Bash prompt in OS X terminal broken

Question

I am using bash in os X Terminal app, and my custom $PS1 breaks when I scroll through my history.

PS1="${BLUE}\u${CYAN}@${RED}\h${BLUE}\w\n\[${red}\$${NC}\]"

also tried PS1="${BLUE}\u${CYAN}@${RED}\h${BLUE}\w\r\n[${red}\$${NC}]"

The problem seems to be in the newline. I have used this bash prompt on Slackware no prob.

Answer 1

You need the [ and ] arond every escape sequence; do $BLUE and the like include these? If not, they need to be bracketed with these calls.

Answer 2

To avoid such 'escaping' difficulties as you prompt needs evole to be more complex, this should be a skeleton to start growing on:

function _my_prompt ()
{ 
  # magic goes here
  my_prmpt=.... 
}
PROMPT_COMMAND='_my_prompt'
PS1="[\$my_prmpt] \$"