# ora > Elegant terminal spinner

## Install ``` $ npm install ora ``` ## Usage ```js const ora = require('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` Text to display after 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. ##### spinner Type: `string | object`\ Default: `'dots'` Name of one of the [provided spinners](https://github.com/sindresorhus/cli-spinners/blob/main/spinners.json). See `example.js` in this repo if you want to test out different spinners. On Windows, it will always use the `line` spinner as the Windows command-line doesn't have proper Unicode support. Or an object like: ```js { interval: 80, // Optional frames: ['-', '+', '-'] } ``` ##### color Type: `string`\ Default: `'cyan'`\ Values: `'black' | 'red' | 'green' | 'yellow' | 'blue' | 'magenta' | 'cyan' | 'white' | 'gray'` Color of the spinner. ##### 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's no good way to implement discarding stdin properly there. ### Instance #### .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. #### .isSpinning A boolean of whether the instance is currently spinning. #### .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`\ Default: Current `prefixText` Text to be persisted before the symbol. No prefix 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. #### .text Change the text after the spinner. #### .prefixText Change the text before the spinner. No prefix text will be displayed if set to an empty string. #### .color Change the spinner color. #### .spinner Change the spinner. #### .indent Change the spinner indent. ### ora.promise(action, text) ### ora.promise(action, options) Starts a spinner for a promise. The spinner is stopped with `.succeed()` if the promise fulfills or with `.fail()` if it rejects. Returns the spinner instance. #### action Type: `Promise` ## FAQ ### How do I change the color of the text? Use [Chalk](https://github.com/chalk/chalk): ```js const ora = require('ora'); const chalk = require('chalk'); const spinner = ora(`Loading ${chalk.red('unicorns')}`).start(); ``` ### Why does the spinner freeze? JavaScript is single-threaded, so synchronous operations blocks the thread, including the spinner animation. Prefer asynchronous operations whenever possible. ## Related - [cli-spinners](https://github.com/sindresorhus/cli-spinners) - Spinners for use in the terminal - [listr](https://github.com/SamVerschueren/listr) - Terminal task list - [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 - [spinnies](https://github.com/jcarpanelli/spinnies) - Terminal multi-spinner library for Node.js - [kia](https://github.com/HarryPeach/kia) - Simple terminal spinners for Deno 🦕