diff --git a/.github/skills/documentation.md b/.github/skills/documentation.md
index e0c1578..f2b3eb3 100644
--- a/.github/skills/documentation.md
+++ b/.github/skills/documentation.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ Custom components live in `docs/.vitepress/theme/`:
 1. Locate the `.vue` file above.
 2. Follow the existing scoped `<style>` conventions (no global selectors inside `<style scoped>`).
 3. Add responsive styles inside the component's `<style>` or in `custom.css` if the rule is global.
-4. Never import additional NPM packages for styling — only `picocolors` (CLI) and VitePress built-ins.
+4. Never import additional NPM packages for styling — only `src/style.ts` (CLI, wraps `node:util`'s `styleText`) and VitePress built-ins.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index c2abbd9..f930711 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -94,6 +94,9 @@ src/
   output.ts              # Text (markdown) and JSON output formatters
   upgrade.ts             # Auto-upgrade logic (fetch latest GitHub release, replace binary)
                          #   + refreshCompletions() — overwrites existing completion file
+  style.ts               # Sole call site for node:util's styleText — dim/bold/italic/
+                         #   underline/colors + style(names[], text) composer for combined
+                         #   styles — no I/O
 
   render/
     terminal.ts          # Bun 1.4+ native API wrappers (stringWidth, stripANSI, sliceAnsi)
@@ -121,6 +124,7 @@ src/
 - **Side effects are isolated.** API calls (`api.ts`, `api-utils.ts`), TTY interaction (`tui.ts`) and CLI parsing (`github-code-search.ts`) are the only side-effectful surfaces. `api-utils.ts` hosts shared retry/pagination helpers that perform network I/O and must not be used outside `api.ts`. `cache.ts` hosts disk-cache helpers that perform filesystem I/O and must not be used outside `api.ts`.
 - **`render.ts` is a façade.** It re-exports everything from `render/` and adds two top-level rendering functions. Consumers import from `render.ts`, not directly from sub-modules. Exceptions: `render/team-pick.ts`, `render/mouse.ts` and `render/mouse-hit.ts` are pure modules imported **directly** by their sole consumer (`render.ts` for `team-pick.ts`, `tui.ts` for the mouse modules) and are not re-exported publicly (knip would flag unused re-exports otherwise).
 - **`render/terminal.ts` is the sole Bun API call site.** All calls to `Bun.stringWidth()`, `Bun.stripANSI()`, and `Bun.sliceAnsi()` must go through the `terminal.ts` wrapper functions (`visibleWidth()`, `stripAnsi()`, `clipToWidth()`, `hasAnsi()`). This centralizes terminal handling logic and makes it easy to verify correct Unicode handling (graphemes, emoji, CJK, ZWJ sequences).
+- **`src/style.ts` is the sole call site for `node:util`'s `styleText`.** All ANSI styling across the codebase (`render.ts`, `render/highlight.ts`, `render/summary.ts`, `render/team-pick.ts`, `tui.ts`, `upgrade.ts`, `api.ts`, `github-code-search.ts`) goes through this facade instead of importing `styleText` directly or reintroducing a styling npm package. Multi-style compositions (e.g. bold+yellow) must use the `style(names[], text)` array form, not chained/nested calls — `bold` and `dim` share the same SGR reset code, so naive chaining can produce incorrect output when there is trailing content after a nested style.
 - **`types.ts` is the single source of truth** for all shared interfaces. Any new shared type must go there.
 - **No classes** — the codebase uses plain TypeScript interfaces and functions throughout.
 
@@ -266,7 +270,7 @@ For minor/major releases update `docs/blog/index.md` to add a row in the version
 - After a successful upgrade, `refreshCompletions()` (in `src/upgrade.ts`) silently overwrites the existing completion file if one is already present. It never creates a file from scratch — installation is the user's responsibility (via `install.sh` or the `completions` subcommand).
 - The `completions` subcommand (in `github-code-search.ts`) prints the completion script for the detected (or specified) shell to stdout. It is a thin wrapper around `generateCompletion()` in `src/completions.ts`.
 - Shell-integration tests for `install.sh` live in `install.test.bats` and require `bats-core`. Run them with `bun run test:bats`. The CI runs them in a dedicated `test-bats` job using `bats-core/bats-action`.
-- `picocolors` is the only styling dependency; do not add `chalk` or similar.
+- `src/style.ts` is the sole call site for `node:util`'s `styleText` and the only styling dependency-free abstraction in the codebase; do not import `styleText` directly elsewhere, and do not add `chalk`/`picocolors`/or similar external styling packages.
 - Keep `knip` clean: every exported symbol must be used; every import must resolve.
 - The `--pick-team` option is repeatable (Commander collect function); each assignment resolves one combined section label to a single team. A warning is emitted on stderr when a label is not found.
 - `src/render/team-pick.ts` is a pure module (no I/O) and must be consumed only via the `src/render.ts` façade — it is imported **directly** inside `render.ts` for internal use but is not re-exported publicly (knip would flag it).
diff --git a/bun.lock b/bun.lock
index ad04106..09f5221 100644
--- a/bun.lock
+++ b/bun.lock
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
     "": {
       "dependencies": {
         "commander": "^15.0.0",
-        "picocolors": "^1.1.1",
       },
       "devDependencies": {
         "@lhci/cli": "^0.15.1",
diff --git a/github-code-search.ts b/github-code-search.ts
index 3625dc0..fbebdc4 100644
--- a/github-code-search.ts
+++ b/github-code-search.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 import { Command, program } from "commander";
 import { writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { resolve } from "node:path";
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "./src/style.ts";
 import { aggregate, normaliseExtractRef, normaliseRepo } from "./src/aggregate.ts";
 import { fetchAllResults, fetchRepoTeams } from "./src/api.ts";
 import { formatRetryWait } from "./src/api-utils.ts";
@@ -62,19 +62,20 @@ function colorDesc(s: string): string {
     .split("\n")
     .map((line) => {
       const docsMatch = line.match(/^(\s*Docs:\s*)(https?:\/\/\S+)$/);
-      if (docsMatch) return pc.dim(docsMatch[1]) + pc.cyan(pc.underline(docsMatch[2]));
+      if (docsMatch)
+        return style.dim(docsMatch[1]) + style.style(["cyan", "underline"], docsMatch[2]);
       const exampleMatch = line.match(/^(\s*Example:\s*)(.+)$/);
-      if (exampleMatch) return pc.dim(exampleMatch[1]) + pc.italic(exampleMatch[2]);
-      if (/^\s+(e\.g\.|repoA|myorg\/|squad-|chapter-)/.test(line)) return pc.dim(line);
+      if (exampleMatch) return style.dim(exampleMatch[1]) + style.italic(exampleMatch[2]);
+      if (/^\s+(e\.g\.|repoA|myorg\/|squad-|chapter-)/.test(line)) return style.dim(line);
       // Colorize any remaining bare URL (http/https) anywhere in the line
-      return line.replace(/(https?:\/\/\S+)/g, (url) => pc.cyan(pc.underline(url)));
+      return line.replace(/(https?:\/\/\S+)/g, (url) => style.style(["cyan", "underline"], url));
     })
     .join("\n");
 }
 
 /** Colored hyperlink (cyan + underline), falls back to plain when not a TTY. */
 function helpLink(url: string): string {
-  return HAS_COLOR ? pc.cyan(pc.underline(url)) : url;
+  return HAS_COLOR ? style.style(["cyan", "underline"], url) : url;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@ function helpLink(url: string): string {
  * The label is bold when color is supported.
  */
 function helpSection(label: string, url: string): string {
-  const t = HAS_COLOR ? pc.bold(label) : label;
+  const t = HAS_COLOR ? style.bold(label) : label;
   return `\n${t}\n  ${helpLink(url)}`;
 }
 
@@ -92,21 +93,21 @@ function helpSection(label: string, url: string): string {
  */
 const helpFormatConfig = {
   // Section headings: "Usage:", "Options:", "Commands:" …
-  styleTitle: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? pc.bold(pc.yellow(s)) : s),
+  styleTitle: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? style.style(["bold", "yellow"], s) : s),
   // Command name in the usage line
-  styleCommandText: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? pc.bold(s) : s),
+  styleCommandText: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? style.bold(s) : s),
   // Subcommand names in the command listing
-  styleSubcommandText: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? pc.cyan(s) : s),
+  styleSubcommandText: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? style.cyan(s) : s),
   // Argument placeholders (<query>)
-  styleArgumentText: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? pc.yellow(s) : s),
+  styleArgumentText: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? style.yellow(s) : s),
   // Option flags in the usage line (--org, --format …)
-  styleOptionText: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? pc.green(s) : s),
+  styleOptionText: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? style.green(s) : s),
   // Option terms in the options table
-  styleOptionTerm: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? pc.green(s) : s),
+  styleOptionTerm: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? style.green(s) : s),
   // Subcommand terms in the commands table
-  styleSubcommandTerm: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? pc.cyan(s) : s),
+  styleSubcommandTerm: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? style.cyan(s) : s),
   // Argument terms in the arguments table
-  styleArgumentTerm: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? pc.yellow(s) : s),
+  styleArgumentTerm: (s: string) => (HAS_COLOR ? style.yellow(s) : s),
   // Descriptions — color "Docs:", "Example:" and code-example lines
   styleOptionDescription: colorDesc,
   styleSubcommandDescription: colorDesc,
@@ -231,14 +232,14 @@ async function searchAction(
   // ─── GitHub API token ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   const GITHUB_TOKEN = process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN;
   if (!GITHUB_TOKEN) {
-    console.error(pc.red("Error: GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable is not set."));
+    console.error(style.red("Error: GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable is not set."));
     process.exit(1);
   }
 
   // Fail fast on unbalanced quotes rather than surfacing a raw GitHub 422 — see issue #149
   const quoteError = validateQuoteBalance(query);
   if (quoteError) {
-    console.error(pc.red(`Error: ${quoteError}`));
+    console.error(style.red(`Error: ${quoteError}`));
     process.exit(1);
   }
 
@@ -290,12 +291,12 @@ async function searchAction(
         const remaining = cooldownUntil - Date.now();
         if (remaining <= 0) break;
         process.stderr.write(
-          `\r  ${pc.yellow("Rate limited")} — resuming in ${formatRetryWait(remaining)}\u2026${" ".repeat(10)}`,
+          `\r  ${style.yellow("Rate limited")} — resuming in ${formatRetryWait(remaining)}\u2026${" ".repeat(10)}`,
         );
         await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1_000));
       }
       // Leave cursor at line start; the next \r progress update will overwrite cleanly
-      process.stderr.write(`\r  ${pc.dim("Rate limited")} — resuming\u2026${" ".repeat(40)}`);
+      process.stderr.write(`\r  ${style.dim("Rate limited")} — resuming\u2026${" ".repeat(40)}`);
     })().finally(() => {
       activeCooldown = null;
       cooldownUntil = 0;
@@ -311,18 +312,18 @@ async function searchAction(
     if (rf === null) {
       // Compile error — always fatal, even if --regex-hint is provided,
       // because no local regex filter can be applied.
-      console.error(pc.yellow(`⚠  Regex mode — ${warn}`));
+      console.error(style.yellow(`⚠  Regex mode — ${warn}`));
       process.exit(1);
     }
     if (warn && !opts.regexHint) {
       // warn already contains the --regex-hint guidance; print it as-is.
-      console.error(pc.yellow(`⚠  Regex mode — ${warn}`));
+      console.error(style.yellow(`⚠  Regex mode — ${warn}`));
       process.exit(1);
     }
     effectiveQuery = opts.regexHint ?? apiQuery;
     regexFilter = rf ?? undefined;
     process.stderr.write(
-      pc.dim(`  ℹ  Regex mode — GitHub query: "${effectiveQuery}", local filter: ${query}\n`),
+      style.dim(`  ℹ  Regex mode — GitHub query: "${effectiveQuery}", local filter: ${query}\n`),
     );
   }
 
@@ -494,7 +495,7 @@ async function searchAction(
       const bottomBar = "─".repeat(totalWidth - 2);
       const pad = (s: string) => s + " ".repeat(Math.max(0, w - s.length));
       process.stderr.write(
-        pc.yellow(
+        style.yellow(
           [
             `${headerPrefix}${headerLabel}${headerDashes}╮`,
             `│ ${pad(`github-code-search ${VERSION} → ${latestTag}`)} │`,
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 3b9a8d5..148eca6 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -52,8 +52,7 @@
     "docs:test:responsive": "playwright test"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "commander": "^15.0.0",
-    "picocolors": "^1.1.1"
+    "commander": "^15.0.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@lhci/cli": "^0.15.1",
diff --git a/src/api.ts b/src/api.ts
index 134f138..3491c0e 100644
--- a/src/api.ts
+++ b/src/api.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "./style.ts";
 import type { CodeMatch } from "./types.ts";
 import { concurrentMap, fetchWithRetry, formatRetryWait, paginatedFetch } from "./api-utils.ts";
 import { getCacheKey, readCache, writeCache } from "./cache.ts";
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ export async function fetchAllResults(
   keepFileContent = false,
 ): Promise<CodeMatch[]> {
   // Write the initial progress line (no newline — will be overwritten by \r).
-  process.stderr.write(pc.dim("  Fetching results from GitHub…"));
+  process.stderr.write(style.dim("  Fetching results from GitHub…"));
   let totalPages = 0;
   // GitHub code search is capped at 1000 results; paginatedFetch stops naturally
   // when a page returns fewer than 100 items. When total_count is an exact
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ export async function fetchRepoTeams(
   if (useCache) {
     const cached = readCache<[string, string[]][]>(cacheKey);
     if (cached !== null) {
-      process.stderr.write(pc.dim("Using cached team data (— use --no-cache to refresh)\n"));
+      process.stderr.write(style.dim("Using cached team data (— use --no-cache to refresh)\n"));
       return new Map(cached);
     }
   }
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ export async function fetchRepoTeams(
   }
 
   process.stderr.write(
-    pc.dim(
+    style.dim(
       `Fetching repos for ${matchingTeamSlugs.length} team${matchingTeamSlugs.length !== 1 ? "s" : ""} matching prefix${prefixes.length !== 1 ? "es" : ""} [${prefixes.join(", ")}]…\n`,
     ),
   );
diff --git a/src/render.ts b/src/render.ts
index 3db9027..18ac700 100644
--- a/src/render.ts
+++ b/src/render.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "./style.ts";
 import type { FilterTarget, RepoGroup, Row, TextMatchSegment } from "./types.ts";
 import { highlightFragment } from "./render/highlight.ts";
 import { buildFilterStats, type FilterStats } from "./render/filter.ts";
@@ -64,65 +64,69 @@ export function renderHelpOverlay(): string {
   };
 
   const top = `╭${"─".repeat(INNER)}╮`;
-  const sep = `│ ${pc.dim("─".repeat(CONTENT))} │`;
+  const sep = `│ ${style.dim("─".repeat(CONTENT))} │`;
   const bot = `╰${"─".repeat(INNER)}╯`;
 
   const row = (s: string) => `│ ${pad(s)} │`;
 
   const rows = [
     top,
-    row(`  ${pc.bold("Key bindings")}`),
+    row(`  ${style.bold("Key bindings")}`),
     sep,
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("↑")} / ${pc.yellow("k")}       navigate up            ${pc.yellow("↓")} / ${pc.yellow("j")}       navigate down`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("↑")} / ${style.yellow("k")}       navigate up            ${style.yellow("↓")} / ${style.yellow("j")}       navigate down`,
     ),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("←")}           fold repo              ${pc.yellow("→")}           unfold repo`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("←")}           fold repo              ${style.yellow("→")}           unfold repo`,
     ),
-    row(`  ${pc.yellow("Z")}           fold / unfold all repos`),
+    row(`  ${style.yellow("Z")}           fold / unfold all repos`),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("gg")}          jump to top            ${pc.yellow("G")}           jump to bottom`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("gg")}          jump to top            ${style.yellow("G")}           jump to bottom`,
     ),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("PgUp")} / ${pc.yellow("Ctrl+U")}  page up                ${pc.yellow("PgDn")} / ${pc.yellow("Ctrl+D")}  page down`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("PgUp")} / ${style.yellow("Ctrl+U")}  page up                ${style.yellow("PgDn")} / ${style.yellow("Ctrl+D")}  page down`,
     ),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("Space")}       toggle selection       ${pc.yellow("Enter")}       confirm & output`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("Space")}       toggle selection       ${style.yellow("Enter")}       confirm & output`,
     ),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("a")}           select all             ${pc.yellow("n")}           select none`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("a")}           select all             ${style.yellow("n")}           select none`,
     ),
-    row(`                 ${pc.dim("(respects active filter)")}`),
+    row(`                 ${style.dim("(respects active filter)")}`),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("o")}           open in browser        ${pc.dim("(repo row → page · extract row → file)")}`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("o")}           open in browser        ${style.dim("(repo row → page · extract row → file)")}`,
     ),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("f")}           enter filter mode      ${pc.yellow("r")}           reset filter`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("f")}           enter filter mode      ${style.yellow("r")}           reset filter`,
     ),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("t")}           cycle filter target    ${pc.dim("(path → content → repo)")}`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("t")}           cycle filter target    ${style.dim("(path → content → repo)")}`,
     ),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("p")}           pick team owner        ${pc.dim("(on a multi-team section header)")}`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("p")}           pick team owner        ${style.dim("(on a multi-team section header)")}`,
     ),
     row(
-      `  ${pc.yellow("h")} / ${pc.yellow("?")}       toggle this help       ${pc.yellow("q")} / Ctrl+C  quit`,
+      `  ${style.yellow("h")} / ${style.yellow("?")}       toggle this help       ${style.yellow("q")} / Ctrl+C  quit`,
     ),
     sep,
-    row(`  ${pc.dim("Filter mode:")}`),
+    row(`  ${style.dim("Filter mode:")}`),
     row(
-      `    type to filter  ·  ${pc.yellow("←→")} cursor  ·  ${pc.yellow(`${optStr}←→`)} word jump  ·  ${pc.yellow(optBs)} del word`,
+      `    type to filter  ·  ${style.yellow("←→")} cursor  ·  ${style.yellow(`${optStr}←→`)} word jump  ·  ${style.yellow(optBs)} del word`,
     ),
     row(
-      `    ${pc.yellow("Tab")} regex  ·  ${pc.yellow("Shift+Tab")} target  ·  ${pc.yellow("↵")} confirm  ·  ${pc.yellow("Esc")} cancel`,
+      `    ${style.yellow("Tab")} regex  ·  ${style.yellow("Shift+Tab")} target  ·  ${style.yellow("↵")} confirm  ·  ${style.yellow("Esc")} cancel`,
     ),
     sep,
-    row(`  ${pc.dim("Pick mode  (after pressing p on a multi-team section header):")}`),
+    row(`  ${style.dim("Pick mode  (after pressing p on a multi-team section header):")}`),
     row(
-      `    ${pc.yellow("←")} / ${pc.yellow("→")} move focus  ·  ${pc.yellow("↵")} confirm pick  ·  ${pc.yellow("Esc")} cancel`,
+      `    ${style.yellow("←")} / ${style.yellow("→")} move focus  ·  ${style.yellow("↵")} confirm pick  ·  ${style.yellow("Esc")} cancel`,
     ),
     sep,
-    row(pc.dim(`  press ${pc.yellow("Esc")}, ${pc.yellow("h")} or ${pc.yellow("?")} to close`)),
+    row(
+      style.dim(
+        `  press ${style.yellow("Esc")}, ${style.yellow("h")} or ${style.yellow("?")} to close`,
+      ),
+    ),
     bot,
   ];
   return rows.join("\n");
@@ -220,14 +224,14 @@ function makeTextHighlighter(
   filterTarget: FilterTarget,
   filterRegex: boolean,
 ): (text: string, target: FilterTarget, baseStyle: (s: string) => string) => string {
-  if (!pattern) return (_text, _target, style) => style(_text);
+  if (!pattern) return (_text, _target, baseStyle) => baseStyle(_text);
   let re: RegExp;
   try {
     re = filterRegex
       ? new RegExp(pattern, "gi")
       : new RegExp(pattern.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&"), "gi");
   } catch {
-    return (_text, _target, style) => style(_text);
+    return (_text, _target, baseStyle) => baseStyle(_text);
   }
   return (text, target, baseStyle) => {
     if (filterTarget !== target) return baseStyle(text);
@@ -237,7 +241,7 @@ function makeTextHighlighter(
     let m: RegExpExecArray | null;
     while ((m = re.exec(text)) !== null) {
       if (m.index > last) parts.push(baseStyle(text.slice(last, m.index)));
-      parts.push(pc.bold(pc.yellow(m[0])));
+      parts.push(style.style(["bold", "yellow"], m[0]));
       last = m.index + m[0].length;
       if (m[0].length === 0) re.lastIndex++; // guard zero-length match
     }
@@ -313,7 +317,7 @@ export function renderGroups(
 
   lines.push(
     clipToWidth(
-      `${pc.bgMagenta(pc.black(pc.bold(" github-code-search ")))} ${pc.bold(pc.cyan(query))} ${pc.dim("in")} ${pc.bold(pc.yellow(org))}`,
+      `${style.style(["bgMagenta", "black", "bold"], " github-code-search ")} ${style.style(["bold", "cyan"], query)} ${style.dim("in")} ${style.style(["bold", "yellow"], org)}`,
       termWidth,
     ),
   );
@@ -332,7 +336,7 @@ export function renderGroups(
 
   // Mode badge: always shown so the active target is always explicit — [path], [content], [repo],
   // [path·regex], [content·regex], [repo·regex].
-  const targetBadge = ` ${pc.dim("[")}${pc.yellow(filterTarget)}${filterRegex ? pc.dim("·") + pc.yellow("regex") : ""}${pc.dim("]")} `;
+  const targetBadge = ` ${style.dim("[")}${style.yellow(filterTarget)}${filterRegex ? style.dim("·") + style.yellow("regex") : ""}${style.dim("]")} `;
 
   let filterBarLines = 0;
   if (filterMode) {
@@ -355,10 +359,10 @@ export function renderGroups(
           `${f} file${f !== 1 ? "s" : ""}`,
           ...(m2 !== f ? [`${m2} match${m2 !== 1 ? "es" : ""}`] : []),
         ];
-        statsStr = pc.dim(parts.join(" \u00b7 "));
+        statsStr = style.dim(parts.join(" \u00b7 "));
         statsVisLen = visibleWidth(statsStr);
       } else {
-        statsStr = pc.dim("…");
+        statsStr = style.dim("…");
         statsVisLen = 1;
       }
     }
@@ -384,20 +388,20 @@ export function renderGroups(
     // under the first character of the typed filter input.
     const hintsIndent = " ".repeat(prefixVisLen);
     const hints = [
-      `${pc.yellow("←→")} move`,
-      `${pc.yellow(`${optStr}←→`)} word`,
-      `${pc.yellow(optBs)} del word`,
-      `${pc.yellow("Tab")} regex${filterRegex ? pc.green(" ✓") : ""}`,
-      `${pc.yellow("Shift+Tab")} target`,
-      `${pc.yellow("↵")} OK`,
-      `${pc.yellow("Esc")} cancel`,
+      `${style.yellow("←→")} move`,
+      `${style.yellow(`${optStr}←→`)} word`,
+      `${style.yellow(optBs)} del word`,
+      `${style.yellow("Tab")} regex${filterRegex ? style.green(" ✓") : ""}`,
+      `${style.yellow("Shift+Tab")} target`,
+      `${style.yellow("↵")} OK`,
+      `${style.yellow("Esc")} cancel`,
     ].join("  ·  ");
-    lines.push(pc.dim(`${hintsIndent}${hints}`));
+    lines.push(style.dim(`${hintsIndent}${hints}`));
 
     filterBarLines = 2;
   } else if (filterPath) {
     const stats = buildFilterStats(groups, filterPath, filterTarget, filterRegex);
-    const statsStr = pc.dim(
+    const statsStr = style.dim(
       `${stats.visibleMatches} match${stats.visibleMatches !== 1 ? "es" : ""} in ${
         stats.visibleRepos
       } repo${stats.visibleRepos !== 1 ? "s" : ""} shown · ${
@@ -407,14 +411,14 @@ export function renderGroups(
     // Fix: clip so the filter status line never wraps — see issue #105.
     lines.push(
       clipToWidth(
-        `🔍${targetBadge}${pc.bold("filter:")} ${pc.yellow(filterPath)}  ${statsStr}`,
+        `🔍${targetBadge}${style.bold("filter:")} ${style.yellow(filterPath)}  ${statsStr}`,
         termWidth,
       ),
     );
     filterBarLines = 1;
   } else if (filterTarget !== "path" || filterRegex) {
     // No active filter text, but non-default mode selected — remind the user.
-    lines.push(clipToWidth(`🔍${targetBadge}${pc.dim("f to filter")}`, termWidth));
+    lines.push(clipToWidth(`🔍${targetBadge}${style.dim("f to filter")}`, termWidth));
     filterBarLines = 1;
   }
 
@@ -436,18 +440,18 @@ export function renderGroups(
     // Pad between bar content and suffix to keep suffix right-aligned.
     // Use visibleWidth to account for CJK and multi-code-point graphemes.
     const padLen = Math.max(0, barWidth - visibleWidth(barPlain));
-    const line = pc.dim(REPICK_PREFIX) + bar + " ".repeat(padLen) + pc.dim(REPICK_SUFFIX);
+    const line = style.dim(REPICK_PREFIX) + bar + " ".repeat(padLen) + style.dim(REPICK_SUFFIX);
     lines.push(clipToWidth(line, termWidth) + "\n");
   } else if (opts.teamPickMode?.active) {
     const PICK_HINTS = `Pick team: ← / → move focus  ↵ confirm  Esc cancel`;
     const clippedPick = PICK_HINTS.length > termWidth ? PICK_HINTS.slice(0, termWidth) : PICK_HINTS;
-    lines.push(pc.dim(`${clippedPick}\n`));
+    lines.push(style.dim(`${clippedPick}\n`));
   } else {
     const HINTS_TEXT =
       "← / → fold/unfold  Z fold-all  ↑ / ↓ navigate  gg/G top/bot  PgUp/Dn page  spc select  a all  n none  o open  f filter  t target/re-pick  p pick-team  h help  ↵ confirm  q quit";
     const clippedHints =
       HINTS_TEXT.length > termWidth ? HINTS_TEXT.slice(0, termWidth) : HINTS_TEXT;
-    lines.push(pc.dim(`${clippedHints}\n`));
+    lines.push(style.dim(`${clippedHints}\n`));
   }
 
   // ── Sticky current-repo ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -467,10 +471,12 @@ export function renderGroups(
     );
     if (repoRowIndex >= 0 && repoRowIndex < scrollOffset) {
       const g = groups[cursorRow.repoIndex];
-      const checkbox = g.repoSelected ? pc.green("✓") : pc.dim("✓");
+      const checkbox = g.repoSelected ? style.green("✓") : style.dim("✓");
       // Fix: clip to termWidth so the sticky line never wraps — see issue #105.
       stickyRepoLine = clipToWidth(
-        pc.dim(`▲ ${checkbox} ${pc.bold(g.repoFullName)} ${pc.dim(buildMatchCountLabel(g))}`),
+        `${style.dim(`▲ ${checkbox} `)}${style.style(["dim", "bold"], `${g.repoFullName} `)}${style.dim(
+          buildMatchCountLabel(g),
+        )}`,
         termWidth,
       );
       lines.push(stickyRepoLine);
@@ -524,7 +530,7 @@ export function renderGroups(
       if (pickMode?.active && pickMode.sectionLabel === row.sectionLabel) {
         // Fix: clip pick bar to (termWidth - 3) so "── " + bar never wraps — see issue #121.
         const bar = renderTeamPickHeader(pickMode.candidates, pickMode.focusedIndex, termWidth - 3);
-        lines.push(`${pc.magenta(pc.bold("── "))}${bar}`);
+        lines.push(`${style.style(["magenta", "bold"], "── ")}${bar}`);
       } else if (isActiveSectionCursor) {
         const isMultiTeam = (row.sectionLabel ?? "").includes(" + ");
         if (isMultiTeam) {
@@ -549,12 +555,14 @@ export function renderGroups(
               hint = hintPlain.slice(0, remainingWidth - 1) + "…";
             }
           }
-          lines.push(`${pc.bgMagenta(pc.bold(`── ${activeLabel} `))}${hint ? pc.dim(hint) : ""}`);
+          lines.push(
+            `${style.style(["bgMagenta", "bold"], `── ${activeLabel} `)}${hint ? style.dim(hint) : ""}`,
+          );
         } else {
-          lines.push(pc.bgMagenta(pc.bold(`── ${label} `)));
+          lines.push(style.style(["bgMagenta", "bold"], `── ${label} `));
         }
       } else {
-        lines.push(pc.magenta(pc.bold(`── ${label} `)));
+        lines.push(style.style(["magenta", "bold"], `── ${label} `));
       }
       usedLines += sectionCost;
       if (usedLines >= viewportHeight) break;
@@ -569,20 +577,24 @@ export function renderGroups(
     const isCursor = i === cursor;
 
     if (row.type === "repo") {
-      const arrow = group.folded ? pc.magenta("▸") : pc.magenta("▾");
+      const arrow = group.folded ? style.magenta("▸") : style.magenta("▾");
       // Determine checkbox state: green if any extract is selected, dimmed if none are selected.
       // group.repoSelected is kept in sync with extracts via tui.ts and render/selection.ts,
       // so we can use it directly without recomputing.
-      const checkbox = group.repoSelected ? pc.green("✓") : pc.dim("✓");
+      const checkbox = group.repoSelected ? style.green("✓") : style.dim("✓");
       // On cursor rows, use bold+white for the repo name (dark bg applied
       // to the whole line via renderActiveLine; no inline bgMagenta needed).
       // On inactive rows, use bright purple (same as the bar) in bold.
       const repoName = isCursor
-        ? highlightText(group.repoFullName, "repo", (s) => pc.bold(pc.white(s)))
-        : highlightText(group.repoFullName, "repo", (s) => `\x1b[38;5;129m${pc.bold(s)}\x1b[39m`);
+        ? highlightText(group.repoFullName, "repo", (s) => style.style(["bold", "white"], s))
+        : highlightText(
+            group.repoFullName,
+            "repo",
+            (s) => `\x1b[38;5;129m${style.bold(s)}\x1b[39m`,
+          );
       // ◈ badge — signals the repo was moved from a combined section via pick.
       // Future split mode will use this to identify pickable repos and add a hint.
-      const pickedBadge = group.pickedFrom ? ` ${pc.dim("◈")}` : "";
+      const pickedBadge = group.pickedFrom ? ` ${style.dim("◈")}` : "";
       // Use muted purple for the match count (both active and inactive rows).
       const count = `\x1b[38;5;99m${buildMatchCountLabel(group)}\x1b[39m`;
       // Right-align the match count flush to the terminal edge.
@@ -608,12 +620,14 @@ export function renderGroups(
       const ei = row.extractIndex!;
       const match = group.matches[ei];
       const selected = group.extractSelected[ei];
-      const checkbox = selected ? pc.green("✓") : pc.dim("✓");
+      const checkbox = selected ? style.green("✓") : style.dim("✓");
       const seg = match.textMatches[0]?.matches[0];
       const locSuffix = seg ? `:${seg.line}:${seg.col}` : "";
       // Active extract row: locSuffix uses bold+white (same as path) for
       // visual homogeneity. Inactive: dim to de-emphasise the coordinates.
-      const styledLocSuffix = isCursor ? pc.bold(pc.white(locSuffix)) : pc.dim(locSuffix);
+      const styledLocSuffix = isCursor
+        ? style.style(["bold", "white"], locSuffix)
+        : style.dim(locSuffix);
       // Fix: clip the path to fit within termWidth — use the *actual* visible prefix
       // width for each render form rather than a shared PATH_INDENT constant.
       // Active:   ACTIVE_BAR_WIDTH (1) + "  " (2) + checkbox (1) + space (1) = 5
@@ -629,8 +643,8 @@ export function renderGroups(
       // reintroducing line wrapping — see review on #106).
       const maxPathVisible = Math.max(1, termWidth - prefixWidth - locSuffix.length);
       const rawPath = isCursor
-        ? `${highlightText(match.path, "path", (s) => pc.bold(pc.white(s)))}${styledLocSuffix}`
-        : `${highlightText(match.path, "path", pc.cyan)}${styledLocSuffix}`;
+        ? `${highlightText(match.path, "path", (s) => style.style(["bold", "white"], s))}${styledLocSuffix}`
+        : `${highlightText(match.path, "path", style.cyan)}${styledLocSuffix}`;
       const filePath =
         visibleWidth(rawPath) > maxPathVisible + locSuffix.length
           ? clipToWidth(rawPath, maxPathVisible + locSuffix.length)
@@ -681,7 +695,7 @@ export function renderGroups(
   // the indicator (the separator is the last padding blank when full, or an
   // explicit extra blank here when viewport is full).
   if (rows.length > 0) {
-    lines.push(pc.dim(`\n  ↕ row ${cursor + 1} of ${rows.length}`));
+    lines.push(style.dim(`\n  ↕ row ${cursor + 1} of ${rows.length}`));
   }
 
   return lines.join("\n");
diff --git a/src/render/highlight.test.ts b/src/render/highlight.test.ts
index bbf38b7..afae4e1 100644
--- a/src/render/highlight.test.ts
+++ b/src/render/highlight.test.ts
@@ -488,12 +488,12 @@ describe("PHP tokenizer", () => {
   // Strict detection test: keyword must produce magenta (\x1b[35m), not just dim
   it("detects PHP for .php extension (not default dim)", () => {
     const phpOut = highlightFragment("function", [], "f.php").join("");
-    expect(phpOut).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for keywords
+    expect(phpOut).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for keywords
   });
 
   it("detects PHP for .phtml extension (not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("class", [], "view.phtml").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for keywords
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for keywords
   });
 
   it("colorizes PHP keywords in magenta", () => {
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ describe("PHP tokenizer", () => {
 
   it("colorizes PHP variable ($var) in cyan", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("$myVar", [], "f.php").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[36m"); // pc.cyan for $variables
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[36m"); // style.cyan for $variables
     expect(strip(out)).toBe("$myVar");
   });
 
@@ -554,23 +554,23 @@ describe("PHP tokenizer", () => {
 describe("C/C++ tokenizer", () => {
   it("detects C for .c extension (not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("int", [], "main.c").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for keywords
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for keywords
   });
 
   it("detects C for .h extension (not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("void", [], "header.h").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for keywords
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for keywords
   });
 
   it("detects C++ for .cpp extension (not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("class", [], "foo.cpp").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for keywords
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for keywords
   });
 
   it("detects C++ for .cc/.cxx/.hpp/.hxx extensions (not default dim)", () => {
     for (const ext of ["cc", "cxx", "hpp", "hxx"]) {
       const out = highlightFragment("int", [], `f.${ext}`).join("");
-      expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for keywords
+      expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for keywords
     }
   });
 
@@ -583,7 +583,7 @@ describe("C/C++ tokenizer", () => {
 
   it("colorizes preprocessor directives in cyan", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("#include <stdio.h>", [], "f.c").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[36m"); // pc.cyan for preprocessor
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[36m"); // style.cyan for preprocessor
     expect(strip(out)).toBe("#include <stdio.h>");
   });
 
@@ -616,7 +616,7 @@ describe("C/C++ tokenizer", () => {
 describe("Swift tokenizer", () => {
   it("detects Swift for .swift extension (not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("var", [], "App.swift").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for keywords
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for keywords
   });
 
   it("colorizes Swift keywords in magenta", () => {
@@ -660,12 +660,12 @@ describe("Swift tokenizer", () => {
 describe("Terraform/HCL tokenizer", () => {
   it("detects Terraform for .tf extension (not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("resource", [], "main.tf").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for block keywords
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for block keywords
   });
 
   it("detects Terraform for .hcl extension (not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("variable", [], "vars.hcl").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for block keywords
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for block keywords
   });
 
   it("colorizes Terraform block keywords in magenta", () => {
@@ -705,17 +705,17 @@ describe("Terraform/HCL tokenizer", () => {
 describe("Dockerfile tokenizer", () => {
   it("detects Dockerfile for filename 'Dockerfile' (not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("FROM", [], "Dockerfile").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for instructions
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for instructions
   });
 
   it("detects Dockerfile for 'dockerfile' (lowercase, not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("RUN", [], "dockerfile").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for instructions
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for instructions
   });
 
   it("detects Dockerfile for 'Dockerfile.prod' (prefixed, not default dim)", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("FROM", [], "Dockerfile.prod").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // pc.magenta for instructions
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[35m"); // style.magenta for instructions
   });
 
   it("does NOT mis-detect 'Dockerfile.ts' as Dockerfile — extension wins", () => {
@@ -758,13 +758,13 @@ describe("Dockerfile tokenizer", () => {
 
   it("colorizes $ENV_VAR references in cyan", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("$BUILD_VERSION", [], "Dockerfile").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[36m"); // pc.cyan for $VAR refs
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[36m"); // style.cyan for $VAR refs
     expect(strip(out)).toBe("$BUILD_VERSION");
   });
 
   it("colorizes ${VAR} references in cyan", () => {
     const out = highlightFragment("${IMAGE_TAG}", [], "Dockerfile").join("");
-    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[36m"); // pc.cyan for ${VAR} refs
+    expect(out).toContain("\x1b[36m"); // style.cyan for ${VAR} refs
     expect(strip(out)).toBe("${IMAGE_TAG}");
   });
 
diff --git a/src/render/highlight.ts b/src/render/highlight.ts
index 873a08e..5152a3f 100644
--- a/src/render/highlight.ts
+++ b/src/render/highlight.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "../style.ts";
 import type { TextMatchSegment } from "../types.ts";
 
 // ─── Language detection ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -110,157 +110,157 @@ const tokenRules: Partial<Record<Lang, TokenRule[]>> & {
   default: TokenRule[];
 } = {
   typescript: [
-    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^'(?:[^'\\]|\\.)*'/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^`(?:[^`\\]|\\.)*`/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [TS_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?(?:[eE][+-]?\d+)?n?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
-    [/^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_$]*/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^'(?:[^'\\]|\\.)*'/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^`(?:[^`\\]|\\.)*`/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [TS_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?(?:[eE][+-]?\d+)?n?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
+    [/^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_$]*/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   python: [
-    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"""[\s\S]*?"""/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^'''[\s\S]*?'''/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^'(?:[^'\\]|\\.)*'/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^@[a-zA-Z_]\w*/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
-    [PY_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
+    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"""[\s\S]*?"""/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^'''[\s\S]*?'''/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^'(?:[^'\\]|\\.)*'/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^@[a-zA-Z_]\w*/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
+    [PY_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   go: [
-    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^`[^`]*`/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [GO_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
+    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^`[^`]*`/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [GO_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   rust: [
-    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [RS_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
-    [/^[A-Z][A-Z0-9_]+\b/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [RS_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
+    [/^[A-Z][A-Z0-9_]+\b/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   java: [
-    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [JAVA_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?[LlFfDd]?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
-    [/^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [JAVA_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?[LlFfDd]?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
+    [/^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   shell: [
-    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^'[^']*'/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^\$\{?[a-zA-Z_]\w*\}?/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^'[^']*'/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^\$\{?[a-zA-Z_]\w*\}?/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   yaml: [
-    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^'[^']*'/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^[a-zA-Z_][\w-]*(?=\s*:)/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
-    [/^(?:true|false|null|~)\b/, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
+    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^'[^']*'/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^[a-zA-Z_][\w-]*(?=\s*:)/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
+    [/^(?:true|false|null|~)\b/, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   json: [
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"\s*(?=:)/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^(?:true|false|null)\b/, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?(?:[eE][+-]?\d+)?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"\s*(?=:)/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^(?:true|false|null)\b/, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?(?:[eE][+-]?\d+)?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   css: [
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^'[^']*'/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^#[a-fA-F0-9]{3,8}\b/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
-    [/^\.[a-zA-Z_-][\w-]*/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
-    [/^#[a-zA-Z_-][\w-]*/, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^'[^']*'/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^#[a-fA-F0-9]{3,8}\b/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
+    [/^\.[a-zA-Z_-][\w-]*/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
+    [/^#[a-zA-Z_-][\w-]*/, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   default: [
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   php: [
-    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
     // Fix: exclude PHP 8+ attribute syntax (#[Route(...)], #[ORM\Entity]) from being dimmed as comments
-    [/^#(?!\[)[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^'(?:[^'\\]|\\.)*'/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^\$[a-zA-Z_]\w*/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
-    [PHP_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
-    [/^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [/^#(?!\[)[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^'(?:[^'\\]|\\.)*'/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^\$[a-zA-Z_]\w*/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
+    [PHP_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
+    [/^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   c: [
-    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^'(?:[^'\\]|\\.)*'/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
+    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^'(?:[^'\\]|\\.)*'/, (s) => style.green(s)],
     [
       /^#\s*(?:include|define|undef|ifdef|ifndef|endif|if|else|elif|pragma|error|warning)\b[^\n]*/,
-      (s) => pc.cyan(s),
+      (s) => style.cyan(s),
     ],
-    [C_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?(?:[eE][+-]?\d+)?[uUlLfFdD]*/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
-    [/^[A-Z][A-Z0-9_]+\b/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [C_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?(?:[eE][+-]?\d+)?[uUlLfFdD]*/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
+    [/^[A-Z][A-Z0-9_]+\b/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   swift: [
-    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [SWIFT_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
-    [/^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [SWIFT_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
+    [/^[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   terraform: [
-    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [TF_KW, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^(?:true|false|null)\b/, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => pc.yellow(s)],
-    [/^[a-zA-Z_][\w-]*/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\/[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [TF_KW, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^(?:true|false|null)\b/, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^\d+(?:\.\d+)?/, (s) => style.yellow(s)],
+    [/^[a-zA-Z_][\w-]*/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
   dockerfile: [
-    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
-    [DOCKERFILE_INSTR, (s) => pc.magenta(s)],
-    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => pc.green(s)],
-    [/^\$\{?[a-zA-Z_]\w*\}?/, (s) => pc.cyan(s)],
+    [/^#[^\n]*/, (s) => style.dim(s)],
+    [DOCKERFILE_INSTR, (s) => style.magenta(s)],
+    [/^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)*"/, (s) => style.green(s)],
+    [/^\$\{?[a-zA-Z_]\w*\}?/, (s) => style.cyan(s)],
     [/^\s+/, (s) => s],
-    [/^./, (s) => pc.dim(s)],
+    [/^./, (s) => style.dim(s)],
   ],
 };
 
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ function syntaxColor(text: string, lang: Lang): string {
       }
     }
     if (!matched) {
-      result += pc.dim(rest[0]);
+      result += style.dim(rest[0]);
       rest = rest.slice(1);
     }
   }
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ export function highlightFragment(
       if (seg.start > pos) {
         colored += syntaxColor(raw.slice(pos, seg.start), lang);
       }
-      colored += pc.bold(pc.yellow(raw.slice(seg.start, seg.end)));
+      colored += style.style(["bold", "yellow"], raw.slice(seg.start, seg.end));
       pos = seg.end;
     }
     if (pos < raw.length) {
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ export function highlightFragment(
   }
 
   if (rawLines.length > MAX_FRAGMENT_LINES) {
-    result.push(pc.dim(`… +${rawLines.length - MAX_FRAGMENT_LINES} more lines`));
+    result.push(style.dim(`… +${rawLines.length - MAX_FRAGMENT_LINES} more lines`));
   }
 
   return result;
diff --git a/src/render/summary.ts b/src/render/summary.ts
index 3671aa8..1cb9bd6 100644
--- a/src/render/summary.ts
+++ b/src/render/summary.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "../style.ts";
 import type { RepoGroup } from "../types.ts";
 
 // ─── Match count label ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ export function buildSummary(groups: RepoGroup[]): string {
   const fileStr = `${fileCount} file${fileCount !== 1 ? "s" : ""}`;
   const matchStr = `${matchCount} match${matchCount !== 1 ? "es" : ""}`;
   // Only show the matches segment when files ≠ matches (cross-repo duplicates)
-  return pc.dim(
+  return style.dim(
     matchCount === fileCount ? `${repoStr} · ${fileStr}` : `${repoStr} · ${fileStr} · ${matchStr}`,
   );
 }
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ export function buildSummaryFull(groups: RepoGroup[]): string {
       : `${totalMatches} match${totalMatches !== 1 ? "es" : ""}`;
 
   // Only add the matches segment when it differs from files (cross-repo duplicates)
-  return pc.dim(
+  return style.dim(
     totalMatches === totalFiles
       ? `${repoStr} · ${fileStr}`
       : `${repoStr} · ${fileStr} · ${matchStr}`,
diff --git a/src/render/team-pick.test.ts b/src/render/team-pick.test.ts
index d789ab6..7e61b78 100644
--- a/src/render/team-pick.test.ts
+++ b/src/render/team-pick.test.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ describe("renderTeamPickHeader — focused team rendering", () => {
     expect(result).toContain("squad-c");
   });
 
-  it("emits ANSI codes (picocolors active due to FORCE_COLOR=1 in test-setup)", () => {
+  it("emits ANSI codes (style.ts active due to FORCE_COLOR=1 in test-setup)", () => {
     const result = renderTeamPickHeader(["squad-frontend", "squad-mobile"], 0);
     // Focused team should have bold/colour codes; non-focused should have dim codes
     expect(result).toMatch(/\x1b\[/);
diff --git a/src/render/team-pick.ts b/src/render/team-pick.ts
index 67ba95e..4a7ab08 100644
--- a/src/render/team-pick.ts
+++ b/src/render/team-pick.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "../style.ts";
 import { visibleWidth, clipToWidth } from "./terminal.ts";
 
 const SEP = "  ";
@@ -53,7 +53,8 @@ export function renderTeamPickHeader(
     return texts
       .map(
         (text, i) =>
-          (i > 0 ? SEP : "") + (i === safeIndex ? pc.bold(pc.magenta(text)) : pc.dim(text)),
+          (i > 0 ? SEP : "") +
+          (i === safeIndex ? style.style(["bold", "magenta"], text) : style.dim(text)),
       )
       .join("");
   }
@@ -62,9 +63,9 @@ export function renderTeamPickHeader(
 
   // If the focused item alone is wider than maxWidth, clip it.
   if (widths[safeIndex] > maxWidth) {
-    const styledText = pc.bold(pc.magenta(texts[safeIndex]));
+    const styledText = style.style(["bold", "magenta"], texts[safeIndex]);
     const clipped = clipToWidth(styledText, maxWidth - 1);
-    const styledEllipsis = pc.bold(pc.magenta("…"));
+    const styledEllipsis = style.style(["bold", "magenta"], "…");
     return clipped + styledEllipsis;
   }
 
@@ -119,12 +120,12 @@ export function renderTeamPickHeader(
   const addRightEl = end < n - 1 && needed <= maxWidth;
 
   const parts: string[] = [];
-  if (addLeftEl) parts.push(pc.dim("…"));
+  if (addLeftEl) parts.push(style.dim("…"));
   for (let i = start; i <= end; i++) {
     if (i > start || addLeftEl) parts.push(SEP);
-    parts.push(i === safeIndex ? pc.bold(pc.magenta(texts[i])) : pc.dim(texts[i]));
+    parts.push(i === safeIndex ? style.style(["bold", "magenta"], texts[i]) : style.dim(texts[i]));
   }
-  if (addRightEl) parts.push(SEP + pc.dim("…"));
+  if (addRightEl) parts.push(SEP + style.dim("…"));
 
   return parts.join("");
 }
diff --git a/src/render/terminal.test.ts b/src/render/terminal.test.ts
index 3353fb9..eb2689d 100644
--- a/src/render/terminal.test.ts
+++ b/src/render/terminal.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from "bun:test";
 import { visibleWidth, stripAnsi, clipToWidth, hasAnsi } from "./terminal";
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "../style.ts";
 
 describe("render/terminal", () => {
   describe("visibleWidth", () => {
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ describe("render/terminal", () => {
 
     it("ignores ANSI escape codes in measurement", () => {
       expect(visibleWidth("\u001b[31mhello\u001b[0m")).toBe(5);
-      expect(visibleWidth(pc.red("world"))).toBe(5);
+      expect(visibleWidth(style.red("world"))).toBe(5);
     });
 
     it("handles single-width emoji", () => {
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ describe("render/terminal", () => {
     });
 
     it("handles mixed content: colored text, wide chars, and CJK", () => {
-      const mixed = pc.bold("\u001b[35mhello\u{1F50D}\u{524D}\u{7AEF}");
+      const mixed = style.bold("\u001b[35mhello\u{1F50D}\u{524D}\u{7AEF}");
       // 5 (hello) + 2 (emoji) + 4 (CJK) = 11, ANSI codes ignored
       expect(visibleWidth(mixed)).toBe(11);
     });
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ describe("render/terminal", () => {
   describe("stripAnsi", () => {
     it("removes SGR color codes", () => {
       expect(stripAnsi("\u001b[31mred\u001b[0m")).toBe("red");
-      expect(stripAnsi(pc.red("text"))).toBe("text");
+      expect(stripAnsi(style.red("text"))).toBe("text");
     });
 
     it("removes bold codes", () => {
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ describe("render/terminal", () => {
     });
 
     it("preserves ANSI codes and closes them correctly", () => {
-      const colored = pc.red("hello world");
+      const colored = style.red("hello world");
       const result = clipToWidth(colored, 5);
       const plain = stripAnsi(result);
       expect(plain).toBe("hello");
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ describe("render/terminal", () => {
 
   describe("hasAnsi", () => {
     it("returns true for colored text", () => {
-      expect(hasAnsi(pc.red("text"))).toBe(true);
+      expect(hasAnsi(style.red("text"))).toBe(true);
       expect(hasAnsi("\u001b[31mred\u001b[0m")).toBe(true);
     });
 
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ describe("render/terminal", () => {
     });
 
     it("returns true for styled text", () => {
-      expect(hasAnsi(pc.bold("bold"))).toBe(true);
+      expect(hasAnsi(style.bold("bold"))).toBe(true);
       expect(hasAnsi("\u001b[1mbold\u001b[22m")).toBe(true);
     });
 
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ describe("render/terminal", () => {
     });
 
     it("handles mixed emoji and ANSI", () => {
-      expect(hasAnsi(pc.red("\u{1F50D}"))).toBe(true);
+      expect(hasAnsi(style.red("\u{1F50D}"))).toBe(true);
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/style.d.ts b/src/style.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4cc2ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/style.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+// Ambient augmentation: @types/node 25.2.3 (pulled transitively via bun-types)
+// does not yet declare `styleText`, even though Bun 1.4 implements it at runtime.
+// Remove this file once upstream @types/node ships the declaration.
+declare module "node:util" {
+  type StyleFormat =
+    | "reset"
+    | "bold"
+    | "dim"
+    | "italic"
+    | "underline"
+    | "doubleunderline"
+    | "strikethrough"
+    | "inverse"
+    | "hidden"
+    | "blink"
+    | "black"
+    | "red"
+    | "green"
+    | "yellow"
+    | "blue"
+    | "magenta"
+    | "cyan"
+    | "white"
+    | "gray"
+    | "grey"
+    | "blackBright"
+    | "redBright"
+    | "greenBright"
+    | "yellowBright"
+    | "blueBright"
+    | "magentaBright"
+    | "cyanBright"
+    | "whiteBright"
+    | "bgBlack"
+    | "bgRed"
+    | "bgGreen"
+    | "bgYellow"
+    | "bgBlue"
+    | "bgMagenta"
+    | "bgCyan"
+    | "bgWhite"
+    | "bgGray"
+    | "bgGrey"
+    | "bgBlackBright"
+    | "bgRedBright"
+    | "bgGreenBright"
+    | "bgYellowBright"
+    | "bgBlueBright"
+    | "bgMagentaBright"
+    | "bgCyanBright"
+    | "bgWhiteBright";
+
+  interface StyleTextOptions {
+    validateStream?: boolean;
+    stream?: NodeJS.WritableStream;
+  }
+
+  function styleText(
+    format: StyleFormat | StyleFormat[],
+    text: string,
+    options?: StyleTextOptions,
+  ): string;
+}
diff --git a/src/style.test.ts b/src/style.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb48b0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/style.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "bun:test";
+import * as style from "./style.ts";
+
+// ─── Golden-master ANSI sequences ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Captured from `picocolors` (the library this facade replaces) before removal,
+// applied to the literal input "x". Any drift here means style.ts no longer
+// produces byte-identical output to the previous picocolors-based rendering.
+const GOLDEN = {
+  dim: "\x1b[2mx\x1b[22m",
+  bold: "\x1b[1mx\x1b[22m",
+  italic: "\x1b[3mx\x1b[23m",
+  underline: "\x1b[4mx\x1b[24m",
+  red: "\x1b[31mx\x1b[39m",
+  green: "\x1b[32mx\x1b[39m",
+  yellow: "\x1b[33mx\x1b[39m",
+  cyan: "\x1b[36mx\x1b[39m",
+  magenta: "\x1b[35mx\x1b[39m",
+  white: "\x1b[37mx\x1b[39m",
+  black: "\x1b[30mx\x1b[39m",
+  bgMagenta: "\x1b[45mx\x1b[49m",
+  // Composed styles — picocolors nesting order: pc.OUTER(pc.INNER(x)).
+  boldYellow: "\x1b[1m\x1b[33mx\x1b[39m\x1b[22m", // pc.bold(pc.yellow(x))
+  cyanUnderline: "\x1b[36m\x1b[4mx\x1b[24m\x1b[39m", // pc.cyan(pc.underline(x))
+  bgMagentaBlackBold: "\x1b[45m\x1b[30m\x1b[1mx\x1b[22m\x1b[39m\x1b[49m", // pc.bgMagenta(pc.black(pc.bold(x)))
+  boldCyan: "\x1b[1m\x1b[36mx\x1b[39m\x1b[22m", // pc.bold(pc.cyan(x))
+  boldWhite: "\x1b[1m\x1b[37mx\x1b[39m\x1b[22m", // pc.bold(pc.white(x))
+  magentaBold: "\x1b[35m\x1b[1mx\x1b[22m\x1b[39m", // pc.magenta(pc.bold(x))
+  bgMagentaBold: "\x1b[45m\x1b[1mx\x1b[22m\x1b[49m", // pc.bgMagenta(pc.bold(x))
+  boldMagenta: "\x1b[1m\x1b[35mx\x1b[39m\x1b[22m", // pc.bold(pc.magenta(x))
+} as const;
+
+describe("style — single styles (golden-master parity with picocolors)", () => {
+  it("dim", () => expect(style.dim("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.dim));
+  it("bold", () => expect(style.bold("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.bold));
+  it("italic", () => expect(style.italic("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.italic));
+  it("underline", () => expect(style.underline("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.underline));
+  it("red", () => expect(style.red("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.red));
+  it("green", () => expect(style.green("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.green));
+  it("yellow", () => expect(style.yellow("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.yellow));
+  it("cyan", () => expect(style.cyan("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.cyan));
+  it("magenta", () => expect(style.magenta("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.magenta));
+  it("white", () => expect(style.white("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.white));
+  it("black", () => expect(style.black("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.black));
+  it("bgMagenta", () => expect(style.bgMagenta("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.bgMagenta));
+});
+
+describe("style() — composed styles (golden-master parity with nested picocolors calls)", () => {
+  it("bold+yellow matches pc.bold(pc.yellow(x))", () => {
+    expect(style.style(["bold", "yellow"], "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.boldYellow);
+  });
+
+  it("cyan+underline matches pc.cyan(pc.underline(x))", () => {
+    expect(style.style(["cyan", "underline"], "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.cyanUnderline);
+  });
+
+  it("bgMagenta+black+bold matches pc.bgMagenta(pc.black(pc.bold(x)))", () => {
+    expect(style.style(["bgMagenta", "black", "bold"], "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.bgMagentaBlackBold);
+  });
+
+  it("bold+cyan matches pc.bold(pc.cyan(x))", () => {
+    expect(style.style(["bold", "cyan"], "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.boldCyan);
+  });
+
+  it("bold+white matches pc.bold(pc.white(x))", () => {
+    expect(style.style(["bold", "white"], "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.boldWhite);
+  });
+
+  it("magenta+bold matches pc.magenta(pc.bold(x))", () => {
+    expect(style.style(["magenta", "bold"], "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.magentaBold);
+  });
+
+  it("bgMagenta+bold matches pc.bgMagenta(pc.bold(x))", () => {
+    expect(style.style(["bgMagenta", "bold"], "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.bgMagentaBold);
+  });
+
+  it("bold+magenta matches pc.bold(pc.magenta(x))", () => {
+    expect(style.style(["bold", "magenta"], "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.boldMagenta);
+  });
+
+  it("accepts a single style name (not just arrays)", () => {
+    expect(style.style("bold", "x")).toBe(GOLDEN.bold);
+  });
+});
+
+// ─── Color-detection env var behavior ─────────────────────────────────────────
+// FORCE_COLOR=1 is already set globally by src/test-setup.ts, so these tests
+// save/restore it to exercise the other states without breaking later tests.
+describe("style — NO_COLOR / FORCE_COLOR behavior", () => {
+  const savedForceColor = process.env.FORCE_COLOR;
+  const savedNoColor = process.env.NO_COLOR;
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (savedForceColor === undefined) delete process.env.FORCE_COLOR;
+    else process.env.FORCE_COLOR = savedForceColor;
+    if (savedNoColor === undefined) delete process.env.NO_COLOR;
+    else process.env.NO_COLOR = savedNoColor;
+  });
+
+  it("NO_COLOR disables styling (FORCE_COLOR, set globally by test-setup.ts, takes precedence over NO_COLOR when both are set — this matches Node's own documented behavior)", () => {
+    delete process.env.FORCE_COLOR;
+    process.env.NO_COLOR = "1";
+    expect(style.red("x")).toBe("x");
+  });
+
+  it("FORCE_COLOR forces styling even when stdout is not a TTY (bun test is piped)", () => {
+    delete process.env.NO_COLOR;
+    process.env.FORCE_COLOR = "1";
+    expect(style.red("x")).toBe(GOLDEN.red);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/style.ts b/src/style.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7211b55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/style.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+// Sole call site for node:util's styleText across the codebase — mirrors the
+// render/terminal.ts convention for Bun-native APIs. All ANSI styling must go
+// through this facade instead of importing styleText directly.
+import { styleText } from "node:util";
+
+export type StyleName =
+  | "dim"
+  | "bold"
+  | "italic"
+  | "underline"
+  | "red"
+  | "green"
+  | "yellow"
+  | "cyan"
+  | "magenta"
+  | "white"
+  | "black"
+  | "bgMagenta";
+
+/**
+ * Applies one or more styles in a single styleText call. Required for
+ * combinations like bold+dim, which share the same SGR reset code (22) and
+ * would clobber each other if applied via nested/chained calls instead of one
+ * atomic call.
+ */
+export function style(names: StyleName | StyleName[], text: string): string {
+  return styleText(names, text);
+}
+
+export const dim = (text: string): string => style("dim", text);
+export const bold = (text: string): string => style("bold", text);
+export const italic = (text: string): string => style("italic", text);
+export const underline = (text: string): string => style("underline", text);
+export const red = (text: string): string => style("red", text);
+export const green = (text: string): string => style("green", text);
+export const yellow = (text: string): string => style("yellow", text);
+export const cyan = (text: string): string => style("cyan", text);
+export const magenta = (text: string): string => style("magenta", text);
+export const white = (text: string): string => style("white", text);
+export const black = (text: string): string => style("black", text);
+export const bgMagenta = (text: string): string => style("bgMagenta", text);
diff --git a/src/test-setup.ts b/src/test-setup.ts
index edcd0d9..4764c83 100644
--- a/src/test-setup.ts
+++ b/src/test-setup.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 /**
  * Bun test preload – runs before any test module is imported.
  *
- * Forces picocolors to emit ANSI codes regardless of whether stdout is a TTY
- * (e.g. when piped to `tee` in CI). Without this, the two `highlightFragment`
- * tests that assert on ANSI escape sequences fail whenever stdout is a pipe.
+ * Forces src/style.ts (util.styleText) to emit ANSI codes regardless of
+ * whether stdout is a TTY (e.g. when piped to `tee` in CI). Without this, the
+ * two `highlightFragment` tests that assert on ANSI escape sequences fail
+ * whenever stdout is a pipe.
  */
 process.env.FORCE_COLOR = "1";
diff --git a/src/tui.ts b/src/tui.ts
index a629768..8c691f1 100644
--- a/src/tui.ts
+++ b/src/tui.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "./style.ts";
 import * as readline from "readline";
 import {
   applySelectAll,
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ export async function runInteractive(
   initialPickTeams: Record<string, string> = {},
 ): Promise<void> {
   if (groups.length === 0) {
-    console.log(pc.yellow("No results found."));
+    console.log(style.yellow("No results found."));
     return;
   }
 
diff --git a/src/upgrade.ts b/src/upgrade.ts
index 7e8bc10..8000e4f 100644
--- a/src/upgrade.ts
+++ b/src/upgrade.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 import { existsSync, mkdirSync } from "node:fs";
 import { dirname } from "node:path";
-import pc from "picocolors";
+import * as style from "./style.ts";
 import { generateCompletion, getCompletionFilePath } from "./completions.ts";
 import type { Shell } from "./completions.ts";
 
 /** Renders a hyperlink in cyan+underline when stdout is a TTY, plain otherwise. */
 const upgradeLink = (url: string): string =>
-  process.stdout.isTTY ? pc.cyan(pc.underline(url)) : url;
+  process.stdout.isTTY ? style.style(["cyan", "underline"], url) : url;
 
 // ─── Types ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────