diff --git a/scripts/arty.sh b/scripts/arty.sh
index 56e3a3c1..c2f62616 100755
--- a/scripts/arty.sh
+++ b/scripts/arty.sh
@@ -16,8 +16,12 @@ WHIP_CONFIG="${WHIP_CONFIG:-arty.yml}"
 WHIP_HOOKS_DIR=".whip/hooks"
 WHIP_CHANGELOG="${WHIP_CHANGELOG:-CHANGELOG.md}"
 
-# Colors for output - only use colors if output is to a terminal or if FORCE_COLOR is set
-export FORCE_COLOR=${FORCE_COLOR:-"1"}
+# Enable colors only when stdout is a real terminal (or FORCE_COLOR=1 overrides)
+if [[ -t 1 && "${TERM:-}" != "dumb" ]]; then
+  export FORCE_COLOR=${FORCE_COLOR:-"1"}
+else
+  export FORCE_COLOR=${FORCE_COLOR:-"0"}
+fi
 if [[ "$FORCE_COLOR" = "0" ]]; then
   export RED=''
   export GREEN=''