# FAQ

> Short answers about roundel — why nothing is coloured, NO_COLOR, FORCE_COLOR, --no-color, CI logs, screen readers, contrast, chalk and CommonJS — each with where to read more.

Source: https://roundel.interlace.tools/docs/faq

## Why is nothing coloured?

Either the program never called `fly()` — tokens are plain until it does — or the policy
decided level 0: a pipe nobody asked to colour, `NO_COLOR`, `CLI_ACCESSIBLE`, `--json`, or a
terminal that reports no colour through `TERM` or `COLORTERM`. `colorLevel(rt)` tells you
which answer it reached ([Colour levels](/docs/guides/colour-levels)).

## How do I get colour in a CI log?

Export `FORCE_COLOR=true`. The run gets its CI vendor's level — truecolor on GitHub Actions —
and nobody else's pipe changes. `FORCE_COLOR=2` pins it at 256 colours.

## `NO_COLOR` and `FORCE_COLOR` are both set. Which wins?

`NO_COLOR`, always. Then `FORCE_COLOR=0`, then a `--color` flag, then any other
`FORCE_COLOR`. (Node itself prints a warning when both variables are set.)

## Does `--no-color` work if my shell exports `FORCE_COLOR`?

Yes, when the program hands the policy its `argv`: a flag typed for this run beats an ambient
`FORCE_COLOR`. chalk does it the other way round, which is one of the differences on
[Compatibility](/docs/drop-ins#known-differences).

## What does a screen-reader user get?

With `CLI_ACCESSIBLE=1`, mode `accessible` — components write their text form once per state
and never redraw — and colour level 0, unless they ask for colour explicitly.

## My terminal supports truecolor, but I get 256 colours.

The policy reads `COLORTERM=truecolor` for level 3. chalk also recognises some terminals by
name; roundel does not. Set `COLORTERM=truecolor` or pass `--color=16m`.

## Why did `fly()` throw?

A hex token in the theme reads below 4.5:1 against the declared `ground`, at truecolor or at the
256-colour colour it becomes. The message names the token and the ratio; `audit()` shows every
row ([Themes and contrast](/docs/guides/themes)).

## Can I keep chalk's API?

Yes: `import chalk from 'roundel/chalk'`, graded by chalk's own suite. Tokens are the part that
adds meaning, and you can move to them a file at a time
([Incremental migration](/docs/recipes/incremental-migration)).

## Can I use it from CommonJS?

Yes, on Node 20.19+ and 22.13+: every entry is ESM with a `default` condition, so
`require('roundel/tokens')` loads it through `require(esm)`.