# Friendly Output

Friendly Output: Friendly Output: Columns and Colors.

Updated: November 10, 2026

1. [Friendly Output: Columns and Colors](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-friendly-output) (Journeyman): printf lines output up in columns, with a width for every blank it fills, and tput adds bold and color, but only when \[\[ -t 1 \]\] says the output is going to a terminal, so files and pipes get plain text.

Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/bash-in-depth/topics/bash-friendly-output