local fgc bgc vals seq0 printf "Color escapes are %s\n" '\e[${value};...;${value}m' printf "Values 30..37 are \e[33mforeground colors\e[m\n" printf "Values 40..47 are \e[43mbackground colors\e[m\n" printf "Value 1 gives a \e[1mbold-faced look\e[m\n\n" # foreground colors for fgc in {30..37}; do # background colors for bgc in {40..47}; do fgc=${fgc#37} # white bgc=${bgc#40} # black vals="${fgc:+$fgc;}${bgc}" vals=${vals%%;} seq0="${vals:+\e[${vals}m}" printf " %-9s" "${seq0:-(default)}" printf " ${seq0}TEXT\e[m" printf " \e[${vals:+${vals+$vals;}}1mBOLD\e[m" done echo; echo done