VT100 Terminal Control Codes

Code Meaning

<ESC>[0m Reset all color and text attributes

<ESC>[1m Bright/bold color

<ESC>[2m Dim/unbold color

<ESC>[3m Set italic mode

<ESC>[4m Underline text

<ESC>[5m Blinking text

<ESC>[7m Reversed color text (foreground and background colors are swapped)

<ESC>[8m Hidden Text (characters not displayed)

<ESC>[9m Set strikethrough mode

<ESC>[30m Black foreground

<ESC>[31m Red foreground

<ESC>[32m Green foreground

<ESC>[33m Yellow foreground

<ESC>[34m Blue foreground

<ESC>[35m Magenta foreground

<ESC>[36m Cyan foreground

<ESC>[37m White foreground

<ESC>[40m Black background

<ESC>[41m Red background

<ESC>[42m Green background

<ESC>[43m Yellow background

<ESC>[44m Blue background

<ESC>[45m Magenta background

<ESC>[46m Cyan background

<ESC>[47m White background

<ESC>[<R>;<C>H Move cursor to row <R> and column <C>, or to the "HOME" position if both <R> and <C> are omitted.

<ESC><C>A Move cursor up <C>, or one line if <C> is omitted.

<ESC><C>B Move cursor down <C>, or one line if <C> is omitted.

<ESC><C>C Move cursor forward <C>, or one space if <C> is omitted.

<ESC>[K Erase everything after the cursor on the current line.

<ESC>[1K Erase everything before the cursor on the current line.

<ESC>[2K Erase the current line.

<ESC>[J Erase every line below the current line.

<ESC>[1J Erase every line above the current line.

<ESC>[2J Erase entire screen.

from http://ascii-table.com/ansi-escape-esquences-vt-100.php

<ESC>[20h Set new line mode

<ESC>[?1h Set cursor key to application

none Set ANSI (versus VT52)

<ESC>[?3h Set number of columns to 132

<ESC>[4h Set smooth scrolling

<ESC>[5h Set reverse video on screen

<ESC>[6h Set origin to relative

<ESC>[7h Set auto-wrap mode

<ESC>[8h Set auto-repeat mode

<ESC>[9h Set interlacing mode

<ESC>[20i Set line feed mode

<ESC>[?1i Set cursor key to cursor

<ESC>[?2i Set VT52 mode (versus ANSI)

<ESC>[?3i Set number of columns to 80

<ESC>[?4i Set jump scrolling

<ESC>[?5i Set normal video on screen

<ESC>[?6i Set origin to absolute

<ESC>[?7i Reset auto-wrap mode

<ESC>[?8i Reset auto-repeat mode

<ESC>[?9i Reset interlacing mode

<ESC> = Set alternate keypad mode

<ESC> > Set numberic keypad mode

<ESC>(A Set United Kingdom G0 character set

<ESC>)A Set United Kingdom G1 character set

<ESC>(B Set United States G0 character set

<ESC>)B Set United States G1 character set

<ESC>(0 Set G0 special characters and line set

<ESC>)0 Set G1 special characters and line set

<ESC>(1 Set G0 alternate character ROM

<ESC>)1 Set G1 alternate chacter ROM

<ESC>(2 Set G0 alt char ROM and spec. graphics

<ESC>)2 Set G1 alt char ROM and spec. graphics

<ESC>N Set single shift 2

<ESC>O Set single shift 3

<ESC>[m Turn off character attributes

<ESC>[0m Turn off character attributes

<ESC>[1m Turn bold mode on

<ESC>[2m Turn low intensity mode on

<ESC>[4m Turn underline mode on

<ESC>[5m Turn blinking mode on

<ESC>[7m Turn reverse video on

<ESC>[8m Turn invisible mode on

<ESC>[<line>;<line>r Set top and bottom lines of a window(region)

<ESC>[<n>A Move cursor up n lines

<ESC>[<n>B Move cursor donw n lines

<ESC>[<n>C Move cursor right n liens

<ESC>[>n<D Move cursor left n lines

<ESC>[H Move cursor to upper left corner

<ESC>[;H Move cursor to upper left corner

<ESC>[<line>;<column>H Move cursor to screen location v,h

<ESC>[f Move cursor to upper left corner

<ESC>[;f Move cursor to upper left corner

<ESC>[<line>;<column>f Move cursor to scren location v,h

<ESC>D Move/scroll window up one line

<ESC>M Move/scroll window down one line

<ESC>E Move to next line

<ESC>7 Save cursor position and attributes

<ESC>8 Restore cursor position and attributes

<ESC>H Set a tab at the current column

<ESC>[g Clear a tab at the current column

<ESC>[0g Clear a tab at the current column

<ESC>[3g Clear all tabs

<ESC>#3 Double-height letters, top half

<ESC>#4 Double-height lettes, bottom half

<ESC>#5 Single width, single height letters

<ESC>#6 Double width, single height letters

<ESC>[K Clear line from cursor right

<ESC>[0K Clear line from cursor right

<ESC>[1K Clear line from cursor left

<ESC>[2K Clear entire line

<ESC>[J Clear screen from cursor down

<ESC>[0J Clear screen from cursor down

<ESC>[1J Clear screen from cursor up

<ESC>[2J Clear entire screen

<ESC>5n Device status report

<ESC>0n Response: terminal is OK

<ESC>3n Response: terminal is not OK

<ESC>6n Get cursor position

<ESC><line>;<column>R Response: cursor is at v,h

<ESC>[c Identify what terminal type

<ESC>[0c Identify what terminal type (another)

<ESC>[?1;<value>0c Response: terminal type code n

<ESC>c Reset terminal to initial state

<ESC>#8 Screen alignment display

<ESC>[2;1y Confidence power up test

<ESC>[2;2y Confidence loopback test

<ESC>[2;9y Repeat power up test

<ESC>[2;10y Repeat loopback test

<ESC>[0q Turn off all four LEDs

<ESC>[1q Turn on LED #1

<ESC>[2q Turn on LED #2

<ESC>[3q Turn on LED #3

<ESC>[4q Turn on LED #4

Codes for use in VT52 compatibility mode
Editing note: I don't necessarily feel quite right about some of these; use with caution.

<ESC> < Enter/Exit ANSI mode (VT52)

<ESC> = Enter alternate keypad mode

<ESC> > Exit alternate keypad mode

<ESC>F Use special graphics character set

<ESC>G Use normal US/UK character set

<ESC>A Move cursor up one line

<ESC>B Move cursor down one line

<ESC>C Move cursor right one line

<ESC>D Move cursor left one line

<ESC>H Move cursor to upper left corner

<ESC><line><column> Move cursor to v,h location

<ESC>I Generate a reverse line-feed

<ESC>K Erase to end of cursor line

<ESC>J Erase to end of screen

<ESC>Z Identify what the terminal is

<ESC>/Z Correct response to ident

VT100 Special Key Codes

<ESC>OP PF1

<ESC>OQ PF2

<ESC>OR PF3

<ESC>OS PF4

<ESC>A Reset up

<ESC>OA Set up

<ESC>B Reset down

<ESC>OB Set down

<ESC>C Reset right

<ESC>OC Set right

<ESC>D Reset left

<ESC>OD Set left

<ESC>Op Numeric keypad 0

<ESC>Oq Numeric keypad 1

<ESC>Or Numeric keypad 2

<ESC>Os Numeric keypad 3

<ESC>Ot Numeric keypad 4

<ESC>Ou Numeric keypad 5

<ESC>Ov Numeric keypad 6

<ESC>Ow Numeric keypad 7

<ESC>Ox Numeric keypad 8

<ESC>Oy Numeric keypad 9

<ESC>Om Numeric keypad minus

<ESC>Ol Numeric keypad comma

<ESC>On Numeric keypad period

<ESC>OM ^M

<ESC>[i Print the current screen

<ESC>[1i Print the current line

<ESC>[4i Disable log

<ESC>[5i start log; all received text is echoed to the printer

Code	Meaning
<ESC>[0m	Reset all color and text attributes
<ESC>[1m	Bright/bold color
<ESC>[2m	Dim/unbold color
<ESC>[3m	Set italic mode
<ESC>[4m	Underline text
<ESC>[5m	Blinking text
<ESC>[7m	Reversed color text (foreground and background colors are swapped)
<ESC>[8m	Hidden Text (characters not displayed)
<ESC>[9m	Set strikethrough mode
<ESC>[30m	Black foreground
<ESC>[31m	Red foreground
<ESC>[32m	Green foreground
<ESC>[33m	Yellow foreground
<ESC>[34m	Blue foreground
<ESC>[35m	Magenta foreground
<ESC>[36m	Cyan foreground
<ESC>[37m	White foreground
<ESC>[40m	Black background
<ESC>[41m	Red background
<ESC>[42m	Green background
<ESC>[43m	Yellow background
<ESC>[44m	Blue background
<ESC>[45m	Magenta background
<ESC>[46m	Cyan background
<ESC>[47m	White background
<ESC>[<R>;<C>H	Move cursor to row <R> and column <C>, or to the "HOME" position if both <R> and <C> are omitted.
<ESC><C>A	Move cursor up <C>, or one line if <C> is omitted.
<ESC><C>B	Move cursor down <C>, or one line if <C> is omitted.
<ESC><C>C	Move cursor forward <C>, or one space if <C> is omitted.
<ESC>[K	Erase everything after the cursor on the current line.
<ESC>[1K	Erase everything before the cursor on the current line.
<ESC>[2K	Erase the current line.
<ESC>[J	Erase every line below the current line.
<ESC>[1J	Erase every line above the current line.
<ESC>[2J	Erase entire screen.

	from http://ascii-table.com/ansi-escape-esquences-vt-100.php
<ESC>[20h	Set new line mode
<ESC>[?1h	Set cursor key to application
none	Set ANSI (versus VT52)
<ESC>[?3h	Set number of columns to 132
<ESC>[4h	Set smooth scrolling
<ESC>[5h	Set reverse video on screen
<ESC>[6h	Set origin to relative
<ESC>[7h	Set auto-wrap mode
<ESC>[8h	Set auto-repeat mode
<ESC>[9h	Set interlacing mode

<ESC>[20i	Set line feed mode
<ESC>[?1i	Set cursor key to cursor
<ESC>[?2i	Set VT52 mode (versus ANSI)
<ESC>[?3i	Set number of columns to 80
<ESC>[?4i	Set jump scrolling
<ESC>[?5i	Set normal video on screen
<ESC>[?6i	Set origin to absolute
<ESC>[?7i	Reset auto-wrap mode
<ESC>[?8i	Reset auto-repeat mode
<ESC>[?9i	Reset interlacing mode

<ESC> =	Set alternate keypad mode
<ESC> >	Set numberic keypad mode

<ESC>(A	Set United Kingdom G0 character set
<ESC>)A	Set United Kingdom G1 character set
<ESC>(B	Set United States G0 character set
<ESC>)B	Set United States G1 character set
<ESC>(0	Set G0 special characters and line set
<ESC>)0	Set G1 special characters and line set
<ESC>(1	Set G0 alternate character ROM
<ESC>)1	Set G1 alternate chacter ROM
<ESC>(2	Set G0 alt char ROM and spec. graphics
<ESC>)2	Set G1 alt char ROM and spec. graphics

<ESC>N	Set single shift 2
<ESC>O	Set single shift 3
<ESC>[m	Turn off character attributes
<ESC>[0m	Turn off character attributes
<ESC>[1m	Turn bold mode on
<ESC>[2m	Turn low intensity mode on
<ESC>[4m	Turn underline mode on
<ESC>[5m	Turn blinking mode on
<ESC>[7m	Turn reverse video on
<ESC>[8m	Turn invisible mode on

<ESC>[<line>;<line>r	Set top and bottom lines of a window(region)
<ESC>[<n>A	Move cursor up n lines
<ESC>[<n>B	Move cursor donw n lines
<ESC>[<n>C	Move cursor right n liens
<ESC>[>n<D	Move cursor left n lines
<ESC>[H	Move cursor to upper left corner
<ESC>[;H	Move cursor to upper left corner
<ESC>[<line>;<column>H	Move cursor to screen location v,h
<ESC>[f	Move cursor to upper left corner
<ESC>[;f	Move cursor to upper left corner
<ESC>[<line>;<column>f	Move cursor to scren location v,h
<ESC>D	Move/scroll window up one line
<ESC>M	Move/scroll window down one line
<ESC>E	Move to next line
<ESC>7	Save cursor position and attributes
<ESC>8	Restore cursor position and attributes

<ESC>H	Set a tab at the current column
<ESC>[g	Clear a tab at the current column
<ESC>[0g	Clear a tab at the current column
<ESC>[3g	Clear all tabs

<ESC>#3	Double-height letters, top half
<ESC>#4	Double-height lettes, bottom half
<ESC>#5	Single width, single height letters
<ESC>#6	Double width, single height letters

<ESC>[K	Clear line from cursor right
<ESC>[0K	Clear line from cursor right
<ESC>[1K	Clear line from cursor left
<ESC>[2K	Clear entire line

<ESC>[J	Clear screen from cursor down
<ESC>[0J	Clear screen from cursor down
<ESC>[1J	Clear screen from cursor up
<ESC>[2J	Clear entire screen

<ESC>5n	Device status report
<ESC>0n	Response: terminal is OK
<ESC>3n	Response: terminal is not OK

<ESC>6n	Get cursor position
<ESC><line>;<column>R	Response: cursor is at v,h
<ESC>[c	Identify what terminal type
<ESC>[0c	Identify what terminal type (another)
<ESC>[?1;<value>0c	Response: terminal type code n

<ESC>c	Reset terminal to initial state

<ESC>#8	Screen alignment display
<ESC>[2;1y	Confidence power up test
<ESC>[2;2y	Confidence loopback test
<ESC>[2;9y	Repeat power up test
<ESC>[2;10y	Repeat loopback test

<ESC>[0q	Turn off all four LEDs
<ESC>[1q	Turn on LED #1
<ESC>[2q	Turn on LED #2
<ESC>[3q	Turn on LED #3
<ESC>[4q	Turn on LED #4

	Codes for use in VT52 compatibility mode Editing note: I don't necessarily feel quite right about some of these; use with caution.
<ESC> <	Enter/Exit ANSI mode (VT52)
<ESC> =	Enter alternate keypad mode
<ESC> >	Exit alternate keypad mode

<ESC>F	Use special graphics character set
<ESC>G	Use normal US/UK character set

<ESC>A	Move cursor up one line
<ESC>B	Move cursor down one line
<ESC>C	Move cursor right one line
<ESC>D	Move cursor left one line
<ESC>H	Move cursor to upper left corner
<ESC><line><column>	Move cursor to v,h location
<ESC>I	Generate a reverse line-feed

<ESC>K	Erase to end of cursor line
<ESC>J	Erase to end of screen

<ESC>Z	Identify what the terminal is
<ESC>/Z	Correct response to ident

	VT100 Special Key Codes
<ESC>OP	PF1
<ESC>OQ	PF2
<ESC>OR	PF3
<ESC>OS	PF4

<ESC>A	Reset up
<ESC>OA	Set up
<ESC>B	Reset down
<ESC>OB	Set down
<ESC>C	Reset right
<ESC>OC	Set right
<ESC>D	Reset left
<ESC>OD	Set left

<ESC>Op	Numeric keypad 0
<ESC>Oq	Numeric keypad 1
<ESC>Or	Numeric keypad 2
<ESC>Os	Numeric keypad 3
<ESC>Ot	Numeric keypad 4
<ESC>Ou	Numeric keypad 5
<ESC>Ov	Numeric keypad 6
<ESC>Ow	Numeric keypad 7
<ESC>Ox	Numeric keypad 8
<ESC>Oy	Numeric keypad 9
<ESC>Om	Numeric keypad minus
<ESC>Ol	Numeric keypad comma
<ESC>On	Numeric keypad period
<ESC>OM	^M

<ESC>[i	Print the current screen
<ESC>[1i	Print the current line
<ESC>[4i	Disable log
<ESC>[5i	start log; all received text is echoed to the printer

ReGIS (graphics)

Some of the Digital terminals allowed graphics.

There is a website that tells how to compile Linux's xterm to enable support for ReGIS: here

Basically:

1) Get the xterm source code
2) Unzip/rar/7z/??? the file
3) cd into the source directory
4) ./configure --enable-regis-graphics
5) make
6) make install

The ReGIS Reference is here

man console_codes is a good resource to use xterm's many built-in features; way more than just what's listed above!

My V100.h file.

OK, so now lets take a look at using these in bash...

First off, lets look at what happens when the user runs clear on the terminal. Spoiler: is uses VT100 codes! Try this:

clear | xxd

00000000: 1b5b 481b 5b32 4a                  .[H.[2J

So what does this tell us? This sequence is [esc] [ H which tells the cursor to go "home", followed by [esc] [ 2 J which erases the entire screen. Pretty simple, really.

Next, let's try something a little more intentional: let's try writing "Hello World!" to the screen, but let's write it in green:

printf '\x1b[32mHello World\n\x1b[0m'

A little note here: I included \x1b[0m on the end of this. This is used to reset the character mode back to whatever is default for the terminal. without this, the words "Hello World" will be in green, but then so will all other text until something else comes along to reset the color code for characters.

Wenton's email (wenton@ieee.org)

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