diff --git a/colors.rb b/colors.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8eee4a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/colors.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+class String
+def black;          "\e[30m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def red;            "\e[31m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def green;          "\e[32m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def brown;          "\e[33m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def blue;           "\e[34m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def magenta;        "\e[35m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def cyan;           "\e[36m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def gray;           "\e[37m#{self}\e[0m" end
+
+def bg_black;       "\e[40m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def bg_red;         "\e[41m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def bg_green;       "\e[42m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def bg_brown;       "\e[43m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def bg_blue;        "\e[44m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def bg_magenta;     "\e[45m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def bg_cyan;        "\e[46m#{self}\e[0m" end
+def bg_gray;        "\e[47m#{self}\e[0m" end
+
+def bold;           "\e[1m#{self}\e[22m" end
+def italic;         "\e[3m#{self}\e[23m" end
+def underline;      "\e[4m#{self}\e[24m" end
+def blink;          "\e[5m#{self}\e[25m" end
+def reverse_color;  "\e[7m#{self}\e[27m" end
+end
+
diff --git a/run.rb b/run.rb
index 864b933..6f89176 100755
--- a/run.rb
+++ b/run.rb
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ require 'yaml'
 require 'telegram/bot'
 require 'pp'
 require_relative 'commands.rb'
+require_relative 'colors.rb'
 
 #conf = YAML.load(File.read("bot_config.yaml"))
 @conf = YAML.load_file("bot_config.yaml")
@@ -18,56 +19,57 @@ admin = @conf['admin']
 ### Begin sanity check ###
 errcount = 0
 puts "Checking if environment is sane...\n\n"
-print "Checking for presence of a bot token .... "
+print "Checking bot token ...................... "
 if token.nil?
-    print "FAIL!\n\n"
+    print "FAIL!\n\n".red.bold
     puts "No bot token defined in bot_config.yaml!\nTHIS IS REQUIRED! Bot initialization failed; exiting..."
     exit(1)
 else
-    print "OK!\n"
+    print "OK\n".green.bold
 end
-print "Checking for defined bot name ........... "
+print "Checking configured bot name ............ "
 if @botname.nil?
     errcount += 1
-    print "FAIL!\n\n"
+    print "FAIL!\n\n".red.bold
     puts "Error(#{errcount.to_s}): No bot name defined. This is superficial. We'll call him Bob.\n\n"
     @botname = "Bob"
 else
-    print "OK!\n"
+    print "OK\n".green.bold
 end
-print "Checking for telnet configuration ....... "
+print "Checking telnet configuration ........... "
 if telnet.nil?
     errcount += 1
-    print "FAIL!\n\n"
+    print "FAIL!\n\n".red.bold
     puts "Error(#{errcount.to_s}): No telnet information provided in bot_config.yaml.\nThis is required for nearly all Empyrion-related " +
             "functions.\nTHIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. Continuing. (some commands will return broken messages)\n\n"
 else
-    print "OK!\n"
+    print "OK\n".green.bold
 end
-print "Checking for administrators ............. "
+print "Checking administrators ................. "
 if admin.nil?
     errcount += 1
-    print "FAIL!\n\n"
+    print "FAIL!\n\n".red.bold
     puts "Error(#{errcount.to_s}): No admin Telegram IDs provided in bot_config.yaml.\nThis is required for many functions.\n" +
             "THIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. Continuing. (some commands will not be available)\n\n"
     admin = ["0"]
 else
-    print "OK!\n"
+    print "OK\n".green.bold
 end
-print "Checking for authorised chats ........... "
+print "Checking authorised chats ............... "
 if @auth_chat.nil?
     errcount += 1
+    print "FAIL!\n\n".red.bold
     puts "Error(#{errcount.to_s}): No authorized Telegram group IDs provided in bot_config.yaml.\nThis is required for most Empyrion-related " +
             "functions.\nTHIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. Continuing. (some commands will not be available)\n\n"
     @auth_chat = ["0"]
 else
-    print "OK!\n"
+    print "OK\n".green.bold
 end
 puts "Errors found: #{errcount.to_s}\n\n"
 if errcount > 0
-    print "Environment is grinning and holding a spatula. Please review your configuration.\n\n"
+    print "Environment is grinning and holding a spatula. Please review your configuration.\n\n".red.bold
 else
-    print "Environment appears sane.\n\n"
+    print "Environment appears sane.\n\n".cyan.bold
 end
 ### End sanity check ###