cli: style node --help output with util.styleText by edsadr · Pull Request #64484 · nodejs/node

edsadr · 2026-07-14T01:58:45Z

Apply util.styleText to the node --help output for improved visual hierarchy and scannability. Styling is applied only when the output stream supports color (detected via util.styleText's built-in shouldColorize), so piped/redirected output and NO_COLOR remain plain text with no behavior change.

Bold: Usage lines, Options:, Environment variables: headers
Bold green: CLI option names (e.g. --inspect, -e, --eval)
Bold magenta: environment variable names (e.g. NODE_PATH)
Dim: "(currently set)" annotation
Blue underline: documentation URL

Column-width math uses unstyled string lengths to preserve alignment regardless of styling. The "(currently set)" annotation is styled via post-processing after layout to avoid breaking the fold() width calculation.

Apply util.styleText to the `node --help` output for improved visual hierarchy and scannability. Styling is applied only when the output stream supports color (detected via util.styleText's built-in shouldColorize), so piped/redirected output and NO_COLOR remain plain text with no behavior change. - Bold: Usage lines, Options:, Environment variables: headers - Bold green: CLI option names (e.g. --inspect, -e, --eval) - Bold magenta: environment variable names (e.g. NODE_PATH) - Dim: "(currently set)" annotation - Blue underline: documentation URL Column-width math uses unstyled string lengths to preserve alignment regardless of styling. The "(currently set)" annotation is styled via post-processing after layout to avoid breaking the fold() width calculation. Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>

juanarbol

LGTM

codecov · 2026-07-14T03:37:36Z

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 90.23%. Comparing base (ace91de) to head (97df780).
⚠️ Report is 44 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

@@           Coverage Diff           @@
##             main   #64484   +/-   ##
=======================================
  Coverage   90.23%   90.23%           
=======================================
  Files         741      741           
  Lines      241681   241707   +26     
  Branches    45547    45549    +2     
=======================================
+ Hits       218075   218109   +34     
- Misses      15141    15149    +8     
+ Partials     8465     8449   -16

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
lib/internal/main/print_help.js	`100.00% <100.00%> (ø)`

... and 31 files with indirect coverage changes

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nodejs-github-bot · 2026-07-14T16:05:07Z

CI: https://ci.nodejs.org/job/node-test-pull-request/74818/

The NO_COLOR and alignment-preservation tests inherited FORCE_COLOR from process.env, which takes precedence over NO_COLOR and caused the tests to fail on CI environments where FORCE_COLOR is set. Delete FORCE_COLOR from the child env in those test cases. Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>

nodejs-github-bot · 2026-07-18T19:34:27Z

CI: https://ci.nodejs.org/job/node-test-pull-request/74885/

nodejs-github-bot · 2026-07-19T16:45:11Z

Commit Queue failed

- Loading data for nodejs/node/pull/64484 ✔ Done loading data for nodejs/node/pull/64484 ----------------------------------- PR info ------------------------------------ Title cli: style node --help output with util.styleText (#64484) Author Adrián Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com> (@edsadr) Branch edsadr:help-styling -> nodejs:main Labels author ready, needs-ci Commits 2 - cli: style node --help output with util.styleText - test: fix help style test when FORCE_COLOR is in parent env Committers 1 - Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com> PR-URL: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/64484 Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com> Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day> ------------------------------ Generated metadata ------------------------------ PR-URL: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/64484 Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com> Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ℹ This PR was created on Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:58:45 GMT ✔ Approvals: 4 ✔ - Juan José Arboleda (@juanarbol): https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/64484#pullrequestreview-4690530646 ✔ - Rafael Gonzaga (@RafaelGSS) (TSC): https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/64484#pullrequestreview-4696080500 ✔ - Luigi Pinca (@lpinca): https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/64484#pullrequestreview-4729143206 ✔ - Gürgün Dayıoğlu (@gurgunday): https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/64484#pullrequestreview-4729503083 ✔ Last GitHub CI successful ℹ Last Full PR CI on 2026-07-18T19:34:27Z: https://ci.nodejs.org/job/node-test-pull-request/74885/ - Querying data for job/node-test-pull-request/74885/ ✔ Build data downloaded ✔ Last Jenkins CI successful -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✔ No git cherry-pick in progress ✔ No git am in progress ✔ No git rebase in progress -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Bringing origin/main up to date... From https://github.com/nodejs/node * branch main -> FETCH_HEAD ✔ origin/main is now up-to-date - Downloading patch for 64484 From https://github.com/nodejs/node * branch refs/pull/64484/merge -> FETCH_HEAD ✔ Fetched commits as d90d9d55ad30..97df78062569 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [main 3a81c1a921] cli: style node --help output with util.styleText Author: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com> Date: Mon Jul 13 20:56:56 2026 -0500 2 files changed, 86 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-) create mode 100644 test/parallel/test-cli-node-print-help-style.js [main 21566742fb] test: fix help style test when FORCE_COLOR is in parent env Author: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com> Date: Tue Jul 14 15:03:03 2026 -0500 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+) ✔ Patches applied There are 2 commits in the PR. Attempting autorebase. (node:364) [DEP0190] DeprecationWarning: Passing args to a child process with shell option true can lead to security vulnerabilities, as the arguments are not escaped, only concatenated. (Use `node --trace-deprecation ...` to show where the warning was created) Rebasing (2/4) Executing: git node land --amend --yes --------------------------------- New Message ---------------------------------- cli: style node --help output with util.styleText

Apply util.styleText to the node --help output for improved visual
hierarchy and scannability. Styling is applied only when the output
stream supports color (detected via util.styleText's built-in
shouldColorize), so piped/redirected output and NO_COLOR remain plain
text with no behavior change.

Bold: Usage lines, Options:, Environment variables: headers
Bold green: CLI option names (e.g. --inspect, -e, --eval)
Bold magenta: environment variable names (e.g. NODE_PATH)
Dim: "(currently set)" annotation
Blue underline: documentation URL

Column-width math uses unstyled string lengths to preserve alignment
regardless of styling. The "(currently set)" annotation is styled via
post-processing after layout to avoid breaking the fold() width
calculation.

Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
PR-URL: #64484
Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

[detached HEAD 025a022c33] cli: style node --help output with util.styleText
Author: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
Date: Mon Jul 13 20:56:56 2026 -0500
2 files changed, 86 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 test/parallel/test-cli-node-print-help-style.js
Rebasing (3/4)
Rebasing (4/4)
Executing: git node land --amend --yes
--------------------------------- New Message ----------------------------------
test: fix help style test when FORCE_COLOR is in parent env

The NO_COLOR and alignment-preservation tests inherited FORCE_COLOR
from process.env, which takes precedence over NO_COLOR and caused
the tests to fail on CI environments where FORCE_COLOR is set.
Delete FORCE_COLOR from the child env in those test cases.

Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
PR-URL: #64484
Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

[detached HEAD 80634ccd7d] test: fix help style test when FORCE_COLOR is in parent env
Author: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
Date: Tue Jul 14 15:03:03 2026 -0500
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
Successfully rebased and updated refs/heads/main.

ℹ Add commit-queue-squash label to land the PR as one commit, or commit-queue-rebase to land as separate commits.

https://github.com/nodejs/node/actions/runs/29695364074

nodejs-github-bot · 2026-07-19T20:38:31Z

Landed in 0bcc6ef

Apply util.styleText to the `node --help` output for improved visual hierarchy and scannability. Styling is applied only when the output stream supports color (detected via util.styleText's built-in shouldColorize), so piped/redirected output and NO_COLOR remain plain text with no behavior change. - Bold: Usage lines, Options:, Environment variables: headers - Bold green: CLI option names (e.g. --inspect, -e, --eval) - Bold magenta: environment variable names (e.g. NODE_PATH) - Dim: "(currently set)" annotation - Blue underline: documentation URL Column-width math uses unstyled string lengths to preserve alignment regardless of styling. The "(currently set)" annotation is styled via post-processing after layout to avoid breaking the fold() width calculation. Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com> PR-URL: #64484 Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com> Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

nodejs-github-bot added the needs-ci PRs that need a full CI run. label Jul 14, 2026

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2026-07-22, Version 26.6.0 (Current) #64655

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cli: style node --help output with util.styleText#64484

cli: style node --help output with util.styleText#64484
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edsadr:help-styling

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Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
PR-URL: #64484
Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
PR-URL: #64484
Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

[detached HEAD 80634ccd7d] test: fix help style test when FORCE_COLOR is in parent env
Author: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
Date: Tue Jul 14 15:03:03 2026 -0500
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
Successfully rebased and updated refs/heads/main.

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Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com> PR-URL: #64484 Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com> Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com> PR-URL: #64484 Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com> Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com> Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

[detached HEAD 80634ccd7d] test: fix help style test when FORCE_COLOR is in parent env Author: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com> Date: Tue Jul 14 15:03:03 2026 -0500 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+) Successfully rebased and updated refs/heads/main.

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Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
PR-URL: #64484
Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

Signed-off-by: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
PR-URL: #64484
Reviewed-By: Juan José Arboleda <soyjuanarbol@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <luigipinca@gmail.com>
Reviewed-By: Gürgün Dayıoğlu <hey@gurgun.day>

[detached HEAD 80634ccd7d] test: fix help style test when FORCE_COLOR is in parent env
Author: Adrian Estrada <edsadr@gmail.com>
Date: Tue Jul 14 15:03:03 2026 -0500
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
Successfully rebased and updated refs/heads/main.