diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2456d7f9..554c5116 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@
 
 ### Added
 - Display captured test output on assertion failures when `--show-output` is enabled (#637)
+- `bashunit::env::supports_color` helper exposing a capability probe (`TERM=dumb` / `tput colors < 8`) for future auto-detection use; `bashunit::io::clear_screen` helper that prefers `tput clear` and falls back to the raw ANSI sequence (#247)
 
 ### Changed
+- Centralize all ANSI escape emission through the existing `_BASHUNIT_COLOR_*` constants. `src/coverage.sh` and the `--watch` screen-clear in `src/main.sh` no longer hardcode escape sequences (#247)
 - Speed up coverage report generation by collapsing the per-line non-executable pattern checks in `bashunit::coverage::is_executable_line` into a single combined `grep` invocation (#636)
 - Speed up coverage report generation further by combining executable + hit counting into a single source-file pass (`bashunit::coverage::compute_file_coverage`) shared across text/lcov/html reporters, removing per-line `get_line_hits` scans of the coverage data file (#636)
 - Replace `echo | sed` / `echo | grep` subshells in `bashunit::coverage::extract_functions` with bash native regex matching and parameter expansion (#636)
diff --git a/adrs/adr-006-tput-vs-ansi-escapes.md b/adrs/adr-006-tput-vs-ansi-escapes.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..997664cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/adrs/adr-006-tput-vs-ansi-escapes.md
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+# Keep ANSI for colors, use tput where it pays off
+
+* Status: accepted
+* Deciders: @Chemaclass
+* Date: 2026-04-29
+
+Technical Story: [#247](https://github.com/TypedDevs/bashunit/issues/247)
+
+## Context
+
+bashunit prints colors and clears the screen with hardcoded ANSI escapes (`\e[31m`, `\033[2J\033[H`). The idea floated in #247 was to switch to `tput`, which reads terminfo and is in theory more portable.
+
+We tried something similar around PR #245 and it broke the test suite across CI envs. Lots of runners ship with `TERM=dumb` or no `TERM` at all, so `tput setaf` returns empty and colored output silently disappears.
+
+So the question is not really "tput or ANSI" but "where does tput actually help us, and where does it just break things?"
+
+## Options
+
+* A. Replace every ANSI escape with `tput`.
+* B. Keep ANSI everywhere, change nothing.
+* C. Keep ANSI for colors. Use tput only where it gives us something ANSI cannot.
+
+## Decision
+
+Option C.
+
+Reasoning:
+
+* For colors, tput just emits the same ANSI codes we already write by hand. The only thing it adds is breaking on dumb terminals.
+* For things ANSI cannot do well, like probing whether the terminal supports color at all, or producing the right "clear screen" sequence on weird terminals, tput is genuinely useful.
+* We already use `tput cols` in `src/env.sh` with an ANSI/`stty` fallback. Same pattern fits here.
+
+What this PR does:
+
+1. All color escapes go through `bashunit::sgr` and the `_BASHUNIT_COLOR_*` constants. No more raw `\033[...m` literals in `src/coverage.sh` or `src/main.sh`.
+2. New `bashunit::env::supports_color` (false on `TERM=dumb` or `tput colors < 8`). Exposed but not wired into `colors.sh` init yet. The same auto-disable broke CI in PR #245 and again on the first push of this branch, so it waits until we add a `CI` / `FORCE_COLOR` override.
+3. New `bashunit::io::clear_screen` runs `tput clear` and falls back to `\033[2J\033[H` if tput is missing or returns nothing. Replaces the hardcoded clear in `--watch` mode.
+
+## Consequences
+
+Good:
+
+* One place to change colors.
+* Screen clear works on terminals where the literal ANSI is wrong.
+* `supports_color` is ready for the next step (auto-detect with a CI override).
+
+Bad:
+
+* Two mechanisms (constants for colors, tput for clear/probe). Contributors need to know not to add raw escapes back.
+
+## Links
+
+* Issue [#247](https://github.com/TypedDevs/bashunit/issues/247)
+* PR [#245](https://github.com/TypedDevs/bashunit/pull/245)
+* [NO_COLOR spec](https://no-color.org/)
diff --git a/src/coverage.sh b/src/coverage.sh
index 1d6f7045..839512ac 100644
--- a/src/coverage.sh
+++ b/src/coverage.sh
@@ -159,6 +159,14 @@ function bashunit::coverage::get_coverage_class() {
   fi
 }
 
+function bashunit::coverage::get_color_for_class() {
+  case "$1" in
+  high) printf '%s' "$_BASHUNIT_COLOR_PASSED" ;;
+  medium) printf '%s' "$_BASHUNIT_COLOR_SKIPPED" ;;
+  low) printf '%s' "$_BASHUNIT_COLOR_FAILED" ;;
+  esac
+}
+
 # Calculate percentage from hit and executable counts
 function bashunit::coverage::calculate_percentage() {
   local hit="$1"
@@ -737,16 +745,8 @@ function bashunit::coverage::report_text() {
     total_executable=$((total_executable + executable))
     total_hit=$((total_hit + hit))
 
-    # Determine color based on class
-    local color="" reset=""
-    if [ "${BASHUNIT_NO_COLOR:-false}" != "true" ]; then
-      reset=$'\033[0m'
-      case "$class" in
-      high) color=$'\033[32m' ;;   # Green
-      medium) color=$'\033[33m' ;; # Yellow
-      low) color=$'\033[31m' ;;    # Red
-      esac
-    fi
+    local color reset="$_BASHUNIT_COLOR_DEFAULT"
+    color=$(bashunit::coverage::get_color_for_class "$class")
 
     # Display relative path
     local display_file="${file#"$(pwd)"/}"
@@ -767,15 +767,8 @@ function bashunit::coverage::report_text() {
   total_pct=$(bashunit::coverage::calculate_percentage "$total_hit" "$total_executable")
   total_class=$(bashunit::coverage::get_coverage_class "$total_pct")
 
-  local color="" reset=""
-  if [ "${BASHUNIT_NO_COLOR:-false}" != "true" ]; then
-    reset=$'\033[0m'
-    case "$total_class" in
-    high) color=$'\033[32m' ;;
-    medium) color=$'\033[33m' ;;
-    low) color=$'\033[31m' ;;
-    esac
-  fi
+  local color reset="$_BASHUNIT_COLOR_DEFAULT"
+  color=$(bashunit::coverage::get_color_for_class "$total_class")
 
   printf "%sTotal: %d/%d (%d%%)%s\n" \
     "$color" "$total_hit" "$total_executable" "$total_pct" "$reset"
@@ -839,14 +832,8 @@ function bashunit::coverage::check_threshold() {
   pct=$(bashunit::coverage::get_percentage)
 
   if [ "$pct" -lt "$BASHUNIT_COVERAGE_MIN" ]; then
-    local color=""
-    local reset=""
-    if [ "${BASHUNIT_NO_COLOR:-false}" != "true" ]; then
-      color=$'\033[31m'
-      reset=$'\033[0m'
-    fi
     printf "%sCoverage %d%% is below minimum %d%%%s\n" \
-      "$color" "$pct" "$BASHUNIT_COVERAGE_MIN" "$reset"
+      "$_BASHUNIT_COLOR_FAILED" "$pct" "$BASHUNIT_COVERAGE_MIN" "$_BASHUNIT_COLOR_DEFAULT"
     return 1
   fi
 
diff --git a/src/dependencies.sh b/src/dependencies.sh
index c605167f..1d12c034 100644
--- a/src/dependencies.sh
+++ b/src/dependencies.sh
@@ -40,3 +40,7 @@ function bashunit::dependencies::has_python() {
 function bashunit::dependencies::has_node() {
   command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1
 }
+
+function bashunit::dependencies::has_tput() {
+  command -v tput >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
diff --git a/src/env.sh b/src/env.sh
index 2a809131..8a1ab14f 100644
--- a/src/env.sh
+++ b/src/env.sh
@@ -182,6 +182,32 @@ function bashunit::env::is_no_color_enabled() {
   [ "$BASHUNIT_NO_COLOR" = "true" ]
 }
 
+##
+# Whether the current terminal can render ANSI color sequences.
+# Returns 1 when TERM=dumb or when `tput colors` reports fewer than 8.
+# Returns 0 when tput is missing (assume colors work, preserving prior behavior).
+##
+function bashunit::env::supports_color() {
+  if [ "${TERM:-}" = "dumb" ]; then
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  if ! bashunit::dependencies::has_tput; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local n
+  n=$(tput colors 2>/dev/null)
+  case "$n" in
+  '' | *[!0-9]*)
+    return 0
+    ;;
+  *)
+    [ "$n" -ge 8 ]
+    ;;
+  esac
+}
+
 function bashunit::env::is_coverage_enabled() {
   [ "$BASHUNIT_COVERAGE" = "true" ]
 }
diff --git a/src/io.sh b/src/io.sh
index bfe9d29e..c3f2a1e4 100644
--- a/src/io.sh
+++ b/src/io.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,22 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
+##
+# Clear the terminal screen and move the cursor to the home position.
+# Uses `tput clear` when available (queries terminfo for the right sequence)
+# and falls back to the ANSI sequence \033[2J\033[H otherwise.
+##
+function bashunit::io::clear_screen() {
+  if bashunit::dependencies::has_tput; then
+    local out
+    out=$(tput clear 2>/dev/null)
+    if [ -n "$out" ]; then
+      printf '%s' "$out"
+      return
+    fi
+  fi
+  printf '\033[2J\033[H'
+}
+
 function bashunit::io::download_to() {
   local url="$1"
   local output="$2"
diff --git a/src/main.sh b/src/main.sh
index d33d8335..b805511d 100644
--- a/src/main.sh
+++ b/src/main.sh
@@ -586,7 +586,7 @@ function bashunit::main::watch_loop() {
 
     if [ "$current_checksum" != "$last_checksum" ]; then
       last_checksum="$current_checksum"
-      printf '\033[2J\033[H'
+      bashunit::io::clear_screen
       printf "%s[watch] Running tests...%s\n\n" \
         "${_BASHUNIT_COLOR_SKIPPED}" \
         "${_BASHUNIT_COLOR_DEFAULT}"
diff --git a/tests/unit/env_test.sh b/tests/unit/env_test.sh
index b78e93ca..e68c1539 100644
--- a/tests/unit/env_test.sh
+++ b/tests/unit/env_test.sh
@@ -150,6 +150,47 @@ function test_find_terminal_width_fallback_returns_100() {
   assert_equals "100" "$result"
 }
 
+function test_supports_color_returns_failure_when_TERM_is_dumb() {
+  local original_term="${TERM:-}"
+  export TERM="dumb"
+
+  if bashunit::env::supports_color; then
+    export TERM="$original_term"
+    fail "Expected supports_color to fail when TERM=dumb"
+    return
+  fi
+
+  export TERM="$original_term"
+  assert_successful_code 0
+}
+
+function test_supports_color_returns_failure_when_tput_reports_below_8_colors() {
+  local original_term="${TERM:-}"
+  export TERM="xterm"
+  bashunit::mock tput <<<"2"
+
+  if bashunit::env::supports_color; then
+    export TERM="$original_term"
+    fail "Expected supports_color to fail when tput colors reports 2"
+    return
+  fi
+
+  export TERM="$original_term"
+  assert_successful_code 0
+}
+
+function test_supports_color_returns_success_when_tput_reports_8_or_more_colors() {
+  local original_term="${TERM:-}"
+  export TERM="xterm"
+  bashunit::mock tput <<<"256"
+
+  bashunit::env::supports_color
+  local result=$?
+
+  export TERM="$original_term"
+  assert_equals 0 "$result"
+}
+
 function test_print_verbose_outputs_env_var_names() {
   local original="$BASHUNIT_VERBOSE"
   export BASHUNIT_VERBOSE="true"
diff --git a/tests/unit/io_test.sh b/tests/unit/io_test.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7945b6c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/io_test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+function test_clear_screen_uses_tput_when_available() {
+  bashunit::mock tput <<<"CLEARED"
+
+  local output
+  output=$(bashunit::io::clear_screen)
+
+  assert_contains "CLEARED" "$output"
+}
+
+function test_clear_screen_emits_non_empty_output() {
+  local output
+  output=$(bashunit::io::clear_screen)
+
+  assert_not_empty "$output"
+}