fix(pager): keep Git colors in non-diff output for captured pager hosts

.changeset/preserve-captured-pager-color.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"hunkdiff": patch
+---
+
+Keep Git's colors in non-diff `hunk pager` output for captured pager hosts, so LazyGit's branch log renders in its normal per-branch palette instead of a single color.

src/app/startup.test.ts

@@ -135,7 +135,8 @@ describe("startup planning", () => {
       },
     });
 
-    expect(plan).toEqual({ kind: "passthrough", text });
+    // Captured hosts draw this text themselves, so Git's colors have to survive.
+    expect(plan).toEqual({ kind: "passthrough", text, preserveColor: true });
     expect(loaded).toBe(false);
   });
 
@@ -155,7 +156,8 @@ describe("startup planning", () => {
       },
     });
 
-    expect(plan).toEqual({ kind: "passthrough", text });
+    // A genuinely dumb terminal would print the escape sequences as literal text.
+    expect(plan).toEqual({ kind: "passthrough", text, preserveColor: false });
     expect(loaded).toBe(false);
   });
 
@@ -216,13 +218,14 @@ describe("startup planning", () => {
       readStdinText: async () => patchText,
       looksLikePatchInputImpl: () => true,
       stdoutIsTTY: false,
+      env: { TERM: "xterm-256color" },
       loadAppBootstrapImpl: async () => {
         loaded = true;
         throw new Error("unreachable");
       },
     });
 
-    expect(plan).toEqual({ kind: "passthrough", text: patchText });
+    expect(plan).toEqual({ kind: "passthrough", text: patchText, preserveColor: false });
     expect(loaded).toBe(false);
   });
 
@@ -242,7 +245,7 @@ describe("startup planning", () => {
       },
     });
 
-    expect(plan).toEqual({ kind: "passthrough", text: patchText });
+    expect(plan).toEqual({ kind: "passthrough", text: patchText, preserveColor: false });
     expect(loaded).toBe(false);
   });
 

src/app/startup.ts

@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ export type StartupPlan =
   | {
       kind: "passthrough";
       text: string;
+      preserveColor: boolean;
     }
   | {
       kind: "static-diff-pager";
@@ -154,6 +155,7 @@ export async function prepareStartupPlan(
   if (parsedCliInput.kind === "pager") {
     const stdinText = await readStdinText();
     const pagerOptions = parsedCliInput.options;
+    const capturedPagerHost = isCapturedPagerHost(env);
     const staticPagerPlan = () => {
       const staticPatchInput: CliInput = {
         kind: "patch",
@@ -179,13 +181,18 @@ export async function prepareStartupPlan(
         : staticPlan;
     };
 
+    // Captured hosts render Hunk's stdout in their own panel, so passed-through text keeps
+    // the color Git already put in it.
+    const passthroughPlan = {
+      kind: "passthrough" as const,
+      text: stdinText,
+      preserveColor: capturedPagerHost,
+    };
+
     if (!looksLikePatchInputImpl(stdinText)) {
       // Dumb-terminal and captured pager hosts cannot safely own an interactive text pager.
       if (env.TERM === "dumb") {
-        return {
-          kind: "passthrough",
-          text: stdinText,
-        };
+        return passthroughPlan;
       }
 
       return {
@@ -195,22 +202,16 @@ export async function prepareStartupPlan(
     }
 
     if (!stdoutIsTTY) {
-      return {
-        kind: "passthrough",
-        text: stdinText,
-      };
+      return passthroughPlan;
     }
 
-    if (env.TERM === "dumb" && !isCapturedPagerHost(env)) {
-      return {
-        kind: "passthrough",
-        text: stdinText,
-      };
+    if (env.TERM === "dumb" && !capturedPagerHost) {
+      return passthroughPlan;
     }
 
     // Captured pager hosts like LazyGit can provide a PTY while advertising TERM=dumb.
     // In that mode, emit static colored diff output instead of launching the TUI.
-    if (isCapturedPagerHost(env)) {
+    if (capturedPagerHost) {
       return staticPagerPlan();
     }
 

src/main.tsx

@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ async function main() {
   }
 
   if (startupPlan.kind === "passthrough") {
-    process.stdout.write(sanitizeTerminalText(startupPlan.text));
+    process.stdout.write(
+      sanitizeTerminalText(startupPlan.text, { preserveAnsiStyle: startupPlan.preserveColor }),
+    );
     process.exit(0);
   }
 

test/cli/entrypoint.test.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,15 @@ function git(cwd: string, ...args: string[]) {
   }
 }
 
+/** Drop the ambient markers that would make Hunk treat this run as a captured pager host. */
+function uncapturedPagerEnv() {
+  return Object.fromEntries(
+    Object.entries(process.env).filter(
+      ([key]) => key !== "LV" && key !== "GIT_PAGER" && !key.startsWith("LAZYGIT"),
+    ),
+  );
+}
+
 describe("CLI entrypoint contracts", () => {
   test("bare hunk prints standard help without terminal takeover sequences", () => {
     const proc = Bun.spawnSync(["bun", "run", "src/main.tsx"], {
@@ -225,6 +234,40 @@ describe("CLI entrypoint contracts", () => {
     expect(stdout).not.toContain("\u001b[?1049h");
   });
 
+  test("general pager mode keeps Git colors in non-diff stdin for captured pager hosts", () => {
+    const coloredLog = "\u001b[33m*\u001b[m \u001b[32mabc1234\u001b[m feat: thing\n";
+    const proc = Bun.spawnSync(["bun", "run", "src/main.tsx", "pager"], {
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      stdin: Buffer.from(coloredLog),
+      stdout: "pipe",
+      stderr: "pipe",
+      env: { ...uncapturedPagerEnv(), TERM: "dumb", LAZYGIT_NEW_DIR_FILE: "/tmp/lazygit-dir" },
+    });
+
+    const stdout = Buffer.from(proc.stdout).toString("utf8");
+
+    expect(proc.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(Buffer.from(proc.stderr).toString("utf8")).toBe("");
+    expect(stdout).toBe(coloredLog);
+  });
+
+  test("general pager mode strips colors from non-diff stdin outside captured pager hosts", () => {
+    const coloredLog = "\u001b[33m*\u001b[m \u001b[32mabc1234\u001b[m feat: thing\n";
+    const proc = Bun.spawnSync(["bun", "run", "src/main.tsx", "pager"], {
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      stdin: Buffer.from(coloredLog),
+      stdout: "pipe",
+      stderr: "pipe",
+      env: { ...uncapturedPagerEnv(), TERM: "dumb" },
+    });
+
+    const stdout = Buffer.from(proc.stdout).toString("utf8");
+
+    expect(proc.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(Buffer.from(proc.stderr).toString("utf8")).toBe("");
+    expect(stdout).toBe("* abc1234 feat: thing\n");
+  });
+
   test("general pager mode passes diff stdin through when stdout is not a terminal", () => {
     const patchText = "diff --git a/a.ts b/a.ts\n@@ -1 +1 @@\n-old\n+new\n";
     const proc = Bun.spawnSync(["bun", "run", "src/main.tsx", "pager"], {