Bars
```csharp
await AnsiConsole.Progress()
.AutoClear(false) // keep completed tasks visible
.HideCompleted(false)
.Columns(
new TaskDescriptionColumn(),
new ProgressBarColumn(),
new PercentageColumn(),
new RemainingTimeColumn(),
new SpinnerColumn())
.StartAsync(async ctx =>
{
var downloadTask = ctx.AddTask("[green]Downloading[/]", maxValue: 100);
var extractTask = ctx.AddTask("[blue]Extracting[/]", maxValue: 100);
while (!ctx.IsFinished)
{
await Task.Delay(50);
downloadTask.Increment(1.5);
if (downloadTask.Value > 50)
{
extractTask.Increment(0.8);
}
}
});
```text
### Status Spinners
```csharp
await AnsiConsole.Status()
.Spinner(Spinner.Known.Dots)
.SpinnerStyle(Style.Parse("green bold"))
.StartAsync("Processing...", async ctx =>
{
await Task.Delay(1000);
ctx.Status("Compiling...");
ctx.Spinner(Spinner.Known.Star);
await Task.Delay(1000);
ctx.Status("Publishing...");
await Task.Delay(1000);
});
```text
---
## Prompts
### Text Prompt
```csharp
// Simple typed input
var name = AnsiConsole.Ask<string>("What's your [green]name[/]?");
var age = AnsiConsole.Ask<int>("What's your [green]age[/]?");
// With default value
var city = AnsiConsole.Prompt(
new TextPrompt<string>("Enter [green]city[/]:")
.DefaultValue("Seattle")
.ShowDefaultValue());
// Secret input (password)
var password = AnsiConsole.Prompt(
new TextPrompt<string>("Enter [green]password[/]:")
.Secret());
// With validation
var email = AnsiConsole.Prompt(
new TextPrompt<string>("Enter [green]email[/]:")
.Validate(input =>
input.Contains('@') && input.Contains('.')
? ValidationResult.Success()
: ValidationResult.Error("[red]Invalid email address[/]")));
// Optional (allow empty)
var nickname = AnsiConsole.Prompt(
new TextPrompt<string>("Enter [green]nickname[/] (optional):")
.AllowEmpty());
```text
### Confirmation Prompt
```csharp
bool proceed = AnsiConsole.Confirm("Continue with deployment?");
```csharp
### Selection Prompt
```csharp
var fruit = AnsiConsole.Prompt(
new SelectionPrompt<string>()
.Title("Pick a [green]fruit[/]:")
.PageSize(10)
.EnableSearch()
.WrapAround()
.AddChoices("Apple", "Banana", "Orange", "Mango", "Grape"));
// Grouped choices
var country = AnsiConsole.Prompt(
new SelectionPrompt<string>()
.Title("Select [green]destination[/]:")
.AddChoiceGroup("Europe", "France", "Italy", "Spain")
.AddChoiceGroup("Asia", "Japan", "Thailand", "Vietnam"));
```text
### Multi-Selection Prompt
```csharp
var toppings = AnsiConsole.Prompt(
new MultiSelectionPrompt<string>()
.Title("Choose [green]toppings[/]:")
.PageSize(10)
.Required()
.InstructionsText("[grey](Press [blue]<space>[/] to toggle, [green]<enter>[/] to accept)[/]")
.AddChoices("Cheese", "Pepperoni", "Mushrooms", "Olives", "Onions"));
```text
---
## Live Displays
Live displays update in-place for dynamic content that changes over time.
```csharp
var table = new Table()
.AddColumn("Time")
.AddColumn("Status");
await AnsiConsole.Live(table)
.AutoClear(false)
.Overflow(VerticalOverflow.Ellipsis)
.Cropping(VerticalOverflowCropping.Bottom)
.StartAsync(async ctx =>
{
table.AddRow(DateTime.Now.ToString("T"), "[yellow]Starting...[/]");
ctx.Refresh();
await Task.Delay(1000);
table.AddRow(DateTime.Now.ToString("T"), "[green]Processing...[/]");
ctx.Refresh();
await Task.Delay(1000);
table.AddRow(DateTime.Now.ToString("T"), "[blue]Complete![/]");
ctx.Refresh();
});
```text
### Replacing the Target
```csharp
await AnsiConsole.Live(new Markup("[yellow]Initializing...[/]"))
.StartAsync(async ctx =>
{
await Task.Delay(1000);
ctx.UpdateTarget(new Markup("[green]Ready![/]"));
## Detailed Examples
See [references/detailed-examples.md](references/detailed-examples.md) for complete code samples and advanced patterns.