diff --git a/include/ansicol.hpp b/include/ansicol.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3e3a6d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/ansicol.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/* This file contains string definitions for ANSI color sequences
+ * it was written by Nicholas "Lavacano" O'Connor and is available
+ * to all under the MIT license.
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *     std::cout << ansicol::red_bold << "I am bold red text!" << ansicol::reset << std::endl;
+ *
+ *     ansicol::red         = regular red
+ *     ansicol::red_bold    = bold red
+ *     ansicol::red_bg      = red background
+ *
+ *     colors are red, green, yellow, blue, cyan, magenta, white
+ *
+ * this file was built with cog due to its monotony - while you can safely use this file
+ * in your project without bringing in cog as a build dependency, you probably shouldn't
+ * edit it by hand without good reason. cog can always be installed with this command:
+ *
+ *     pip install --user cogapp
+ *
+ * I do not develop that program, I'm merely a fan of it.
+ */
+#ifndef __ANSICOL_H
+#define __ANSICOL_H
+#pragma once
+#include <string>
+
+using std::string;
+
+namespace ansicol {
+    string escape = "\33[";
+
+    /*[[[cog
+         import cog
+
+         colindex = 1
+         for color in ["red", "green", "yellow", "blue", "cyan", "magenta", "white"]:
+             cog.outl("string {0} = escape + \"0;3{1}m\";".format(color, colindex))
+             cog.outl("string {0}_bold = escape + \"1;3{1}m\";".format(color, colindex))
+             cog.outl("string {0}_bg = escape + \"0;4{1}m\";".format(color, colindex))
+             cog.outl("")
+             colindex = colindex + 1
+      ]]]*/
+    string red = escape + "0;31m";
+    string red_bold = escape + "1;31m";
+    string red_bg = escape + "0;41m";
+
+    string green = escape + "0;32m";
+    string green_bold = escape + "1;32m";
+    string green_bg = escape + "0;42m";
+
+    string yellow = escape + "0;33m";
+    string yellow_bold = escape + "1;33m";
+    string yellow_bg = escape + "0;43m";
+
+    string blue = escape + "0;34m";
+    string blue_bold = escape + "1;34m";
+    string blue_bg = escape + "0;44m";
+
+    string cyan = escape + "0;35m";
+    string cyan_bold = escape + "1;35m";
+    string cyan_bg = escape + "0;45m";
+
+    string magenta = escape + "0;36m";
+    string magenta_bold = escape + "1;36m";
+    string magenta_bg = escape + "0;46m";
+
+    string white = escape + "0;37m";
+    string white_bold = escape + "1;37m";
+    string white_bg = escape + "0;47m";
+
+    //[[[end]]] (checksum: 597ec07673e8edcafc770a1dcf284956)
+
+    string reset = escape + "0m";
+}
+
+#endif // __ANSICOL_H
diff --git a/include/output.hpp b/include/output.hpp
index a962c8b..87d258d 100644
--- a/include/output.hpp
+++ b/include/output.hpp
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ namespace cellar {
         extern void statement(std::string parm);
         extern void warning(std::string parm);
         extern void error(std::string);
+
+        extern bool colors;
+        extern void detect_colors();
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/cellar.cpp.cog b/src/cellar.cpp.cog
index 230be26..46967a3 100644
--- a/src/cellar.cpp.cog
+++ b/src/cellar.cpp.cog
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ void cellar::print_header() {
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
+    output::detect_colors();
     if (argc == 1) {
         print_header();
         cout << "\n(try \"cellar help\" if you're confused)" << endl;
diff --git a/src/output.cpp b/src/output.cpp
index 70c292d..82d59e1 100644
--- a/src/output.cpp
+++ b/src/output.cpp
@@ -1,14 +1,55 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <string>
+#include <unistd.h>
 
+#include "ansicol.hpp"
 #include "output.hpp"
 
-void cellar::output::statement(std::string str_message) {
-    std::cout << "* " << str_message << std::endl;
+using namespace std;
+using namespace cellar::output;
+
+bool cellar::output::colors;
+
+void cellar::output::detect_colors() {
+    int tty = isatty(fileno(stdout));
+
+    if (tty == 1) {
+        colors = true;
+    } else {
+        colors = false;
+    }
 }
-void cellar::output::warning(std::string str_message) {
-    std::cerr << "* " << str_message << std::endl;
+
+void cellar::output::statement(string str_message) {
+    if (colors) {
+        cout << ansicol::green << " >";
+        cout << ansicol::green_bold << "> ";
+        cout << ansicol::reset;
+    } else {
+        cout << "STAT ";
+    }
+    
+    cout << str_message << endl;
 }
-void cellar::output::error(std::string str_message) {
-    std::cerr << "* " << str_message << std::endl;
+void cellar::output::warning(string str_message) {
+    if (colors) {
+        cerr << ansicol::yellow << " >";
+        cerr << ansicol::yellow_bold << "> ";
+        cerr << ansicol::reset;
+    } else {
+        cerr << "WARN ";
+    }
+    
+    cerr << str_message << endl;
+}
+void cellar::output::error(string str_message) {
+    if (colors) {
+        cerr << ansicol::red << " >";
+        cerr << ansicol::red_bold << "> ";
+        cerr << ansicol::reset;
+    } else {
+        cerr << "ERR! ";
+    }
+    
+    cerr << str_message << endl;
 }