figures 6.x

Complete instructions

Verified against figures@6.1.0 on 2026-09-08. 3 of 3 examples executed.

figures

figures 6.x is a native ESM package for Unicode symbols with fallbacks for terminals that do not support all Unicode figures. The documented version is 6.1.0 and it requires Node.js 18 or newer.

Imports and package shape

Use named exports for the symbol collections and replacement helper:

import figures, {mainSymbols, fallbackSymbols, replaceSymbols} from 'figures';

The default export is the terminal-selected figure set. mainSymbols always contains the Unicode symbols, while fallbackSymbols always contains their fallback equivalents. The listed figures are also attached to the default export, so figures.tick, figures.star, figures.line, and similar properties are valid.

Do not rely on the commonly copied v5-style shape:

figures.mainSymbols.tick
figures.fallbackSymbols.tick
figures.replaceSymbols('✔ check')

In v6, use the named exports mainSymbols, fallbackSymbols, and replaceSymbols. The v6 package is native ESM, so use import, not CommonJS require.

Default terminal-selected symbols

The default export selects symbols using terminal Unicode support detection. For example, figures.tick is ✔ on a Unicode-capable terminal and √ otherwise. Because selection is environment-dependent, do not assert one exact value for the default export in portable tests.

import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
import figures, {mainSymbols, fallbackSymbols} from 'figures';

assert.ok(typeof figures.tick === 'string');
assert.ok(figures.tick === mainSymbols.tick || figures.tick === fallbackSymbols.tick);
assert.equal(typeof figures.star, 'string');
assert.equal(typeof figures.line, 'string');

The default export includes the documented figure names, including common status symbols such as tick, info, warning, and cross; shapes such as circle, checkboxOn, pointer, and star; arrows and fractions; and box-drawing names such as line, lineBold, lineVertical, and lineCross.

Explicit symbol sets

Use mainSymbols when output must always use the Unicode figures, regardless of the terminal. Use fallbackSymbols when output must always use the fallback figures.

import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
import {mainSymbols, fallbackSymbols} from 'figures';

assert.equal(mainSymbols.tick, '✔');
assert.equal(fallbackSymbols.tick, '√');
assert.equal(typeof mainSymbols.info, 'string');
assert.equal(typeof fallbackSymbols.warning, 'string');
assert.equal(typeof mainSymbols.lineCross, 'string');
assert.equal(typeof fallbackSymbols.oneSeventh, 'string');

Both collections expose readonly string properties. Do not mutate them.

Replacing symbols in text

replaceSymbols(string, options?) replaces recognized main symbols with the terminal-appropriate versions by default. Pass {useFallback: true} to force fallback symbols even on a Unicode-capable terminal.

import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
import {replaceSymbols} from 'figures';

const input = '✔ check';
const replaced = replaceSymbols(input);

assert.ok(replaced === '✔ check' || replaced === '√ check');
assert.equal(replaceSymbols(input, {useFallback: true}), '√ check');

The option type is:

type Options = {
	readonly useFallback?: boolean;
};

useFallback: true is the v6.1 addition. Use it when generated output must be stable and use fallback symbols rather than depending on terminal detection.

Terminal behavior

The default set and replaceSymbols() without useFallback are terminal-sensitive. Unsupported terminals documented by the package include xterm, Linux Terminal (kernel), and cmder; they can display most but not all symbols. Prefer fallbackSymbols or replaceSymbols(text, {useFallback: true}) when compatibility matters.

In v6.0, circleQuestionMark and questionMarkPrefix are always displayed as (?). Older macOS-specific circled-question-mark behavior should not be expected.

What this skill does not cover

This skill does not cover symbols beyond the documented named properties, terminal detection internals, or behavior of terminals not described by the package research. It also does not cover a CLI, build step, or test-runner integration: the package exposes no such tool surface in the researched material and is used directly from a Node ESM script.