strip_ansi_escapes

This page explains how to use the strip_ansi_escapes function in APL.

Use the strip_ansi_escapes function in APL to remove ANSI escape sequences from strings. ANSI escape codes are special character sequences used in terminal output to control text formatting, colors, and cursor positioning. When analyzing logs or terminal output, these codes can interfere with text processing, search operations, and data analysis.

You use strip_ansi_escapes when you need to clean up terminal output, colorized logs, or any text that contains ANSI formatting codes. This is particularly useful when ingesting logs from command-line tools, CI/CD pipelines, container logs, or any system that outputs colored or formatted terminal text.

For users of other query languages

If you come from other query languages, this section explains how to adjust your existing queries to achieve the same results in APL.

Splunk SPL users

In Splunk SPL, you typically use regex-based replacements to remove ANSI escape sequences. APL’s strip_ansi_escapes provides a dedicated function that handles all standard ANSI escape sequence patterns automatically.

Splunk example

| rex mode=sed field=message 's/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m//g'

ANSI SQL users

ANSI SQL doesn’t have a built-in function for removing ANSI escape sequences. You need to use regex replacement functions specific to your SQL dialect. APL’s strip_ansi_escapes provides a cross-platform solution that handles various ANSI escape patterns.

SQL example

SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE(message, '\x1b\[[0-9;]*m', '', 'g')
FROM logs

Usage

Syntax

strip_ansi_escapes(text)

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
text	string	The string containing ANSI escape sequences that you want to remove.

Returns

A string with all ANSI escape sequences removed, leaving only the plain text content.

List of related functions

• trim: Use trim to remove leading and trailing characters. Use strip_ansi_escapes specifically for removing ANSI escape sequences anywhere in the string.
• replace_regex: Use replace_regex for custom pattern-based replacements. Use strip_ansi_escapes as a specialized, optimized solution for ANSI codes.
• trim_space: Use trim_space to remove whitespace. Use strip_ansi_escapes to clean formatting codes.
• extract: Use extract to pull specific patterns from text. Use strip_ansi_escapes to clean the text before extraction for better pattern matching.