Getting Started

Relevant source files

• CHANGELOG.md
• CONTRIBUTORS.md
• README.cn.md
• README.de-ch.md
• README.de.md
• README.es.md
• README.fr.md
• README.ja.md
• README.kr.md
• README.md
• README.sv.md
• docs/source/highlighting.rst
• docs/source/introduction.rst
• docs/source/protocol.rst
• docs/source/syntax.rst
• examples/highlighter.py
• examples/rainbow.py
• poetry.lock
• pyproject.toml

This page covers how to install Rich and the primary entry points for using it: rich.print() as a drop-in replacement for Python's built-in print, pretty.install() for REPL enhancement, the python -m rich demo command, and basic Console instantiation. For a broader architectural overview of how these pieces fit together internally, see Architecture Overview. For the full Console API reference, see Console.

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Requirements and Installation

Rich requires Python 3.8 or later and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Platform	Notes
Linux / macOS	Full color and emoji support
Windows (new Terminal)	Full truecolor and emoji support
Windows (classic cmd.exe)	Limited to 16 colors
Jupyter notebooks	Supported with no extra configuration

Install via pip:

Install via Poetry:

Install with Jupyter extras (adds ipywidgets support):

The core runtime dependencies, as declared in pyproject.toml30-35 are:

Dependency	Purpose
pygments >= 2.13.0	Syntax highlighting
markdown-it-py >= 2.2.0	Markdown rendering
ipywidgets (optional)	Jupyter widget integration

Sources: pyproject.toml1-51 README.md41-58 docs/source/introduction.rst8-28

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Verifying the Installation

After installing, run the built-in demo to confirm Rich is working and to preview its capabilities:

This executes rich/__main__.py and renders a showcase of Rich's output features — tables, syntax highlighting, panels, progress bars, and more — directly to your terminal.

Sources: README.md54-58 docs/source/introduction.rst33-39

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Quick Start: rich.print()

The fastest way to add Rich output to any script is to import rich.print. It has the same signature as Python's built-in print and can be used as a direct drop-in replacement.

This single import enables:

• Console markup — BBCode-style tags like [bold magenta]...[/bold magenta]
• Emoji codes — names surrounded by colons like :vampire:
• Pretty-printed Python objects — dicts, lists, and other data structures are formatted with syntax highlighting

If you want to avoid shadowing the built-in, import it under an alias:

rich.print is defined in rich/__init__.py and internally constructs a default Console instance and calls its print method.

Entry point flow for rich.print():

Sources: README.md60-78 docs/source/introduction.rst43-76

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REPL Enhancement: pretty.install()

Rich can be installed into the Python REPL so that any evaluated expression is automatically pretty-printed with syntax highlighting, replacing Python's default sys.displayhook.

After calling pretty.install(), any data structure printed in the REPL — dicts, lists, dataclasses, etc. — will be formatted by Rich's pretty-printer.

You can also preview Rich renderables interactively in the REPL:

IPython Extension

Rich ships an IPython extension that installs both pretty-printing and rich tracebacks:

To load it automatically on every IPython startup, add "rich" to the c.InteractiveShellApp.extension list in your IPython configuration.

How pretty.install() hooks into the Python session:

Sources: README.md73-81 docs/source/introduction.rst79-112

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Using the Console Class

For more control over output, instantiate a Console directly from rich.console.

The Console constructor accepts many optional parameters. The most commonly used ones at this stage:

Parameter	Type	Description
stderr	bool	Write to stderr instead of stdout
style	str	Default style applied to all output
width	int	Override detected terminal width
highlight	bool	Enable/disable automatic syntax highlighting
markup	bool	Enable/disable console markup parsing
theme	Theme	Custom Theme object for named styles
record	bool	Buffer output for later export
quiet	bool	Suppress all output

A default Console() with no arguments will auto-detect the terminal width and color capabilities.

Basic console.print()

Unlike the built-in print, console.print automatically word-wraps text to fit the terminal width.

Relationship between entry points and Console

Sources: README.md83-119 docs/source/introduction.rst43-76

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Choosing the Right Entry Point

Use Case	Recommended Entry Point
Quick script with styled output	from rich import print
Interactive REPL sessions	from rich import pretty; pretty.install()
IPython / Jupyter enhancement	%load_ext rich
Structured output (tables, panels, etc.)	from rich.console import Console
Logging integration	RichHandler — see Logging Integration
Pretty tracebacks	rich.traceback.install() — see Traceback Enhancement

Sources: README.md60-134 docs/source/introduction.rst43-113

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Next Steps

• For how the Console, Text, Segment, and renderable subsystems fit together, see Architecture Overview.
• For the full Console class reference including all constructor parameters and methods, see Console.
• For console markup syntax and style strings, see Markup and Formatting and Styles and Colors.
• For the pretty module in depth, including pretty_repr() and the __rich_repr__ protocol, see Pretty Printing and REPL.