Computer Science
CONSOLE_CODES(4) Linux Programmer's Manual CONSOLE_CODES(4)
NAME
console_codes - Linux console escape and control sequences
DESCRIPTION
The Linux console implements a large subset of the VT102
and ECMA-48/ISO 6429/ANSI X3.64 terminal controls, plus
certain private-mode sequences for changing the color
palette, character-set mapping, etc. In the tabular
descriptions below, the second column gives ECMA-48 or DEC
mnemonics (the latter if prefixed with DEC) for the given
function. Sequences without a mnemonic are neither
ECMA-48 nor VT102.
After all the normal output processing has been done, and
a stream of characters arrives at the console driver for
actual printing, the first thing that happens is a trans-
lation from the code used for processing to the code used
for printing.
If the console is in UTF-8 mode, then the incoming bytes
are first assembled into 16-bit Unicode codes. Otherwise
each byte is transformed according to the current mapping
table (which translates it to a Unicode value). See the
CHARACTER SETS section below for discussion.
In the normal case, the Unicode value is converted to a
font index, and this is stored in video memory, so that
the corresponding glyph (as found in video ROM) appears on
the screen. Note that the use of Unicode (and the design
of the PC hardware) allows us to use 512 different glyphs
simultaneously.
If the current Unicode value is a control character, or we
are currently processing an escape sequence, the value
will treated specially. Instead of being turned into a
font index and rendered as a glyph, it may trigger cursor
movement or other control functions. See the LINUX CON-
SOLE CONTROLS section below for discussion.
It is generally not good practice to hard-wire terminal
controls into programs. Linux supports a terminfo(5)
database of terminal capabilities. Rather than emitting
console escape sequences by hand, you will almost always
want to use a terminfo-aware screen library or utility
such as ncurses(3), tput(1), or reset(1).
LINUX CONSOLE CONTROLS
This section describes all the control characters and
escape sequences that invoke special functions (i.e. any-
thing other than writing a glyph at the current cursor
location) on the Linux console.
Control characters
A character is a control character if (before transforma-
tion according to the mapping table) it has one of the 14
codes 00 (NUL), 07 (BEL), 08 (BS), 09 (HT), 0a (LF), 0b
(VT), 0c (FF), 0d (CR), 0e (SO), 0f (SI), 18 (CAN), 1a
(SUB), 1b (ESC), 7f (DEL). One can set a `display control
characters' mode (see below), and allow 07, 09, 0b, 18,
1a, 7f to be displayed as glyphs. On the other hand, in
UTF-8 mode all codes 00-1f are regarded as control charac-
ters, regardless of any `display control characters' mode.
If we have a control character, it is acted upon immedi-
ately and then discarded (even in the middle of an escape
sequence) and the escape sequence continues with the next
character. (However, ESC starts a new escape sequence,
possibly aborting a previous unfinished one, and CAN and
SUB abort any escape sequence.) The recognized control
characters are BEL, BS, HT, LF, VT, FF, CR, SO, SI, CAN,
SUB, ESC, DEL, CSI. They do what one would expect:
BEL (0x07, ^G) beeps;
BS (0x08, ^H) backspaces one column (but not past the
beginning of the line);
HT (0x09, ^I) goes to the next tab stop or to the end of
the line if there is no earlier tab stop;
LF (0x0A, ^J), VT (0x0B, ^K) and FF (0x0C, ^L) all give a
linefeed;
CR (0x0D, ^M) gives a carriage return;
SO (0x0E, ^N) activates the G1 character set, and if LF/NL
(new line mode) is set also a carriage return;
SI (0x0F, ^O) activates the G0 character set;
CAN (0x18, ^X) and SUB (0x1A, ^Z) interrupt escape
sequences;
ESC (0x1B, ^[) starts an escape sequence;
DEL (0x7F) is ignored;
CSI (0x9B) is equivalent to ESC [.
ESC- but not CSI-sequences
ESC c RIS Reset.
ESC D IND Linefeed.
ESC E NEL Newline.
ESC H HTS Set tab stop at current column.
ESC M RI Reverse linefeed.
ESC Z DECID DEC private identification. The kernel
returns the string ESC [ ? 6 c, claiming
that it is a VT102.
ESC 7 DECSC Save current state (cursor coordinates,
attributes, character sets).
ESC 8 DECRC Restore most recently saved state.
ESC [ CSI Control sequence introducer
ESC % Start sequence selecting character set
ESC % @ Select default (ISO 646 / ISO 8859-1)
ESC % G Select UTF-8
ESC % 8 Select UTF-8 (obsolete)
ESC # 8 DECALN DEC screen alignment test - fill screen with E's.
ESC ( Start sequence defining G0 character set
ESC ( B Select default (ISO 8859-1 mapping)
ESC ( 0 Select vt100 graphics mapping
ESC ( U Select null mapping - straight to character ROM
ESC ( K Select user mapping - the map that is loaded by
the utility mapscrn(8).
ESC ) Start sequence defining G1
(followed by one of B, 0, U, K, as above).
ESC > DECPNM Set numeric keypad mode
ESC = DECPAM Set application keypad mode
ESC ] OSC (Should be: Operating system command)
ESC ] P nrrggbb: set palette, with parameter
given in 7 hexadecimal digits after the final P :-(.
Here n is the color (0-16), and rrggbb indicates
the red/green/blue values (0-255).
ESC ] R: reset palette
ECMA-48 CSI sequences
CSI (or ESC [) is followed by a sequence of parameters, at
most NPAR (16), that are decimal numbers separated by
semicolons. An empty or absent parameter is taken to be 0.
The sequence of parameters may be preceded by a single
question mark.
However, after CSI [ (or ESC [ [) a single character is
read and this entire sequence is ignored. (The idea is to
ignore an echoed function key.)
The action of a CSI sequence is determined by its final
character.
@ ICH Insert the indicated # of blank characters.
A CUU Move cursor up the indicated # of rows.
B CUD Move cursor down the indicated # of rows.
C CUF Move cursor right the indicated # of columns.
D CUB Move cursor left the indicated # of columns.
E CNL Move cursor down the indicated # of rows, to column 1.
F CPL Move cursor up the indicated # of rows, to column 1.
G CHA Move cursor to indicated column in current row.
H CUP Move cursor to the indicated row, column (origin at 1,1).
J ED Erase display (default: from cursor to end of display).
ESC [ 1 J: erase from start to cursor.
ESC [ 2 J: erase whole display.
K EL Erase line (default: from cursor to end of line).
ESC [ 1 K: erase from start of line to cursor.
ESC [ 2 K: erase whole line.
L IL Insert the indicated # of blank lines.
M DL Delete the indicated # of lines.
P DCH Delete the indicated # of characters on the current line.
X ECH Erase the indicated # of characters on the current line.
a HPR Move cursor right the indicated # of columns.
c DA Answer ESC [ ? 6 c: `I am a VT102'.
d VPA Move cursor to the indicated row, current column.
e VPR Move cursor down the indicated # of rows.
f HVP Move cursor to the indicated row, column.
g TBC Without parameter: clear tab stop at the current position.
ESC [ 3 g: delete all tab stops.
h SM Set Mode (see below).
l RM Reset Mode (see below).
m SGR Set attributes (see below).
n DSR Status report (see below).
q DECLL Set keyboard LEDs.
ESC [ 0 q: clear all LEDs
ESC [ 1 q: set Scroll Lock LED
ESC [ 2 q: set Num Lock LED
ESC [ 3 q: set Caps Lock LED
r DECSTBM Set scrolling region; parameters are top and bottom row.
s ? Save cursor location.
u ? Restore cursor location.
` HPA Move cursor to indicated column in current row.
ECMA-48 Set Graphics Rendition
The ECMA-48 SGR sequence ESC [ <parameters> m sets display
attributes. Several attributes can be set in the same
sequence.
par result
0 reset all attributes to their defaults
1 set bold
2 set half-bright (simulated with color on a color display)
4 set underscore (simulated with color on a color display)
(the colors used to simulate dim or underline are set
using ESC ] ...)
5 set blink
7 set reverse video
10 reset selected mapping, display control flag,
and toggle meta flag.
11 select null mapping, set display control flag,
reset toggle meta flag.
12 select null mapping, set display control flag,
set toggle meta flag. (The toggle meta flag
causes the high bit of a byte to be toggled
before the mapping table translation is done.)
21 set normal intensity (this is not compatible with ECMA-48)
22 set normal intensity
24 underline off
25 blink off
27 reverse video off
30 set black foreground
31 set red foreground
32 set green foreground
33 set brown foreground
34 set blue foreground
35 set magenta foreground
36 set cyan foreground
37 set white foreground
38 set underscore on, set default foreground color
39 set underscore off, set default foreground color
40 set black background
41 set red background
42 set green background
43 set brown background
44 set blue background
45 set magenta background
46 set cyan background
47 set white background
49 set default background color
ECMA-48 Mode Switches
ESC [ 3 h
DECCRM (default off): Display control chars.
ESC [ 4 h
DECIM (default off): Set insert mode.
ESC [ 20 h
LF/NL (default off): Automatically follow echo of
LF, VT or FF with CR.
ECMA-48 Status Report Commands
ESC [ 5 n
Device status report (DSR): Answer is ESC [ 0 n
(Terminal OK).
ESC [ 6 n
Cursor position report (CPR): Answer is ESC [ y ; x
R, where x,y is the cursor location.
DEC Private Mode (DECSET/DECRST) sequences.
These are not described in ECMA-48. We list the Set Mode
sequences; the Reset Mode sequences are obtained by
replacing the final `h' by `l'.
ESC [ ? 1 h
DECCKM (default off): When set, the cursor keys
send an ESC O prefix, rather than ESC [.
ESC [ ? 3 h
DECCOLM (default off = 80 columns): 80/132 col mode
switch. The driver sources note that this alone
does not suffice; some user-mode utility such as
resizecons(8) has to change the hardware registers
on the console video card.
ESC [ ? 5 h
DECSCNM (default off): Set reverse-video mode.
ESC [ ? 6 h
DECOM (default off): When set, cursor addressing is
relative to the upper left corner of the scrolling
region.
ESC [ ? 7 h
DECAWM (default on): Set autowrap on. In this
mode, a graphic character emitted after column 80
(or column 132 of DECCOLM is on) forces a wrap to
the beginning of the following line first.
ESC [ ? 8 h
DECARM (default on): Set keyboard autorepreat on.
ESC [ ? 9 h
X10 Mouse Reporting (default off): Set reporting
mode to 1 (or reset to 0) - see below.
ESC [ ? 25 h
DECCM (default on): Make cursor visible.
ESC [ ? 1000 h
X11 Mouse Reporting (default off): Set reporting
mode to 2 (or reset to 0) - see below.
Linux Console Private CSI Sequences
The following sequences are neither ECMA-48 nor native
VT102. They are native to the Linux console driver. Col-
ors are in SGR parameters: 0 = black, 1 = red, 2 = green,
3 = brown, 4 = blue, 5 = magenta, 6 = cyan, 7 = white.
ESC [ 1 ; n ] Set color n as the underline color
ESC [ 2 ; n ] Set color n as the dim color
ESC [ 8 ] Make the current color pair the default attributes.
ESC [ 9 ; n ] Set screen blank timeout to n minutes.
ESC [ 10 ; n ] Set bell frequency in Hz.
ESC [ 11 ; n ] Set bell duration in msec.
ESC [ 12 ; n ] Bring specified console to the front.
ESC [ 13 ] Unblank the screen.
ESC [ 14 ; n ] Set the VESA powerdown interval in minutes.
CHARACTER SETS
The kernel knows about 4 translations of bytes into con-
sole-screen symbols. The four tables are: a) Latin1 ->
PC, b) VT100 graphics -> PC, c) PC -> PC, d) user-
defined.
There are two character sets, called G0 and G1, and one of
them is the current character set. (Initially G0.) Typing
^N causes G1 to become current, ^O causes G0 to become
current.
These variables G0 and G1 point at a translation table,
and can be changed by the user. Initially they point at
tables a) and b), respectively. The sequences ESC ( B and
ESC ( 0 and ESC ( U and ESC ( K cause G0 to point at
translation table a), b), c) and d), respectively. The
sequences ESC ) B and ESC ) 0 and ESC ) U and ESC ) K
cause G1 to point at translation table a), b), c) and d),
respectively.
The sequence ESC c causes a terminal reset, which is what
you want if the screen is all garbled. The oft-advised
"echo ^V^O" will only make G0 current, but there is no
guarantee that G0 points at table a). In some distribu-
tions there is a program reset(1) that just does "echo
^[c". If your terminfo entry for the console is correct
(and has an entry rs1=\Ec), then "tput reset" will also
work.
The user-defined mapping table can be set using map-
scrn(8). The result of the mapping is that if a symbol c
is printed, the symbol s = map[c] is sent to the video
memory. The bitmap that corresponds to s is found in the
character ROM, and can be changed using setfont(8).
MOUSE TRACKING
The mouse tracking facility is intended to return xterm-
compatible mouse status reports. Because the console
driver has no way to know the device or type of the mouse,
these reports are returned in the console input stream
only when the virtual terminal driver receives a mouse
update ioctl. These ioctls must be generated by a mouse-
aware user-mode application such as the gpm(8) daemon.
Parameters for all mouse tracking escape sequences gener-
ated by xterm encode numeric parameters in a single char-
acter as value+040. For example, `!' is 1. The screen
coordinate system is 1-based.
The X10 compatibility mode sends an escape sequence on
button press encoding the location and the mouse button
pressed. It is enabled by sending ESC [ ? 9 h and dis-
abled with ESC [ ? 9 l. On button press, xterm sends ESC
[ M bxy (6 characters). Here b is button-1, and x and y
are the x and y coordinates of the mouse when the button
was pressed. This is the same code the kernel also pro-
duces.
Normal tracking mode (not implemented in Linux 2.0.24)
sends an escape sequence on both button press and release.
Modifier information is also sent. It is enabled by send-
ing ESC [ ? 1000 h and disabled with ESC [ 1000 l. On
button press or release, xterm sends ESC [ M bxy. The low
two bits of b encode button information: 0=MB1 pressed,
1=MB2 pressed, 2=MB3 pressed, 3=release. The upper bits
encode what modifiers were down when the button was
pressed and are added together: 4=Shift, 8=Meta, 16=Con-
trol. Again x and y are the x and y coordinates of the
mouse event. The upper left corner is (1,1).
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER TERMINALS
Many different terminal types are described, like the
Linux console, as being `VT100-compatible'. Here we dis-
cuss differences vbetween the Linux console an the two
most important others, the DEC VT102 and xterm(1).
Control-character handling
The vt102 also recognized the following control charac-
ters:
NUL (0x00) was ignored;
ENQ (0x05) triggered an answerback message;
DC1 (0x11, ^Q, XON) resumed transmission;
DC3 (0x13, ^S, XOFF) caused vt100 to ignore (and stop
transmitting) all codes except XOFF and XON.
VT100-like DC1/DC3 processing may be enabled by the tty
driver.
The xterm program (in vt100 mode) recognizes the control
characters BEL, BS, HT, LF, VT, FF, CR, SO, SI, ESC.
Escape sequences
VT100 console sequences not implemented on the Linux con-
sole:
ESC N SS2 Single shift 2. (Select G2 character set for the next
character only.)
ESC O SS3 Single shift 3. (Select G3 character set for the next
character only.)
ESC P DCS Device control string (ended by ESC \)
ESC X SOS Start of string.
ESC ^ PM Privacy message (ended by ESC \)
ESC \ ST String terminator
ESC * ... Designate G2 character set
ESC + ... Designate G3 character set
The program xterm (in vt100 mode) recognizes ESC c, ESC #
8, ESC >, ESC =, ESC D, ESC E, ESC H, ESC M, ESC N, ESC O,
ESC P ... ESC ESC Z (it answers ESC [ ? 1 ; 2 c, `I am a
vt100 with advanced video option') and ESC ^ ... ESC with
the same meanings as indicated above. It accepts ESC (,
ESC ), ESC *, ESC + followed by 0, A, B for the DEC spe-
cial character and line drawing set, UK, and USASCII,
respectively. It accepts ESC ] for the setting of certain
resources:
ESC ] 0 ; txt BEL Set icon name and window title to txt.
ESC ] 1 ; txt BEL Set icon name to txt.
ESC ] 2 ; txt BEL Set window title to txt.
ESC ] 4 6 ; name BEL Change log file to name (normally disabled
by a compile-time option)
ESC ] 5 0 ; fn BEL Set font to fn.
It recognizes the following with slightly modified mean-
ing:
ESC 7 DECSC Save cursor
ESC 8 DECRC Restore cursor
It also recognizes
ESC F Cursor to lower left corner of screen (if enabled by
the hpLowerleftBugCompat resource)
ESC l Memory lock (per HP terminals).
Locks memory above the cursor.
ESC m Memory unlock (per HP terminals).
ESC n LS2 Invoke the G2 character set.
ESC o LS3 Invoke the G3 character set.
ESC | LS3R Invoke the G3 character set as GR.
Has no visible effect in xterm.
ESC } LS2R Invoke the G2 character set as GR.
Has no visible effect in xterm.
ESC ~ LS1R Invoke the G1 character set as GR.
Has no visible effect in xterm.
It does not recognize ESC % ...
CSI Sequences
The xterm program (as of XFree86 3.1.2G) does not recog-
nize the blink or invisible-mode SGRs. Stock X11R6 ver-
sions do not recognize the color-setting SGRs. All other
ECMA-48 CSI sequences recognized by Linux are also recog-
nized by xterm, and vice-versa.
The xterm program will recognize all of the DEC Private
Mode sequences listed above, but none of the Linux pri-
vate-mode sequences. For discussion of xterm's own pri-
vate-mode sequences, refer to the Xterm Control Sequences
document by Edward Moy and Stephen Gildea, available with
the X distribution.
BUGS
In 2.0.23, CSI is broken, and NUL is not ignored inside
escape sequences.
SEE ALSO
console(4), console_ioctl(4), charsets(4)
Linux October 31, 1996 1
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