diff --git a/commit_check/__init__.py b/commit_check/__init__.py
index 341b9f6..e38ad4c 100644
--- a/commit_check/__init__.py
+++ b/commit_check/__init__.py
@@ -6,17 +6,45 @@
         __version__ (package version)
 """
 
+import os
+import sys
 from importlib.metadata import version, PackageNotFoundError
 
 # Exit codes used across the package
 PASS = 0
 FAIL = 1
 
-# ANSI color codes used for CLI output
-RED = "\033[91m"
-GREEN = "\033[92m"
-YELLOW = "\033[93m"
-RESET_COLOR = "\033[0m"
+
+def supports_color() -> bool:
+    """Whether the terminal renders ANSI color.
+
+    A piped or redirected stream is read as plain text (a CI log, a file, an
+    agent harness), where the escape sequences are noise, so this errs towards
+    saying no when ``stdout`` is not a terminal.
+
+    ``FORCE_COLOR`` overrides the detection in both directions: ``0`` turns
+    color off even on a terminal, any other value turns it on even when piped.
+
+    An empty ``TERM`` is the same "no terminal type" signal as ``dumb``: the
+    user has deliberately said there are no terminfo capabilities, so emit
+    plain text. An *unset* ``TERM`` is different — it just means nobody set
+    it, and a real terminal is still likely color-capable.
+    """
+    forced = os.environ.get("FORCE_COLOR")
+    if forced:
+        return forced != "0"
+    if not sys.stdout.isatty():
+        return False
+    if os.environ.get("TERM") in ("", "dumb"):
+        return False
+    return True
+
+
+# ANSI color codes used for CLI output, empty when stdout cannot render color.
+RED = "\033[91m" if supports_color() else ""
+GREEN = "\033[92m" if supports_color() else ""
+YELLOW = "\033[93m" if supports_color() else ""
+RESET_COLOR = "\033[0m" if supports_color() else ""
 
 # Follow conventional commits
 DEFAULT_COMMIT_TYPES = [
diff --git a/tests/util_test.py b/tests/util_test.py
index e325198..e344524 100644
--- a/tests/util_test.py
+++ b/tests/util_test.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
+import importlib
 import pytest
 import subprocess
+import commit_check
+from commit_check import supports_color
 from commit_check.util import (
     fetch_remote_ref,
     fetch_upstream_ref,
@@ -753,6 +756,80 @@ def test_blank_line_closes_the_block(self, capfd, mocker):
             assert lines[-2].startswith("Docs: ")
             assert "" not in lines[:-1]
 
+    class TestColor:
+        """ANSI color belongs on a terminal, not in piped output.
+
+        A CI log or an agent harness reads the escape payload as noise, so the
+        color codes are dropped when ``stdout`` is not a terminal.
+        """
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_not_supported_when_piped(self, mocker):
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=False)
+            assert supports_color() is False
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_forced_even_when_piped(self, mocker):
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {"FORCE_COLOR": "1"}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=False)
+            assert supports_color() is True
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_force_zero_turns_color_off(self, mocker):
+            """Setting it to 0 must not read as "set, therefore on"."""
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {"FORCE_COLOR": "0"}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=True)
+            assert supports_color() is False
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_force_empty_falls_through_to_detection(self, mocker):
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {"FORCE_COLOR": ""}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=False)
+            assert supports_color() is False
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_dumb_term_turns_color_off(self, mocker):
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {"TERM": "dumb"}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=True)
+            assert supports_color() is False
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_empty_term_turns_color_off(self, mocker):
+            """``TERM=`` is a deliberate "no terminal" signal, like ``dumb``."""
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {"TERM": ""}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=True)
+            assert supports_color() is False
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_unset_term_still_allows_color_on_a_tty(self, mocker):
+            """An absent TERM is not a refusal — the terminal may still render."""
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=True)
+            assert supports_color() is True
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_constants_empty_when_color_off(self, mocker):
+            """The constants are pre-emptied when stdout cannot render color."""
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {"TERM": "dumb"}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=True)
+            importlib.reload(commit_check)
+            assert commit_check.RED == ""
+            assert commit_check.GREEN == ""
+            assert commit_check.YELLOW == ""
+            assert commit_check.RESET_COLOR == ""
+
+        @pytest.mark.benchmark
+        def test_constants_set_when_color_on(self, mocker):
+            """FORCE_COLOR=1 keeps the raw escape codes in place."""
+            mocker.patch.dict("os.environ", {"FORCE_COLOR": "1"}, clear=True)
+            mocker.patch("sys.stdout.isatty", return_value=False)
+            importlib.reload(commit_check)
+            assert commit_check.RED == "\033[91m"
+            assert commit_check.GREEN == "\033[92m"
+            assert commit_check.YELLOW == "\033[93m"
+            assert commit_check.RESET_COLOR == "\033[0m"
+
     class TestPrintSuggestion:
         @pytest.mark.benchmark
         def test_print_suggestion(self, capfd):