diff --git a/src/features/run/java.test.ts b/src/features/run/java.test.ts
index 3aae4705c..586f3f8cb 100644
--- a/src/features/run/java.test.ts
+++ b/src/features/run/java.test.ts
@@ -252,6 +252,21 @@ describe("java command lines", () => {
     ).toEqual(["--module-path", "/m/x.jar"]);
   });
 
+  it("colours a Spring Boot console unless the configuration sets the property", () => {
+    const boot = (args: string[]) => ({
+      ...applicationConfig({ className: "a.Main" }, "src/main/java/a/Main.java"),
+      kind: "spring-boot" as const,
+      args,
+    });
+    expect(resolveJavaCommand(boot(["-Xmx1g", "a.Main"]), info).args[0]).toBe("-Dspring.output.ansi.enabled=always");
+    expect(resolveJavaCommand(boot(["-Dspring.output.ansi.enabled=never", "a.Main"]), info).args).toEqual([
+      "-Dspring.output.ansi.enabled=never",
+      "a.Main",
+    ]);
+    const plain = applicationConfig({ className: "a.Main" }, "src/main/java/a/Main.java");
+    expect(resolveJavaCommand(plain, info).args).not.toContain("-Dspring.output.ansi.enabled=always");
+  });
+
   it("joins arguments for java-debug and reads JDWP's port", () => {
     expect(joinJavaArgs(["a", "b c", 'q"'])).toBe('a "b c" "q\\""');
     expect(jdwpListeningPort("Listening for transport dt_socket at address: 50123")).toBe(50123);
diff --git a/src/platform/javaLaunch.ts b/src/platform/javaLaunch.ts
index 91d9cf6d5..75c57eefb 100644
--- a/src/platform/javaLaunch.ts
+++ b/src/platform/javaLaunch.ts
@@ -71,10 +71,21 @@ export function parseJavaArgs(args: readonly string[]): JavaCommandLine {
   return { vmArgs, mainClass: null, programArgs: [], classpath, explicitClasspath };
 }
 
+/**
+ * VM options a launch adds for the console, as IDEA's Spring Boot configurations do: the
+ * console renders ANSI colours, but Spring only detects a terminal, and the process runs on pipes.
+ * Kept out when the configuration sets the property itself.
+ */
+export function consoleVmArgs(config: Pick<RunConfig, "kind" | "args">): string[] {
+  if (config.kind !== "spring-boot") return [];
+  const own = parseJavaArgs(config.args).vmArgs.some((a) => a.startsWith("-Dspring.output.ansi.enabled="));
+  return own ? [] : ["-Dspring.output.ansi.enabled=always"];
+}
+
 /** The configuration with its placeholders and launcher resolved. */
 export function resolveJavaCommand(config: RunConfig, info: JavaLaunchInfo): RunConfig {
   const cp = info.classPaths.join(info.pathListSeparator);
-  const args: string[] = [];
+  const args: string[] = [...consoleVmArgs(config)];
   if (info.modulePaths.length && !config.args.some((a) => a === "-p" || a === "--module-path"))
     args.push("--module-path", info.modulePaths.join(info.pathListSeparator));
   args.push(...config.args.map((a) => (a === CLASSPATH || a === TEST_CLASSPATH ? cp : a)));