How to set up Pretty for stack traces in Clojure?

Call install-pretty-exceptions in your user.clj or use a Leiningen debug profile with injections, as detailed in the README's Enabling Pretty section. This redefines Vars to replace default exception handling.

Pretty vs clojure.tools.logging for console output?

Pretty focuses on terminal formatting and readability for debugging, while clojure.tools.logging is a logging facade with appenders for structured logging. Use Pretty for visual enhancements in REPLs and tools.logging for production-grade logging.

How to print binary diffs with Pretty?

Use the library's binary sequence formatting functions, which display byte sequences with color-coding and background highlights for differences, similar to the hexyl-inspired examples in the README.

Does Pretty work with Babashka?

Partially; the ANSI color utilities in clj-commons.ansi are compatible, but exception formatting is not due to Babashka's different exception model, as noted in the Compatibility section.

How to configure Pretty with Cursive IDE?

Integrate via nREPL middleware by adding wrap-pretty to your .nrepl/nrepl.edn or project.clj, following the nREPL setup instructions in the README for IDE compatibility.

What table styles are available in Pretty?

Pretty includes multiple built-in styles like the default and skinny-style, with options for fonts and alignment, as demonstrated in the Table Printing section of the README with route data examples.

Open-Awesome

pretty

Apache-2.0Clojure3.6.8

A Clojure library for prettifying console output with ANSI fonts, formatted exceptions, binary diffs, and tables.

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What is pretty?

Pretty is a Clojure library that enhances console output readability by adding ANSI colors, formatted exceptions, binary sequence diffs, and table printing. It solves the problem of parsing dense or repetitive terminal data, making debugging and inspection faster.

Target Audience

Clojure developers working in REPL environments who need to debug stack traces, compare binary data, or format tabular output in terminals.

Value Proposition

Developers choose Pretty for its focused set of formatting tools that integrate seamlessly into Clojure workflows, offering visual clarity without bloating dependencies.

Overview

Library for helping print things prettily, in Clojure - ANSI fonts, formatted exceptions

Use Cases

Best For

Colorizing and condensing Clojure stack traces in REPLs
Comparing binary data sequences with visual diffs
Printing formatted tables from Clojure data structures
Adding ANSI color highlights to terminal output
Annotating text output for parsing error reports
Improving readability of console logs during debugging

Not Ideal For

Projects not using Clojure or the JVM ecosystem
Teams needing comprehensive logging with file output and log aggregation
Applications where console output is minimal or headless, such as serverless functions
Environments requiring strict cross-platform terminal compatibility beyond ANSI standards

Pros & Cons

Pros

Enhanced Stack Trace Readability

Colorizes and condenses exceptions by omitting repetitive frames and highlighting file names and line numbers, making debugging faster as shown in the README's comparison images.

Binary Data Visualization

Provides hexyl-inspired color-coding and diffs for byte sequences, allowing easy comparison of binary data directly in the terminal.

Flexible Table Printing

Supports customizable columns, alignment, and multiple table styles like skinny-style, enabling formatted output from Clojure data structures.

Easy Development Integration

Offers setup options via Leiningen profiles, clj aliases, and nREPL middleware for seamless use in REPL environments during debugging.

Cons

Limited Babashka Compatibility

Exception formatting is incompatible with Babashka's interpreter-based approach, restricting full functionality in non-JVM Clojure environments.

Complex nREPL Configuration

The README admits that nREPL integration can be 'clumsy', requiring manual middleware setup in project files or configuration files.

Clojure-Centric Dependencies

Heavily tied to Clojure and its build tools, making it unsuitable for projects using other programming languages or frameworks.

Frequently Asked Questions

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