Fix ANSI escape code pollution in log output

[saumanraaj]

Pull Request description:

---

Fix ANSI Escape Code Pollution - Environment-Aware bcolors

Summary

This PR fixes Issue #2592 by making the existing bcolors class environment-aware, ensuring that ANSI escape codes do not pollute ROS logs while maintaining backward compatibility.

Changes Made

• Made the bcolors class respect the RCUTILS_COLORIZED_OUTPUT environment variable.

• Automatically detect whether output is a TTY to enable/disable colors intelligently.

• Removed all ANSI codes from logger calls in:

  • controller_manager_services.py

  • spawner.py

  • hardware_spawner.py

• Retained bcolors usage across the codebase to avoid breaking existing behavior.

Environment Variable Behavior

Variable	Behavior
RCUTILS_COLORIZED_OUTPUT=0	No colors in output
RCUTILS_COLORIZED_OUTPUT=1	Colors enabled
Unset	Auto-detects TTY and enables colors only if supported

Testing and Verification

• Verified that logs are now clean and contain no escape codes.

• Confirmed that CLI output remains colorized when applicable.

• Verified backward compatibility with existing code paths.

• Ran pre-commit checks (Python hooks passed;

Checklist

• Limited scope: focuses solely on Issue Option for uncolored log output #2592

• Descriptive commit message and PR title

• CI expected to pass

• Logger outputs verified to be ANSI-free

• Manual tests confirm correct color behavior

Contributing Notes

Before submitting PRs:

1. Keep PRs focused on a single issue or feature.

2. Use clear, descriptive titles and concise summaries.

3. Ensure the CI pipeline passes.

4. Request reviews from maintainers when ready.

5. Add or update tests where applicable.

---

[christophfroehlich]

The change to bcolors class look fine, but can't we still keep that in the rclpy logging? You removed it without an alternative.

[saumanraaj]

Hey @christophfroehlich can you take a look at my changes and let me know if I have to change anything else, thanks.

[christophfroehlich]

This looks great, I tested it successfully locally

just wait for the CI to check the logs

[codecov]

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 80.00000% with 4 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 89.60%. Comparing base (f53552b) to head (3fb7c0b).
⚠️ Report is 1 commits behind head on master.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
.../controller_manager/controller_manager_services.py	77.77%	2 Missing and 2 partials ⚠️

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##           master    #2741      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   89.60%   89.60%   -0.01%     
==========================================
  Files         152      152              
  Lines       17637    17645       +8     
  Branches     1448     1450       +2     
==========================================
+ Hits        15804    15811       +7     
  Misses       1250     1250              
- Partials      583      584       +1     

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	89.60% <80.00%> (-0.01%)	⬇️

Flags with carried forward coverage won't be shown. Click here to find out more.

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
...ler_manager/controller_manager/hardware_spawner.py	70.23% <100.00%> (ø)
controller_manager/controller_manager/spawner.py	71.51% <100.00%> (ø)
.../controller_manager/controller_manager_services.py	81.14% <77.77%> (-1.39%)	⬇️

... and 1 file with indirect coverage changes

🚀 New features to boost your workflow:

• ❄️ Test Analytics: Detect flaky tests, report on failures, and find test suite problems.

[christophfroehlich]

Locally tested, and the log files are much cleaner now.

Still, I'd like anyone else to test this if the colored output isn't broken where it should not be.

In the meantime, please add a simple note to the release_notes and to the docs, maybe in the helper scripts section.

[mergify]

This pull request is in conflict. Could you fix it @saumanraaj?

[saumanraaj]

I added some helper notes and a note in the release notes. Let me know if I have to change anything, will do thanks

[christophfroehlich]

Please don't do force pushes, as this is hard for reviewers to track what has changed since the last commit. I now have to test everything again..

[saikishor]

LGTM. Thank you

[christophfroehlich]

please fix pre-commit and rst issues.

[saumanraaj]

I tried fixing most of the pre-commit and rst issues. It looks fine for me locally. If the CI logs fail again will fix them accordingly, thanks.

[saumanraaj]

Hey @christophfroehlich, this PR only touches Python (controller_manager_services.py, spawner.py, hardware_spawner.py) and docs (RST). No C++/controller logic was changed.
The failing test is in C++ (controller_manager/test/test_spawner_unspawner.cpp:601, TestLoadController.unload_on_kill_activate_as_group) and appears unrelated to the Python color/log handling in this PR.
The other noisy log lines (e.g., “The 'type' param was not defined…”) are part of negative test cases and not introduced by this PR. I am not exactly sure why they are failing. Can you help me out? I will fix them ASAP.