From de414ed631e96c3cff6d2dea19c04aaf40d9acb2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Alex Kirk <akirk@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2025 05:45:44 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Limit overstrike stripping to man pages and help

---
 src/printer.rs             | 21 +++++++++++++--------
 tests/integration_tests.rs | 15 ++++++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 27 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/printer.rs b/src/printer.rs
index 8cd0e1b0..499106ec 100644
--- a/src/printer.rs
+++ b/src/printer.rs
@@ -270,14 +270,18 @@ impl<'a> InteractivePrinter<'a> {
             || matches!(config.binary, BinaryBehavior::AsText))
             && (config.colored_output || config.strip_ansi == StripAnsiMode::Auto);
 
-        let (is_plain_text, highlighter_from_set) = if needs_to_match_syntax {
+        let (is_plain_text, highlighter_from_set, syntax_name) = if needs_to_match_syntax {
             // Determine the type of syntax for highlighting
             const PLAIN_TEXT_SYNTAX: &str = "Plain Text";
             match assets.get_syntax(config.language, input, &config.syntax_mapping) {
-                Ok(syntax_in_set) => (
-                    syntax_in_set.syntax.name == PLAIN_TEXT_SYNTAX,
-                    Some(HighlighterFromSet::new(syntax_in_set, theme)),
-                ),
+                Ok(syntax_in_set) => {
+                    let syntax_name = syntax_in_set.syntax.name.as_str();
+                    (
+                        syntax_name == PLAIN_TEXT_SYNTAX,
+                        Some(HighlighterFromSet::new(syntax_in_set, theme)),
+                        syntax_name,
+                    )
+                }
 
                 Err(Error::UndetectedSyntax(_)) => (
                     true,
@@ -287,12 +291,13 @@ impl<'a> InteractivePrinter<'a> {
                             .map(|s| HighlighterFromSet::new(s, theme))
                             .expect("A plain text syntax is available"),
                     ),
+                    PLAIN_TEXT_SYNTAX,
                 ),
 
                 Err(e) => return Err(e),
             }
         } else {
-            (false, None)
+            (false, None, "")
         };
 
         // Determine when to strip ANSI sequences
@@ -304,8 +309,8 @@ impl<'a> InteractivePrinter<'a> {
             _ => false,
         };
 
-        // Strip overstrike only when we have syntax highlighting (not plain text).
-        let strip_overstrike = !is_plain_text;
+        // Strip overstrike for man pages and help messages.
+        let strip_overstrike = matches!(syntax_name, "Manpage" | "Command Help");
 
         Ok(InteractivePrinter {
             panel_width,
diff --git a/tests/integration_tests.rs b/tests/integration_tests.rs
index 078daaf8..8896d9fa 100644
--- a/tests/integration_tests.rs
+++ b/tests/integration_tests.rs
@@ -2556,7 +2556,7 @@ fn no_strip_overstrike_for_plain_text() {
 
 #[test]
 fn strip_overstrike_with_syntax_highlighting() {
-    // Overstrike is stripped when syntax highlighting is applied (e.g., for help)
+    // Overstrike is stripped for certain syntax highlighting like command help.
     bat()
         .arg("--force-colorization")
         .arg("--language=help")
@@ -2581,6 +2581,19 @@ fn strip_overstrike_for_manpage_syntax() {
         .stderr("");
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn no_strip_overstrike_for_other_syntax() {
+    // Overstrike is NOT stripped for other syntaxes (e.g., Rust)
+    bat()
+        .arg("--force-colorization")
+        .arg("--language=rust")
+        .arg("overstrike.txt")
+        .assert()
+        .success()
+        .stdout(predicate::str::contains("\x08"))
+        .stderr("");
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn show_all_shows_backspace_with_caret_notation() {
     // --show-all should display backspace characters (not strip them)