# ora > Elegant terminal spinner

## Install ```sh npm install ora ``` *Check out [`yocto-spinner`](https://github.com/sindresorhus/yocto-spinner) for a smaller alternative.* ## Usage ```js import ora from 'ora'; const spinner = ora('Loading unicorns').start(); setTimeout(() => { spinner.color = 'yellow'; spinner.text = 'Loading rainbows'; }, 1000); ``` ## API ### ora(text) ### ora(options) If a string is provided, it is treated as a shortcut for [`options.text`](#text). #### options Type: `object` ##### text Type: `string` The text to display next to the spinner. ##### prefixText Type: `string | () => string` Text or a function that returns text to display before the spinner. No prefix text will be displayed if set to an empty string. ##### suffixText Type: `string | () => string` Text or a function that returns text to display after the spinner text. No suffix text will be displayed if set to an empty string. ##### spinner Type: `string | object`\ Default: `'dots'`

The name of one of the [provided spinners](#spinners). See `example.js` in this repo if you want to test out different spinners. On Windows (except for Windows Terminal), it will always use the `line` spinner as the Windows command-line doesn't have proper Unicode support. Or an object like: ```js { frames: ['-', '+', '-'], interval: 80 // Optional } ``` ##### color Type: `string | boolean`\ Default: `'cyan'`\ Values: `'black' | 'red' | 'green' | 'yellow' | 'blue' | 'magenta' | 'cyan' | 'white' | 'gray' | boolean` The color of the spinner. Set to `false` to disable coloring. ##### hideCursor Type: `boolean`\ Default: `true` Set to `false` to stop Ora from hiding the cursor. ##### indent Type: `number`\ Default: `0` Indent the spinner with the given number of spaces. ##### interval Type: `number`\ Default: Provided by the spinner or `100` Interval between each frame. Spinners provide their own recommended interval, so you don't really need to specify this. ##### stream Type: `stream.Writable`\ Default: `process.stderr` Stream to write the output. You could for example set this to `process.stdout` instead. ##### isEnabled Type: `boolean` Force enable/disable the spinner. If not specified, the spinner will be enabled if the `stream` is being run inside a TTY context (not spawned or piped) and/or not in a CI environment. Note that `{isEnabled: false}` doesn't mean it won't output anything. It just means it won't output the spinner, colors, and other ansi escape codes. It will still log text. ##### isSilent Type: `boolean`\ Default: `false` Disable the spinner and all log text. All output is suppressed and `isEnabled` will be considered `false`. ##### discardStdin Type: `boolean`\ Default: `true` Discard stdin input (except Ctrl+C) while running if it's TTY. This prevents the spinner from twitching on input, outputting broken lines on Enter key presses, and prevents buffering of input while the spinner is running. This has no effect on Windows as there is no good way to implement discarding stdin properly there. ### Instance #### .text ^get/set Change the text displayed after the spinner. #### .prefixText ^get/set Change the text before the spinner. No prefix text will be displayed if set to an empty string. #### .suffixText ^get/set Change the text after the spinner text. No suffix text will be displayed if set to an empty string. #### .color ^get/set Change the spinner color. #### .spinner ^get/set Change the spinner. #### .indent ^get/set Change the spinner indent. #### .isSpinning ^get A boolean indicating whether the instance is currently spinning. #### .interval ^get The interval between each frame. The interval is decided by the chosen spinner. #### .start(text?) Start the spinner. Returns the instance. Set the current text if `text` is provided. #### .stop() Stop and clear the spinner. Returns the instance. #### .succeed(text?) Stop the spinner, change it to a green `✔` and persist the current text, or `text` if provided. Returns the instance. See the GIF below. #### .fail(text?) Stop the spinner, change it to a red `✖` and persist the current text, or `text` if provided. Returns the instance. See the GIF below. #### .warn(text?) Stop the spinner, change it to a yellow `⚠` and persist the current text, or `text` if provided. Returns the instance. #### .info(text?) Stop the spinner, change it to a blue `ℹ` and persist the current text, or `text` if provided. Returns the instance. #### .stopAndPersist(options?) Stop the spinner and change the symbol or text. Returns the instance. See the GIF below. ##### options Type: `object` ###### symbol Type: `string`\ Default: `' '` Symbol to replace the spinner with. ###### text Type: `string`\ Default: Current `'text'` Text to be persisted after the symbol. ###### prefixText Type: `string | () => string`\ Default: Current `prefixText` Text or a function that returns text to be persisted before the symbol. No prefix text will be displayed if set to an empty string. ###### suffixText Type: `string | () => string`\ Default: Current `suffixText` Text or a function that returns text to be persisted after the text after the symbol. No suffix text will be displayed if set to an empty string.

#### .clear() Clear the spinner. Returns the instance. #### .render() Manually render a new frame. Returns the instance. #### .frame() Get a new frame. ### oraPromise(action, text) ### oraPromise(action, options) Starts a spinner for a promise or promise-returning function. The spinner is stopped with `.succeed()` if the promise fulfills or with `.fail()` if it rejects. Returns the promise. ```js import {oraPromise} from 'ora'; await oraPromise(somePromise); ``` #### action Type: `Promise | ((spinner: ora.Ora) => Promise)` #### options Type: `object` All of the [options](#options) plus the following: ##### successText Type: `string | ((result: T) => string) | undefined` The new text of the spinner when the promise is resolved. Keeps the existing text if `undefined`. ##### failText Type: `string | ((error: Error) => string) | undefined` The new text of the spinner when the promise is rejected. Keeps the existing text if `undefined`. ### spinners Type: `Record` All [provided spinners](https://github.com/sindresorhus/cli-spinners/blob/main/spinners.json). ## FAQ ### How do I change the color of the text? Use [`chalk`](https://github.com/chalk/chalk) or [`yoctocolors`](https://github.com/sindresorhus/yoctocolors): ```js import ora from 'ora'; import chalk from 'chalk'; const spinner = ora(`Loading ${chalk.red('unicorns')}`).start(); ``` ### Why does the spinner freeze? JavaScript is single-threaded, so any synchronous operations will block the spinner's animation. To avoid this, prefer using asynchronous operations. ### Can I display multiple spinners simultaneously? No. Ora is designed to display a single spinner at a time. For multiple concurrent progress indicators, consider alternatives like [listr2](https://github.com/listr2/listr2) or [spinnies](https://github.com/jcarpanelli/spinnies). ### Can I use Ora with [log-update](https://github.com/sindresorhus/log-update)? Yes, use the `.frame()` method to get the current spinner frame and include it in your log-update output. ### Does Ora work in Node.js Worker threads? No. Ora requires an interactive terminal environment and Worker threads are not considered interactive, so the spinner will not animate. Run the spinner in the main thread and control it via worker messages: ```js // main.js import {Worker} from 'node:worker_threads'; import ora from 'ora'; const spinner = ora().start(); const worker = new Worker('./worker.js'); worker.on('message', message => { switch (message.type) { case 'ora:text': spinner.text = message.text; break; case 'ora:succeed': spinner.succeed(message.text); break; case 'ora:fail': spinner.fail(message.text); break; } }); ``` ```js // worker.js import {parentPort} from 'node:worker_threads'; parentPort.postMessage({type: 'ora:text', text: 'Working...'}); // Do work... parentPort.postMessage({type: 'ora:succeed', text: 'Done!'}); ``` ## Related - [yocto-spinner](https://github.com/sindresorhus/yocto-spinner) - Tiny terminal spinner - [cli-spinners](https://github.com/sindresorhus/cli-spinners) - Spinners for use in the terminal **Ports** - [CLISpinner](https://github.com/kiliankoe/CLISpinner) - Terminal spinner library for Swift - [halo](https://github.com/ManrajGrover/halo) - Python port - [spinners](https://github.com/FGRibreau/spinners) - Terminal spinners for Rust - [marquee-ora](https://github.com/joeycozza/marquee-ora) - Scrolling marquee spinner for Ora - [briandowns/spinner](https://github.com/briandowns/spinner) - Terminal spinner/progress indicator for Go - [tj/go-spin](https://github.com/tj/go-spin) - Terminal spinner package for Go - [observablehq.com/@victordidenko/ora](https://observablehq.com/@victordidenko/ora) - Ora port to Observable notebooks - [kia](https://github.com/HarryPeach/kia) - Simple terminal spinners for Deno 🦕