The direct detection of very faint companions to bright stars requires the development of effective high-contrast detection techniques, and the past decade has seen remarkable conceptual and instrumental progress in this area. New coronagraphic and interferometric techniques are regularly being deployed for on-sky tests and observations, and extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) systems will soon enable the exploitation of novel coronagraphic approaches. This paper provides an overview of coronagraphic high-contrast techniques, as well as a brief summary of the current state of affairs and future possibilities.