nodejs · carlosnaico77 · Jul 23, 2026
diff --git a/doc/api/util.md b/doc/api/util.md
@@ -2638,26 +2638,33 @@ The special format value `none` applies no additional styling to the text.
 
 In addition to predefined color names, `util.styleText()` supports hex color
 strings using ANSI TrueColor (24-bit) escape sequences. Hex colors can be
-specified in either 3-digit (`#RGB`) or 6-digit (`#RRGGBB`) format:
+specified in either 3-digit (`#RGB`) or 6-digit (`#RRGGBB`) format for foreground,
+or prefixed with `bg` (e.g., `bg#RGB`, `bg#RRGGBB`) for background:
 
 ```mjs
 import { styleText } from 'node:util';
 
-// 6-digit hex color
+// 6-digit hex color (foreground)
 console.log(styleText('#ff5733', 'Orange text'));
 
-// 3-digit hex color (shorthand)
+// 3-digit hex color (shorthand) (foreground)
 console.log(styleText('#f00', 'Red text'));
+
+// Hex color for background
+console.log(styleText('bg#ff5733', 'Text with orange background'));
 ```
 
 ```cjs
 const { styleText } = require('node:util');
 
-// 6-digit hex color
+// 6-digit hex color (foreground)
 console.log(styleText('#ff5733', 'Orange text'));
 
-// 3-digit hex color (shorthand)
+// 3-digit hex color (shorthand) (foreground)
 console.log(styleText('#f00', 'Red text'));
+
+// Hex color for background
+console.log(styleText('bg#ff5733', 'Text with orange background'));
 ```
 
 The full list of formats can be found in [modifiers][].

diff --git a/lib/util.js b/lib/util.js
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ const {
   RegExpPrototypeExec,
   SafeMap,
   StringPrototypeSlice,
+  StringPrototypeStartsWith,
   StringPrototypeToWellFormed,
 } = primordials;
 
@@ -118,6 +119,8 @@ const kBoldCode = 1;
 
 // Close sequence for 24-bit foreground colors (reset to default foreground)
 const kHexCloseSeq = kEscape + '39' + kEscapeEnd;
+// Close sequence for 24-bit background colors (reset to default background)
+const kBgHexCloseSeq = kEscape + '49' + kEscapeEnd;
 
 let styleCache;
 
@@ -155,20 +158,27 @@ function getStyleCache() {
 }
 
 /**
- * Returns the cached ANSI escape sequences for a hex color.
+ * Returns the cached ANSI escape sequences for a hex color (foreground or background).
  * Computes and caches on first use to avoid repeated Buffer allocations.
- * @param {string} hex A valid hex color string (#RGB or #RRGGBB)
+ * @param {string} hex A valid hex color string (#RGB or #RRGGBB) or background (bg#RGB or bg#RRGGBB)
  * @returns {{openSeq: string, closeSeq: string}}
  */
 function getHexStyle(hex) {
   const cache = getHexStyleCache();
   const cached = cache.get(hex);
   if (cached !== undefined) return cached;
-  const { 0: r, 1: g, 2: b } = hexToRgb(hex);
+
+  // Check if this is a background hex color prefixed with 'bg#'
+  const isBg = StringPrototypeStartsWith(hex, 'bg#');
+  // Strip 'bg' prefix to extract the raw hex color string (#RGB or #RRGGBB)
+  const cleanHex = isBg ? StringPrototypeSlice(hex, 2) : hex;
+  const { 0: r, 1: g, 2: b } = hexToRgb(cleanHex);
   const style = {
     __proto__: null,
-    openSeq: kEscape + rgbToAnsi24Bit(r, g, b) + kEscapeEnd,
-    closeSeq: kHexCloseSeq,
+    // 38 represents foreground TrueColor SGR parameter, while 48 represents background
+    openSeq: kEscape + (isBg ? bgRgbToAnsi24Bit(r, g, b) : rgbToAnsi24Bit(r, g, b)) + kEscapeEnd,
+    // 39 resets foreground to default, while 49 resets background to default
+    closeSeq: isBg ? kBgHexCloseSeq : kHexCloseSeq,
   };
   if (cache.size >= kHexStyleCacheMax)
     cache.delete(cache.keys().next().value);
@@ -201,6 +211,8 @@ function replaceCloseCode(str, closeSeq, openSeq, keepClose) {
 
 // Matches #RGB or #RRGGBB
 const hexColorRegExp = /^#(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{3}|[0-9a-fA-F]{6})$/;
+// Matches bg#RGB or bg#RRGGBB
+const bgHexColorRegExp = /^bg#(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{3}|[0-9a-fA-F]{6})$/;
 
 /**
  * Parses a hex color string into RGB components.
@@ -235,6 +247,17 @@ function rgbToAnsi24Bit(r, g, b) {
   return `38;2;${r};${g};${b}`;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Generates the ANSI TrueColor (24-bit) escape sequence for a background color.
+ * @param {number} r Red component (0-255)
+ * @param {number} g Green component (0-255)
+ * @param {number} b Blue component (0-255)
+ * @returns {string} The ANSI escape sequence
+ */
+function bgRgbToAnsi24Bit(r, g, b) {
+  return `48;2;${r};${g};${b}`;
+}
+
 /**
  * @param {string | string[]} format
  * @param {string} text
@@ -256,10 +279,15 @@ function styleText(format, text, options) {
       return style.openSeq + processed + style.closeSeq;
     }
 
-    if (format[0] === '#') {
+    const isHex = format[0] === '#';
+    const isBgHex = !isHex && StringPrototypeStartsWith(format, 'bg#');
+    if (isHex || isBgHex) {
       let hexStyle = getHexStyleCache().get(format);
-      if (hexStyle === undefined && RegExpPrototypeExec(hexColorRegExp, format) !== null) {
-        hexStyle = getHexStyle(format);
+      if (hexStyle === undefined) {
+        const regExp = isHex ? hexColorRegExp : bgHexColorRegExp;
+        if (RegExpPrototypeExec(regExp, format) !== null) {
+          hexStyle = getHexStyle(format);
+        }
       }
       if (hexStyle !== undefined) {
         const processed = replaceCloseCode(text, hexStyle.closeSeq, hexStyle.openSeq, false);
@@ -297,17 +325,25 @@ function styleText(format, text, options) {
   for (const key of formatArray) {
     if (key === 'none') continue;
 
-    if (typeof key === 'string' && key[0] === '#') {
-      if (RegExpPrototypeExec(hexColorRegExp, key) === null) {
-        throw new ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE('format', key,
-                                        'must be a valid hex color (#RGB or #RRGGBB)');
+    if (typeof key === 'string' && (key[0] === '#' || StringPrototypeStartsWith(key, 'bg#'))) {
+      const isBg = key[0] === 'b';
+      const regExp = isBg ? bgHexColorRegExp : hexColorRegExp;
+      if (RegExpPrototypeExec(regExp, key) === null) {
+        throw new ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE(
+          'format',
+          key,
+          'must be a valid hex color (#RGB or #RRGGBB) or ' +
+            'background hex color (bg#RGB or bg#RRGGBB)',
+        );
       }
       if (skipColorize) continue;
-      const { 0: r, 1: g, 2: b } = hexToRgb(key);
-      const hexOpenSeq = kEscape + rgbToAnsi24Bit(r, g, b) + kEscapeEnd;
+      const cleanHex = isBg ? StringPrototypeSlice(key, 2) : key;
+      const { 0: r, 1: g, 2: b } = hexToRgb(cleanHex);
+      const hexOpenSeq = kEscape + (isBg ? bgRgbToAnsi24Bit(r, g, b) : rgbToAnsi24Bit(r, g, b)) + kEscapeEnd;
+      const closeSeq = isBg ? kBgHexCloseSeq : kHexCloseSeq;
       openCodes += hexOpenSeq;
-      closeCodes = kHexCloseSeq + closeCodes;
-      processedText = replaceCloseCode(processedText, kHexCloseSeq, hexOpenSeq, false);
+      closeCodes = closeSeq + closeCodes;
+      processedText = replaceCloseCode(processedText, closeSeq, hexOpenSeq, false);
       continue;
     }
 

diff --git a/test/parallel/test-util-styletext-hex.js b/test/parallel/test-util-styletext-hex.js
@@ -245,4 +245,21 @@ describe('util.styleText hex color support', () => {
       );
     });
   });
+
+  describe('valid background hex colors', () => {
+    it('should parse bg#ffcc00 as RGB(255, 204, 0) background', () => {
+      const styled = util.styleText('bg#ffcc00', 'test', { validateStream: false });
+      assert.strictEqual(styled, '\u001b[48;2;255;204;0mtest\u001b[49m');
+    });
+
+    it('should expand bg#fc0 to bg#ffcc00 -> RGB(255, 204, 0) background', () => {
+      const styled = util.styleText('bg#fc0', 'test', { validateStream: false });
+      assert.strictEqual(styled, '\u001b[48;2;255;204;0mtest\u001b[49m');
+    });
+
+    it('should combine foreground and background hex colors', () => {
+      const styled = util.styleText(['#ffffff', 'bg#ff5733'], 'test', { validateStream: false });
+      assert.strictEqual(styled, '\u001b[38;2;255;255;255m\u001b[48;2;255;87;51mtest\u001b[49m\u001b[39m');
+    });
+  });
 });