Reset color data when program exits

[vide0hanz]

Hey again, I noticed that when I have colors set to auto in the config file, these colors tend to persist and bleed into other TUI apps that are launched from within the same terminal, ie ncmpcpp

• running miniplayer, colors get applied based on artwork:
  

• running ncmpcpp, colors which miniplayer applied persist:
  

I'm not 100% on this, but I believe ColorThief applies colors via escape sequences, which would probably explain why this happens. I suspect that if there is a way to clear all color values set by miniplayer once the program exits that this would no longer occur. Would sourcing colors from xresources upon exit be a good idea?

What do you think?

[GuardKenzie]

Thanks for submitting this!

I think I know what's up. It has to do with how curses does custom colors and which color I'm overwriting in getDominantColor.

miniplayer/bin/miniplayer

Lines 412 to 422 in 845ea54

	# Get the dominant color
	dominant_color = palette[0][1]
	# Cast the color to curses range
	col = [round(1000 * val/255) for val in dominant_color]
	# Set the color
	curses.init_color(self.AUTO_COLOR, *col)
	for pair in self.auto_pairs:
	curses.init_pair(pair, self.AUTO_COLOR, -1)

I think I might have a fix but to be sure, could you post a copy of your ncmpcpp config and which terminal emulator you are using?

[vide0hanz]

The terminal emulator I'm using is st from suckless. It should be noted that because of that, this issue is maybe difficult to reproduce in other terminal emulators due to some of the changes in the code I've made. There is a patch I use which changes colors and alpha values when the window receives/loses focus, the relevant function being this (for reference):

void
focus(XEvent *ev)
{
	XFocusChangeEvent *e = &ev->xfocus;

	if (e->mode == NotifyGrab)
		return;

	if (ev->type == FocusIn) {
		if (xw.ime.xic)
			XSetICFocus(xw.ime.xic);
		win.mode |= MODE_FOCUSED;
		xseturgency(0);
		if (IS_SET(MODE_FOCUS))
			ttywrite("\033[I", 3, 0);
		if (!focused) {
			focused = 1;
			//xloadcols();
			xloadcolor(bgUnfocused, NULL, &dc.col[defaultbg]);
			xloadalpha();
			tfulldirt();
		}
	} else {
		if (xw.ime.xic)
			XUnsetICFocus(xw.ime.xic);
		win.mode &= ~MODE_FOCUSED;
		if (IS_SET(MODE_FOCUS))
			ttywrite("\033[O", 3, 0);
		if (focused) {
			focused = 0;
			//xloadcols();
			xloadcolor(bg, NULL, &dc.col[defaultbg]);
			xloadalpha();
			tfulldirt();
		}
	}
}

You can see I've commented out the xloadcols(); function (not shown) since it conflicted with miniplayer's auto theme feature. As-is, the way it is currently written, allows for miniplayer to lose focus and still retain its color properties whereas with this function, losing focus would reset any colors set by any escape sequences and replace them with whatever is in the xresources file. I don't know if this is relevant, and obviously I don't expect you to know/understand a niche terminal emulators codebase, but figured it was worth noting just in case :)

Anyway, here's the ncmpcpp config. Had to use markdown since github doesn't like the file for some reason.

##############################################################################
## This is the example configuration file. Copy it to $HOME/.ncmpcpp/config ##
## or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ncmpcpp/config and set up your preferences.          ##
##############################################################################
#
##### directories ######
##
## Directory for storing ncmpcpp related files.  Changing it is useful if you
## want to store everything somewhere else and provide command line setting for
## alternative location to config file which defines that while launching
## ncmpcpp.
##
#
ncmpcpp_directory = ~/.ncmpcpp
#
##
## Directory for storing downloaded lyrics. It defaults to ~/.lyrics since other
## MPD clients (eg. ncmpc) also use that location.
##
#
#lyrics_directory = ~/.lyrics
#
##### connection settings #####
#
mpd_host = localhost
#
mpd_port = 6600
#
#mpd_connection_timeout = 5
#
## Needed for tag editor and file operations to work.
##
mpd_music_dir = /mnt/MEDiiA/Music/FLAC/
#
#mpd_crossfade_time = 5
#
##### music visualizer #####
##
## Note: In order to make music visualizer work you'll need to use mpd fifo
## output, whose format parameter has to be set to 44100:16:1 for mono
## visualization or 44100:16:2 for stereo visualization. Example configuration
## (it has to be put into mpd.conf):
##
 audio_output {
        type            "fifo"
        name            "Visualizer feed"
        path            "/tmp/mpd.fifo"
        format          "44100:16:2"
 }


#visualizer_fifo_path = /tmp/mpd.fifo
visualizer_data_source = /tmp/mpd.fifo

#
# Note: Below parameter is needed for ncmpcpp to determine which output
# provides data for visualizer and thus allow syncing between visualization and
# sound as currently there are some problems with it.
#

visualizer_output_name = Visualizer feed

#
# If you set format to 44100:16:2, make it 'yes'.
#
visualizer_in_stereo = yes

#
# Note: Below parameter defines how often ncmpcpp has to "synchronize"
# visualizer and audio outputs.  30 seconds is optimal value, but if you
# experience synchronization problems, set it to lower value.  Keep in mind
# that sane values start with >=10.
#

#visualizer_sync_interval = 30

#
# Note: To enable spectrum frequency visualization you need to compile ncmpcpp
# with fftw3 support.
#

# Available values: spectrum, wave, wave_filled, ellipse.
#
visualizer_type = spectrum

visualizer_look = ●▮

#visualizer_color = blue, cyan, green, yellow, magenta, red

# Alternative subset of 256 colors for terminals that support it.
#
visualizer_color = 41, 83, 119, 155, 185, 215, 209, 203, 197, 161

##### system encoding #####
##
## ncmpcpp should detect your charset encoding but if it failed to do so, you
## can specify charset encoding you are using here.
##
## Note: You can see whether your ncmpcpp build supports charset detection by
## checking output of `ncmpcpp --version`.
##
## Note: Since MPD uses UTF-8 by default, setting this option makes sense only
## if your encoding is different.
##
#
#system_encoding = ""
#
##### delays #####
#
## Time of inactivity (in seconds) after playlist highlighting will be disabled
## (0 = always on).
##
#playlist_disable_highlight_delay = 5
#
## Defines how long messages are supposed to be visible.
##
#message_delay_time = 5
#
##### song format #####
##
## For a song format you can use:
##
## %l - length
## %f - filename
## %D - directory
## %a - artist
## %A - album artist
## %t - title
## %b - album
## %y - date
## %n - track number (01/12 -> 01)
## %N - full track info (01/12 -> 01/12)
## %g - genre
## %c - composer
## %p - performer
## %d - disc
## %C - comment
## %P - priority
## $R - begin right alignment
##
## If you want to make sure that a part of the format is displayed only when
## certain tags are present, you can archieve it by grouping them with brackets,
## e.g. '{%a - %t}' will be evaluated to 'ARTIST - TITLE' if both tags are
## present or '' otherwise.  It is also possible to define a list of
## alternatives by providing several groups and separating them with '|',
## e.g. '{%t}|{%f}' will be evaluated to 'TITLE' or 'FILENAME' if the former is
## not present.
##
## Note: If you want to set limit on maximal length of a tag, just put the
## appropriate number between % and character that defines tag type, e.g. to
## make album take max. 20 terminal cells, use '%20b'.
##
## In addition, formats support markers used for text attributes.  They are
## followed by character '$'. After that you can put:
##
## - 0 - default window color (discards all other colors)
## - 1 - black
## - 2 - red
## - 3 - green
## - 4 - yellow
## - 5 - blue
## - 6 - magenta
## - 7 - cyan
## - 8 - white
## - 9 - end of current color
## - b - bold text
## - u - underline text
## - r - reverse colors
## - a - use alternative character set
##
## If you don't want to use a non-color attribute anymore, just put it again,
## but this time insert character '/' between '$' and attribute character,
## e.g. {$b%t$/b}|{$r%f$/r} will display bolded title tag or filename with
## reversed colors.
##
## If you want to use 256 colors and/or background colors in formats (the naming
## scheme is described below in section about color definitions), it can be done
## with the syntax $(COLOR), e.g. to set the artist tag to one of the
## non-standard colors and make it have yellow background, you need to write
## $(197_yellow)%a$(end). Note that for standard colors this is interchangable
## with attributes listed above.
##
## Note: colors can be nested.
##
#
#song_list_format = {%a - }{%t}|{$8%f$9}$R{$3(%l)$9}
song_list_format = " $(cyan)%l$(end) %t$R$(blue)%30a - %30b$(end) "
#
#song_status_format = {{%a{ "%b"{ (%y)}} - }{%t}}|{%f}
#
#song_library_format = {%n - }{%t}|{%f}
#
#alternative_header_first_line_format = $b$1$aqqu$/a$9 {%t}|{%f} $1$atqq$/a$9$/b
#
#alternative_header_second_line_format = {{$4$b%a$/b$9}{ - $7%b$9}{ ($4%y$9)}}|{%D}
#
current_item_prefix = $(yellow)$r
#
#current_item_suffix = $/r$(end)
#
#current_item_inactive_column_prefix = $(white)$r
#
#current_item_inactive_column_suffix = $/r$(end)
#
#now_playing_prefix = $b
#
#now_playing_suffix = $/b
#
#browser_playlist_prefix = "$2playlist$9 "
#
#selected_item_prefix = $6
#
#selected_item_suffix = $9
#
#modified_item_prefix = $3> $9
#
##
## Note: attributes are not supported for the following variables.
##
#song_window_title_format = {%a - }{%t}|{%f}
##
## Note: Below variables are used for sorting songs in browser.  The sort mode
## determines how songs are sorted, and can be used in combination with a sort
## format to specify a custom sorting format.  Available values for
## browser_sort_mode are "name", "mtime", "format" and "noop".
##
#
#browser_sort_mode = name
#
#browser_sort_format = {%a - }{%t}|{%f} {(%l)}
#
##### columns settings #####
##
## syntax of song columns list format is "column column etc."
##
## - syntax for each column is:
##
## (width of the column)[color of the column]{displayed tag}
##
## Note: Width is by default in %, if you want a column to have fixed size, add
## 'f' after the value, e.g. (10)[white]{a} will be the column that take 10% of
## screen (so the real width will depend on actual screen size), whereas
## (10f)[white]{a} will take 10 terminal cells, no matter how wide the screen
## is.
##
## - color is optional (if you want the default one, leave the field empty).
##
## Note: You can give a column additional attributes by putting appropriate
## character after displayed tag character. Available attributes are:
##
## - r - column will be right aligned
## - E - if tag is empty, empty tag marker won't be displayed
##
## You can also:
##
## - give a column custom name by putting it after attributes, separated with
##   character ':', e.g. {lr:Length} gives you right aligned column of lengths
##   named "Length".
##
## - define sequence of tags, that have to be displayed in case predecessor is
##   empty in a way similar to the one in classic song format, i.e. using '|'
##   character, e.g. {a|c|p:Owner} creates column named "Owner" that tries to
##   display artist tag and then composer and performer if previous ones are not
##   available.
##
#
#song_columns_list_format = (20)[]{a} (6f)[green]{NE} (50)[white]{t|f:Title} (20)[cyan]{b} (7f)[magenta]{l}
song_columns_list_format = (20)[magenta]{a} (50)[white]{t|f:Title} (20)[cyan]{b} (7f)[yellow]{l}
#
##### various settings #####
#
##
## Note: Custom command that will be executed each time song changes. Useful for
## notifications etc.
##
#execute_on_song_change = ""
#
##
## Note: Custom command that will be executed each time player state
## changes. The environment variable MPD_PLAYER_STATE is set to the current
## state (either unknown, play, pause, or stop) for its duration.
##
#
#execute_on_player_state_change = ""
#
#playlist_show_mpd_host = no
#
#playlist_show_remaining_time = no
#
#playlist_shorten_total_times = no
#
#playlist_separate_albums = no
#
##
## Note: Possible display modes: classic, columns.
##
playlist_display_mode = columns
#
#browser_display_mode = classic
#
#search_engine_display_mode = classic
#
#playlist_editor_display_mode = classic
#
#discard_colors_if_item_is_selected = yes
#
#show_duplicate_tags = yes
#
#incremental_seeking = yes
#
#seek_time = 1
#
#volume_change_step = 2
#
#autocenter_mode = no
#
#centered_cursor = no
#
##
## Note: You can specify third character which will be used to build 'empty'
## part of progressbar.
##
progressbar_look = -|- 
#
## Available values: database, playlist.
##
#default_place_to_search_in = database
#
## Available values: classic, alternative.
##
user_interface = classic
#
#data_fetching_delay = yes
#
## Available values: artist, album_artist, date, genre, composer, performer.
##
#media_library_primary_tag = artist
#
#media_library_albums_split_by_date = yes
#
## Available values: wrapped, normal.
##
default_find_mode = wrapped
#
#default_tag_editor_pattern = %n - %t
#
#header_visibility = yes
#
#statusbar_visibility = yes
#
#titles_visibility = yes
#
#header_text_scrolling = yes
#
#cyclic_scrolling = no
#
#lines_scrolled = 2
#
#lyrics_fetchers = lyricwiki, azlyrics, genius, sing365, lyricsmania, metrolyrics, justsomelyrics, jahlyrics, plyrics, tekstowo, internet
#
#follow_now_playing_lyrics = no
#
#fetch_lyrics_for_current_song_in_background = no
#
#store_lyrics_in_song_dir = no
#
#generate_win32_compatible_filenames = yes
#
#allow_for_physical_item_deletion = no
#
##
## Note: If you set this variable, ncmpcpp will try to get info from last.fm in
## language you set and if it fails, it will fall back to english. Otherwise it
## will use english the first time.
##
## Note: Language has to be expressed as an ISO 639 alpha-2 code.
##
#lastfm_preferred_language = en
#
#space_add_mode = add_remove
#
#show_hidden_files_in_local_browser = no
#
##
## How shall screen switcher work?
##
## - "previous" - switch between the current and previous screen.
## - "screen1,...,screenN" - switch between given sequence of screens.
##
## Screens available for use: help, playlist, browser, search_engine,
## media_library, playlist_editor, tag_editor, outputs, visualizer, clock,
## lyrics, last_fm.
##
screen_switcher_mode = previous
#
##
## Note: You can define startup screen by choosing screen from the list above.
##
startup_screen = media_library
#
##
## Note: You can define startup slave screen by choosing screen from the list
## above or an empty value for no slave screen.
##
#startup_slave_screen = ""
#
#startup_slave_screen_focus = no
#
##
## Default width of locked screen (in %).  Acceptable values are from 20 to 80.
##
#
#locked_screen_width_part = 50
#
#ask_for_locked_screen_width_part = yes
#
#jump_to_now_playing_song_at_start = yes
#
#ask_before_clearing_playlists = yes
#
#clock_display_seconds = no
#
display_volume_level = no
#
#display_bitrate = no
#
#display_remaining_time = no
#
## Available values: none, basic, extended, perl.
##
#regular_expressions = perl
#
##
## Note: if below is enabled, ncmpcpp will ignore leading "The" word while
## sorting items in browser, tags in media library, etc.
##
#ignore_leading_the = no
#
##
## Note: if below is enabled, ncmpcpp will ignore diacritics while searching and
## filtering lists. This takes an effect only if boost was compiled with ICU
## support.
##
#ignore_diacritics = no
#
#block_search_constraints_change_if_items_found = yes
#
#mouse_support = yes
#
#mouse_list_scroll_whole_page = yes
#
#empty_tag_marker = <empty>
#
#tags_separator = " | "
#
#tag_editor_extended_numeration = no
#
#media_library_sort_by_mtime = no
#
enable_window_title = yes
#
##
## Note: You can choose default search mode for search engine. Available modes
## are:
##
## - 1 - use mpd built-in searching (no regexes, pattern matching)
##
## - 2 - use ncmpcpp searching (pattern matching with support for regexes, but
##       if your mpd is on a remote machine, downloading big database to process
##       it can take a while
##
## - 3 - match only exact values (this mode uses mpd function for searching in
##       database and local one for searching in current playlist)
##
#
search_engine_default_search_mode = 2
#
external_editor = nvim
#
## Note: set to yes if external editor is a console application.
##
use_console_editor = yes
#
##### colors definitions #####
##
## It is possible to set a background color by setting a color value
## "<foreground>_<background>", e.g. red_black will set foregound color to red
## and background color to black.
##
## In addition, for terminals that support 256 colors it is possible to set one
## of them by using a number in range [1, 256] instead of color name,
## e.g. numerical value corresponding to red_black is 2_1. To find out if the
## terminal supports 256 colors, run ncmpcpp and check out the bottom of the
## help screen for list of available colors and their numerical values.
##
## What is more, there are two special values for the background color:
## "transparent" and "current". The first one explicitly sets the background to
## be transparent, while the second one allows you to preserve current
## background color and change only the foreground one. It's used implicitly
## when background color is not specified.
##
## Moreover, it is possible to attach format information to selected color
## variables by appending to their end a colon followed by one or more format
## flags, e.g. black:b or red:ur. The following variables support this syntax:
## visualizer_color, color1, color2, empty_tag_color, volume_color,
## state_line_color, state_flags_color, progressbar_color,
## progressbar_elapsed_color, player_state_color, statusbar_time_color,
## alternative_ui_separator_color.
##
## Note: due to technical limitations of older ncurses version, if 256 colors
## are used there is a possibility that you'll be able to use only colors with
## transparent background.
#
colors_enabled = yes

empty_tag_color = red

header_window_color = green 

volume_color = magenta

state_line_color = blue

state_flags_color = default:b

main_window_color = white

color1 = cyan

color2 = green

progressbar_color = black:b

progressbar_elapsed_color = blue:b

statusbar_color = magenta

statusbar_time_color = yellow:b

player_state_color = green:b

alternative_ui_separator_color = blue:b

window_border_color = magenta

active_window_border = yellow

Additionally, I've noticed that miniplayer still keeps this color data even when no artwork is being displayed upon launch - such as when the playlist is cleared. It somehow stores the last known color values based on whatever artwork was being displayed within the program the last time it was running.

[GuardKenzie]

Thanks for this. I will put out a fix (or a band-aid) in the next release.

The problem is that, atm, miniplayer overwrites color 7 (curses.COLOR_WHITE) with the auto-picked color. Apparently (or at least it looks like it to me) python curses does not support restoring colors to their original state after being overwritten.

The fix I propose is overwriting color 255 instead (which is supposed to be white and is a part of the grays in the ANSI colors) and then resetting it to pure white when miniplayer exits. I could also include a config option that allows the user to specify a color to which miniplayer will reset the color 255, if they so wish.

What are your thoughts on this?

[vide0hanz]

The fix I propose is overwriting color 255 instead (which is supposed to be white and is a part of the grays in the ANSI colors) and then resetting it to pure white when miniplayer exits.

Wouldn't resetting it like this just make ncmpcpp be pure wite as well?

Either way I don't think a config option for this is necessary, from what I can tell it seems like kind of an edge case where this might occur. My gut feeling tells me there's got to be a way to parse Xresources so that curses.color_content has something resembling a "default" state of being before curses.init_color() is used.

I'm not a programmer, mind you, so please excuse me if this all sounds like nonsense 😅

[GuardKenzie]

I think ncmpcpp normally uses colors below 16 so changing color 255 (or some other random color like 171) willl not affect most users.

You are right though, I should probably look into parsing the config but I suspect this will be too complex due to the fact that there is no standard way to configure colors in terminal emulators.

[vide0hanz]

For fun I tried it out on an unpatched st, which has its colors hard coded, and still the issue persisted. Makes me think parsing Xresources might not be the solution after all, since including such functionality would then make MiniPlayer responsible for obtaining color values, storing them, and applying them on close which doesn't seem worth the effort.

I'm happy to test this out whenever you get around to writing your proposed fix!