# cli-truncate > Truncate a string to a specific width in the terminal Gracefully handles [ANSI escapes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code#Colors_and_Styles). Like a string styled with [`chalk`](https://github.com/chalk/chalk). It also supports Unicode surrogate pairs and fullwidth characters. ## Install ```sh npm install cli-truncate ``` ## Usage ```js import cliTruncate from 'cli-truncate'; cliTruncate('unicorn', 4); //=> 'uni…' // Truncate at different positions cliTruncate('unicorn', 4, {position: 'start'}); //=> '…orn' cliTruncate('unicorn', 4, {position: 'middle'}); //=> 'un…n' cliTruncate('unicorns rainbow dragons', 6, {position: 'end'}) //=> 'unico…' cliTruncate('\u001B[31municorn\u001B[39m', 4); //=> '\u001B[31muni\u001B[39m…' // Truncate Unicode surrogate pairs cliTruncate('uni\uD83C\uDE00corn', 5); //=> 'uni\uD83C\uDE00…' // Truncate fullwidth characters cliTruncate('안녕하세요', 3); //=> '안…' // Truncate the paragraph to the terminal width const paragraph = 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa.'; cliTruncate(paragraph, process.stdout.columns); //=> 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing…' ``` ## API ### cliTruncate(text, columns, options?) #### text Type: `string` The text to truncate. #### columns Type: `number` The number of columns to occupy in the terminal. #### options Type: `object` ##### position Type: `string`\ Default: `'end'`\ Values: `'start' | 'middle' | 'end'` The position to truncate the string. ##### space Type: `boolean`\ Default: `false` Add a space between the text and the ellipsis. ```js import cliTruncate from 'cli-truncate'; cliTruncate('unicorns', 5, {space: false}); //=> 'unic…' cliTruncate('unicorns', 5, {space: true}); //=> 'uni …' cliTruncate('unicorns', 6, {position: 'start', space: true}); //=> '… orns' cliTruncate('unicorns', 7, {position: 'middle', space: true}); //=> 'uni … s' ``` ##### preferTruncationOnSpace Type: `boolean`\ Default: `false` Truncate the string from a whitespace if it is within 3 characters from the actual breaking point. ```js import cliTruncate from 'cli-truncate'; cliTruncate('unicorns rainbow dragons', 20, {position: 'start', preferTruncationOnSpace: true}) //=> '…rainbow dragons' // without preferTruncationOnSpace cliTruncate('unicorns rainbow dragons', 20, {position: 'start'}) //=> '…rns rainbow dragons' cliTruncate('unicorns rainbow dragons', 20, {position: 'middle', preferTruncationOnSpace: true}) //=> 'unicorns…dragons' cliTruncate('unicorns rainbow dragons', 6, {position: 'end', preferTruncationOnSpace: true}) //=> 'unico…' // preferTruncationOnSpace would have no effect if space isn't found within next 3 indexes cliTruncate('unicorns rainbow dragons', 6, {position: 'middle', preferTruncationOnSpace: true}) //=> 'uni…ns' ``` ##### truncationCharacter Type: `string`\ Default: `…` The character to use at the breaking point. ```js import cliTruncate from 'cli-truncate'; cliTruncate('unicorns', 5, {position: 'end'}); //=> 'unic…' cliTruncate('unicorns', 5, {position: 'end', truncationCharacter: '.'}); //=> 'unic.' cliTruncate('unicorns', 5, {position: 'end', truncationCharacter: ''}); //=> 'unico' ``` ## Related - [wrap-ansi](https://github.com/chalk/wrap-ansi) - Wordwrap a string with ANSI escape codes - [slice-ansi](https://github.com/chalk/slice-ansi) - Slice a string with ANSI escape codes