diff --git a/rust/hg-core/src/utils.rs b/rust/hg-core/src/utils.rs
--- a/rust/hg-core/src/utils.rs
+++ b/rust/hg-core/src/utils.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
 
 //! Contains useful functions, traits, structs, etc. for use in core.
 
+use crate::utils::hg_path::HgPath;
+use std::ops::Deref;
+
 pub mod files;
 pub mod hg_path;
 pub mod path_auditor;
@@ -112,3 +115,61 @@
         }
     }
 }
+
+const HEX_DIGITS: &[u8] = b"0123456789abcdef";
+
+pub trait PrettyPrint {
+    fn pretty_print(&self) -> Vec<u8>;
+}
+
+impl PrettyPrint for u8 {
+    fn pretty_print(&self) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut acc = vec![];
+        match self {
+            c @ b'\'' | c @ b'\\' => {
+                acc.push(b'\\');
+                acc.push(*c);
+            }
+            b'\t' => {
+                acc.extend(br"\\t");
+            }
+            b'\n' => {
+                acc.extend(br"\\n");
+            }
+            b'\r' => {
+                acc.extend(br"\\r");
+            }
+            c if (*c < b' ' || *c >= 127) => {
+                acc.push(b'\\');
+                acc.push(b'x');
+                acc.push(HEX_DIGITS[((*c & 0xf0) >> 4) as usize]);
+                acc.push(HEX_DIGITS[(*c & 0xf) as usize]);
+            }
+            c => {
+                acc.push(*c);
+            }
+        }
+        acc
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a, T: PrettyPrint> PrettyPrint for &'a [T] {
+    fn pretty_print(&self) -> Vec<u8> {
+        self.iter().fold(vec![], |mut acc, item| {
+            acc.extend(item.pretty_print());
+            acc
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+impl<T: PrettyPrint> PrettyPrint for Vec<T> {
+    fn pretty_print(&self) -> Vec<u8> {
+        self.deref().pretty_print()
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a> PrettyPrint for &'a HgPath {
+    fn pretty_print(&self) -> Vec<u8> {
+        self.as_bytes().pretty_print()
+    }
+}