Addressed bug in Rich and made it unnecessary to pass a console into print_to(). (#1596)

Author: kmvanbrunt

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -79,6 +79,18 @@ prompt is displayed.
         - **max_column_completion_results**: (int) the maximum number of completion results to
           display in a single column
 
+## 3.4.0 (TBD)
+
+- Enhancements
+    - Moved cmd2-specific printing logic from `Cmd.print_to()` into `Cmd2BaseConsole.print()` and
+      `Cmd2BaseConsole.log()`. This removes need to pass a console object to `Cmd.print_to()`.
+    - Addressed a bug in `rich.console.Console` where complex renderables (like `Table` and `Rule`)
+      may not receive formatting settings passed to `console.print()` and `console.log()`.
+
+- Breaking Changes
+    - Renamed the `destination` parameter of `Cmd.print_to()` back to `file` since you can no longer
+      pass in a console.
+
 ## 3.3.0 (March 1, 2026)
 
 - Enhancements

cmd2/cmd2.py

@@ -84,7 +84,6 @@
 from prompt_toolkit.patch_stdout import patch_stdout
 from prompt_toolkit.shortcuts import CompleteStyle, PromptSession, set_title
 from rich.console import (
-    Console,
     Group,
     RenderableType,
 )
@@ -1320,66 +1319,30 @@ def visible_prompt(self) -> str:
 
     def print_to(
         self,
-        destination: IO[str] | Cmd2BaseConsole,
+        file: IO[str],
         *objects: Any,
         sep: str = " ",
         end: str = "\n",
         style: StyleType | None = None,
-        soft_wrap: bool | None = None,
-        emoji: bool | None = None,
-        markup: bool | None = None,
-        highlight: bool | None = None,
+        soft_wrap: bool = True,
+        emoji: bool = False,
+        markup: bool = False,
+        highlight: bool = False,
         rich_print_kwargs: RichPrintKwargs | None = None,
         **kwargs: Any,  # noqa: ARG002
     ) -> None:
-        """Print objects to a given destination (file stream or cmd2 console).
-
-        If ``destination`` is a file-like object, it is wrapped in a ``Cmd2GeneralConsole``
-        which is configured for general-purpose printing. By default, it enables soft wrap and
-        disables Rich's automatic detection for markup, emoji, and highlighting. These defaults
-        can be overridden by passing explicit keyword arguments.
-
-        If ``destination`` is a ``Cmd2BaseConsole``, the console's default settings for
-        soft wrap, markup, emoji, and highlighting are used unless overridden by passing
-        explicit keyword arguments.
-
-        See the Rich documentation for more details on emoji codes, markup tags, and highlighting.
-
-        **Why use this method instead of console.print()?**
-
-        This method calls ``cmd2.rich_utils.prepare_objects_for_rendering()`` on the objects
-        being printed. This ensures that strings containing ANSI style sequences are converted
-        to Rich Text objects, so that Rich can correctly calculate their display width when
-        printing.
-
-        Example:
-        ```py
-        with console.capture() as capture:
-            self.print_to(console, some_ansi_styled_string)
-        ```
-
-        !!! note
+        """Print objects to a given file stream.
 
-            To ensure consistent behavior, this method requires a file-like object or
-            an instance of ``Cmd2BaseConsole``.
-            Consoles not derived from ``Cmd2BaseConsole`` are disallowed because:
+        This method is configured for general-purpose printing. By default, it enables
+        soft wrap and disables Rich's automatic detection for markup, emoji, and highlighting.
+        These defaults can be overridden by passing explicit keyword arguments.
 
-            1. **Style Control**: They ignore the global ``ALLOW_STYLE`` setting.
-            2. **Theming**: They do not respect the application-wide ``APP_THEME``.
-            3. **Error Handling**: They trigger a ``SystemExit`` on broken pipes.
-               ``Cmd2BaseConsole`` instead raises a catchable ``BrokenPipeError``,
-               ensuring the CLI application remains alive if a pipe is closed.
-
-        :param destination: The output target. File-like objects are automatically
-                            wrapped in a ``Cmd2GeneralConsole`` to ensure they respect
-                            cmd2 global settings; otherwise, this must be an
-                            instance of ``Cmd2BaseConsole``.
+        :param file: file stream being written to
         :param objects: objects to print
         :param sep: string to write between printed text. Defaults to " ".
         :param end: string to write at end of printed text. Defaults to a newline.
         :param style: optional style to apply to output
-        :param soft_wrap: Enable soft wrap mode. Defaults to None.
-                          If None, the destination console's default behavior is used.
+        :param soft_wrap: Enable soft wrap mode. Defaults to True.
                           If True, text that doesn't fit will run on to the following line,
                           just like with print(). This is useful for raw text and logs.
                           If False, Rich wraps text to fit the terminal width.
@@ -1388,44 +1351,23 @@ def print_to(
                           For example, when soft_wrap is True Panels truncate text
                           which is wider than the terminal.
         :param emoji: If True, Rich will replace emoji codes (e.g., :smiley:) with their
-                      corresponding Unicode characters. Defaults to None.
-                      If None, the destination console's default behavior is used.
+                      corresponding Unicode characters. Defaults to False.
         :param markup: If True, Rich will interpret strings with tags (e.g., [bold]hello[/bold])
-                       as styled output. Defaults to None.
-                       If None, the destination console's default behavior is used.
+                       as styled output. Defaults to False.
         :param highlight: If True, Rich will automatically apply highlighting to elements within
                           strings, such as common Python data types like numbers, booleans, or None.
                           This is particularly useful when pretty printing objects like lists and
-                          dictionaries to display them in color. Defaults to None.
-                          If None, the destination console's default behavior is used.
+                          dictionaries to display them in color. Defaults to False.
         :param rich_print_kwargs: optional additional keyword arguments to pass to Rich's Console.print().
         :param kwargs: Arbitrary keyword arguments. This allows subclasses to extend the signature of this
                        method and still call `super()` without encountering unexpected keyword argument errors.
                        These arguments are not passed to Rich's Console.print().
-        :raises TypeError: If ``destination`` is a non-cmd2 ``Console`` instance that
-                           does not derive from ``Cmd2BaseConsole``.
 
+        See the Rich documentation for more details on emoji codes, markup tags, and highlighting.
         """
-        if isinstance(destination, Console):
-            if not isinstance(destination, Cmd2BaseConsole):
-                # Explicitly reject non-cmd2 consoles to ensure safe behavior
-                raise TypeError(
-                    f"destination must be a 'Cmd2BaseConsole' or a file-like object, "
-                    f"not a non-cmd2 '{type(destination).__name__}'. "
-                    "Consoles not derived from 'Cmd2BaseConsole' bypass cmd2's "
-                    "'ALLOW_STYLE' logic, 'APP_THEME' settings, and trigger 'SystemExit' "
-                    "on broken pipes."
-                )
-            console = destination
-        else:
-            # It's a file-like object (e.g., sys.stdout, StringIO)
-            console = Cmd2GeneralConsole(file=destination)
-
-        prepared_objects = ru.prepare_objects_for_rendering(*objects)
-
         try:
-            console.print(
-                *prepared_objects,
+            Cmd2BaseConsole(file=file).print(
+                *objects,
                 sep=sep,
                 end=end,
                 style=style,
@@ -1441,7 +1383,7 @@ def print_to(
             # writing. If you would like your application to print a
             # warning message, then set the broken_pipe_warning attribute
             # to the message you want printed.
-            if self.broken_pipe_warning and console.file != sys.stderr:
+            if self.broken_pipe_warning and file != sys.stderr:
                 Cmd2GeneralConsole(file=sys.stderr).print(self.broken_pipe_warning)
 
     def poutput(
@@ -1450,10 +1392,10 @@ def poutput(
         sep: str = " ",
         end: str = "\n",
         style: StyleType | None = None,
-        soft_wrap: bool | None = None,
-        emoji: bool | None = None,
-        markup: bool | None = None,
-        highlight: bool | None = None,
+        soft_wrap: bool = True,
+        emoji: bool = False,
+        markup: bool = False,
+        highlight: bool = False,
         rich_print_kwargs: RichPrintKwargs | None = None,
         **kwargs: Any,  # noqa: ARG002
     ) -> None:
@@ -1480,10 +1422,10 @@ def perror(
         sep: str = " ",
         end: str = "\n",
         style: StyleType | None = Cmd2Style.ERROR,
-        soft_wrap: bool | None = None,
-        emoji: bool | None = None,
-        markup: bool | None = None,
-        highlight: bool | None = None,
+        soft_wrap: bool = True,
+        emoji: bool = False,
+        markup: bool = False,
+        highlight: bool = False,
         rich_print_kwargs: RichPrintKwargs | None = None,
         **kwargs: Any,  # noqa: ARG002
     ) -> None:
@@ -1511,10 +1453,10 @@ def psuccess(
         *objects: Any,
         sep: str = " ",
         end: str = "\n",
-        soft_wrap: bool | None = None,
-        emoji: bool | None = None,
-        markup: bool | None = None,
-        highlight: bool | None = None,
+        soft_wrap: bool = True,
+        emoji: bool = False,
+        markup: bool = False,
+        highlight: bool = False,
         rich_print_kwargs: RichPrintKwargs | None = None,
         **kwargs: Any,  # noqa: ARG002
     ) -> None:
@@ -1539,10 +1481,10 @@ def pwarning(
         *objects: Any,
         sep: str = " ",
         end: str = "\n",
-        soft_wrap: bool | None = None,
-        emoji: bool | None = None,
-        markup: bool | None = None,
-        highlight: bool | None = None,
+        soft_wrap: bool = True,
+        emoji: bool = False,
+        markup: bool = False,
+        highlight: bool = False,
         rich_print_kwargs: RichPrintKwargs | None = None,
         **kwargs: Any,  # noqa: ARG002
     ) -> None:
@@ -1633,10 +1575,10 @@ def pfeedback(
         sep: str = " ",
         end: str = "\n",
         style: StyleType | None = None,
-        soft_wrap: bool | None = None,
-        emoji: bool | None = None,
-        markup: bool | None = None,
-        highlight: bool | None = None,
+        soft_wrap: bool = True,
+        emoji: bool = False,
+        markup: bool = False,
+        highlight: bool = False,
         rich_print_kwargs: RichPrintKwargs | None = None,
         **kwargs: Any,  # noqa: ARG002
     ) -> None:
@@ -1681,9 +1623,9 @@ def ppaged(
         style: StyleType | None = None,
         chop: bool = False,
         soft_wrap: bool = True,
-        emoji: bool | None = None,
-        markup: bool | None = None,
-        highlight: bool | None = None,
+        emoji: bool = False,
+        markup: bool = False,
+        highlight: bool = False,
         rich_print_kwargs: RichPrintKwargs | None = None,
         **kwargs: Any,  # noqa: ARG002
     ) -> None:
@@ -1725,10 +1667,9 @@ def ppaged(
                 soft_wrap = True
 
             # Generate the bytes to send to the pager
-            console = Cmd2GeneralConsole(file=self.stdout)
+            console = Cmd2BaseConsole(file=self.stdout)
             with console.capture() as capture:
-                self.print_to(
-                    console,
+                console.print(
                     *objects,
                     sep=sep,
                     end=end,
@@ -2535,8 +2476,7 @@ def complete(
 
                 console = Cmd2GeneralConsole(file=self.stdout)
                 with console.capture() as capture:
-                    self.print_to(
-                        console,
+                    console.print(
                         err_str,
                         style=Cmd2Style.ERROR if ex.apply_style else "",
                         end=end,