chalk
Terminal string styling library for colorful and formatted CLI output.
Dev workflow and config npm MIT
Used in agent projects
222
1.7% of 12,697 public repos built with AI coding agents
Rank in dev workflow and config
#12 of 88
by use in those projects
Downloads
492M
npm, last 7 days, chalk
GitHub stars
23.3K
last push Sep 27, 2026
How chalk is used
chalk is a dependency in 222 of the 12,697 public GitHub projects set up for AI coding agents that we scanned (1.7%), #12 of 88 in dev workflow and config. The most used alternative there is dotenv. Projects that use it most often also use Commander (42.3%), dotenv (49.5%), ora (32.9%). It is more common in projects set up for Roo Code (7.1%) than for GitHub Copilot (1.6%).
Often used with chalk
| Commander | 42.3% of chalk projects · 29.1× more than average |
|---|---|
| dotenv | 49.5% of chalk projects · 3.1× more than average |
| ora | 32.9% of chalk projects · 49.1× more than average |
| Express | 29.3% of chalk projects · 4.5× more than average |
| tsx | 33.8% of chalk projects · 3.4× more than average |
| Inquirer.js | 27.9% of chalk projects · 42.2× more than average |
| Axios | 31.1% of chalk projects · 3.1× more than average |
| TypeScript | 73.9% of chalk projects |
By coding agent
| Claude Code | 2.5% of projects set up for it |
|---|---|
| Cursor | 2.9% of projects set up for it |
| GitHub Copilot | 1.6% of projects set up for it |
| Devin Desktop | 6.6% of projects set up for it |
| OpenAI Codex | 2.7% of projects set up for it |
| Gemini CLI | 2.7% of projects set up for it |
| Kiro | 5.5% of projects set up for it |
| Roo Code | 7.1% of projects set up for it |
Share of public repos configured for each agent that list chalk as a dependency.
Install
| Package | npm install chalk |
|---|---|
| Main stacks | TypeScript / JavaScript (192), Next.js (16), Python (9), Rust (2) |
| Example projects | handsontable/handsontable, Automattic/wp-calypso, NG-ZORRO/ng-zorro-antd, ARBProtocol/solana-jupiter-bot, Hyk260/PureChat |
Alternatives to chalk
| Tool | Used in agent projects | Downloads / wk | GitHub stars | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dotenv npm Load environment variables from .env files into process.env. |
2,001 (15.8%) | 189M | 20.5K | BSD-2-Clause |
| python-dotenv pypi Load environment variables from .env files in Python applications. |
828 (6.5%) | 156M | 8,898 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Husky npm Modern Git hooks manager for running tasks on git events. |
797 (6.3%) | 36.2M | 35.3K | MIT |
| lint-staged npm Run linters on git staged files to catch issues before commit. |
591 (4.7%) | 29.5M | 14.7K | MIT |
| concurrently npm Run multiple npm scripts concurrently for efficient development workflows. |
572 (4.5%) | 22.2M | 7,856 | MIT |
| cross-env npm Set environment variables across Windows, Mac and Linux in npm scripts. |
265 (2.1%) | 25.8M | 6,521 | MIT |
| Pydantic Settings pypi Settings management and configuration from environment variables using Pydantic. |
251 (2.0%) | 96.8M | 1,475 | — |
| Rich pypi Python library for rich text and beautiful formatting in terminal output. |
243 (1.9%) | 117M | 57.5K | MIT |