google/googletest

Question: Colored output on Windows powershell with CTest

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#2,930 opened on Jul 7, 2020

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help wanted

Description

I'm using CMake and CTest to build and run my tests.

On Linux I can produce color googletest output with CTest, like this: GTEST_COLOR=1 ctest -V

On Windows I tried something similar in powershell: $Env:GTEST_COLOR=1; ctest -V

However the output is still not colored. How can I achieve the desired colored output?

I'm using Googletest 1.10.0 and CMake 3.17.3

Contributor guide

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
testing
Issue type
research
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Basic C++ knowledgeCMake and CTest familiarityWindows command line basics
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
55
Research direction
Investigate how GoogleTest handles color output on Windows, especially with PowerShell and CTest. Check the source code in googletest/src/gtest.cc for color detection logic. Test if the GTEST COLOR environment variable works with different shells (cmd vs PowerShell) and if the gtest color=yes flag bypasses the issue. Also examine CTest's output handling to see if it strips ANSI codes. Provide a concrete reproduction and potential workaround.