VT100/docs/VT100-3.txt

ANSI Escape Sequences

Standard escape codes are prefixed with Escape:

    Ctrl-Key: ^[
    Octal: \033
    Unicode: \u001b
    Hexadecimal: \x1B
    Decimal: 27

Followed by the command, somtimes delimited by opening square bracket ([), known as a Control Sequence Introducer (CSI), optionally followed by arguments and the command itself.

Arguments are delimeted by semi colon (;).

For example:

\x1b[1;31m  # Set style to bold, red foreground.

Sequences

    ESC - sequence starting with ESC (\x1B)
    CSI - Control Sequence Introducer: sequence starting with ESC [ or CSI (\x9B)
    DCS - Device Control String: sequence starting with ESC P or DCS (\x90)
    OSC - Operating System Command: sequence starting with ESC ] or OSC (\x9D)

Any whitespaces between sequences and arguments should be ignored. They are present for improved readability.
General ASCII Codes
Name 	decimal 	octal 	hex 	C-escape 	Ctrl-Key 	Description
BEL 	7 	007 	0x07 	\a 	^G 	Terminal bell
BS 	8 	010 	0x08 	\b 	^H 	Backspace
HT 	9 	011 	0x09 	\t 	^I 	Horizontal TAB
LF 	10 	012 	0x0A 	\n 	^J 	Linefeed (newline)
VT 	11 	013 	0x0B 	\v 	^K 	Vertical TAB
FF 	12 	014 	0x0C 	\f 	^L 	Formfeed (also: New page NP)
CR 	13 	015 	0x0D 	\r 	^M 	Carriage return
ESC 	27 	033 	0x1B 	\e* 	^[ 	Escape character
DEL 	127 	177 	0x7F 	<none> 	<none> 	Delete character

    Note: Some control escape sequences, like \e for ESC, are not guaranteed to work in all languages and compilers. It is recommended to use the decimal, octal or hex representation as escape code.

    Note: The Ctrl-Key representation is simply associating the non-printable characters from ASCII code 1 with the printable (letter) characters from ASCII code 65 ("A"). ASCII code 1 would be ^A (Ctrl-A), while ASCII code 7 (BEL) would be ^G (Ctrl-G). This is a common representation (and input method) and historically comes from one of the VT series of terminals.

Cursor Controls

    Hide cursor for 5 seconds

echo -e "\e[?25l" ; sleep 5 ; echo -e "\e[?25h"

ESC Code Sequence 	Description
ESC[H 	moves cursor to home position (0, 0)
ESC[{line};{column}H
ESC[{line};{column}f 	moves cursor to line #, column #
ESC[#A 	moves cursor up # lines
ESC[#B 	moves cursor down # lines
ESC[#C 	moves cursor right # columns
ESC[#D 	moves cursor left # columns
ESC[#E 	moves cursor to beginning of next line, # lines down
ESC[#F 	moves cursor to beginning of previous line, # lines up
ESC[#G 	moves cursor to column #
ESC[6n 	request cursor position (reports as ESC[#;#R)
ESC M 	moves cursor one line up, scrolling if needed
ESC 7 	save cursor position (DEC)
ESC 8 	restores the cursor to the last saved position (DEC)
ESC[s 	save cursor position (SCO)
ESC[u 	restores the cursor to the last saved position (SCO)

    Note: Some sequences, like saving and restoring cursors, are private sequences and are not standardized. While some terminal emulators (i.e. xterm and derived) support both SCO and DEC sequences, they are likely to have different functionality. It is therefore recommended to use DEC sequences.

Erase Functions
ESC Code Sequence 	Description
ESC[J 	erase in display (same as ESC[0J)
ESC[0J 	erase from cursor until end of screen
ESC[1J 	erase from cursor to beginning of screen
ESC[2J 	erase entire screen
ESC[3J 	erase saved lines
ESC[K 	erase in line (same as ESC[0K)
ESC[0K 	erase from cursor to end of line
ESC[1K 	erase start of line to the cursor
ESC[2K 	erase the entire line

    Note: Erasing the line won't move the cursor, meaning that the cursor will stay at the last position it was at before the line was erased. You can use \r after erasing the line, to return the cursor to the start of the current line.

Colors / Graphics Mode
ESC Code Sequence 	Reset Sequence 	Description
ESC[1;34;{...}m 		Set graphics modes for cell, separated by semicolon (;).
ESC[0m 		reset all modes (styles and colors)
ESC[1m 	ESC[22m 	set bold mode.
ESC[2m 	ESC[22m 	set dim/faint mode.
ESC[3m 	ESC[23m 	set italic mode.
ESC[4m 	ESC[24m 	set underline mode.
ESC[5m 	ESC[25m 	set blinking mode
ESC[7m 	ESC[27m 	set inverse/reverse mode
ESC[8m 	ESC[28m 	set hidden/invisible mode
ESC[9m 	ESC[29m 	set strikethrough mode.

    Note: Some terminals may not support some of the graphic mode sequences listed above.

    Note: Both dim and bold modes are reset with the ESC[22m sequence. The ESC[21m sequence is a non-specified sequence for double underline mode and only work in some terminals and is reset with ESC[24m.

Color codes

Most terminals support 8 and 16 colors, as well as 256 (8-bit) colors. These colors are set by the user, but have commonly defined meanings.
8-16 Colors
Color Name 	Foreground Color Code 	Background Color Code
Black 	30 	40
Red 	31 	41
Green 	32 	42
Yellow 	33 	43
Blue 	34 	44
Magenta 	35 	45
Cyan 	36 	46
White 	37 	47
Default 	39 	49
Reset 	0 	0

    Note: the Reset color is the reset code that resets all colors and text effects, Use Default color to reset colors only.

Most terminals, apart from the basic set of 8 colors, also support the "bright" or "bold" colors. These have their own set of codes, mirroring the normal colors, but with an additional ;1 in their codes:

# Set style to bold, red foreground.
\x1b[1;31mHello
# Set style to dimmed white foreground with red background.
\x1b[2;37;41mWorld

Terminals that support the aixterm specification provides bright versions of the ISO colors, without the need to use the bold modifier:
Color Name 	Foreground Color Code 	Background Color Code
Bright Black 	90 	100
Bright Red 	91 	101
Bright Green 	92 	102
Bright Yellow 	93 	103
Bright Blue 	94 	104
Bright Magenta 	95 	105
Bright Cyan 	96 	106
Bright White 	97 	107
256 Colors

The following escape codes tells the terminal to use the given color ID:
ESC Code Sequence 	Description
ESC[38;5;{ID}m 	Set foreground color.
ESC[48;5;{ID}m 	Set background color.

Where {ID} should be replaced with the color index from 0 to 255 of the following color table:

256 Color table

The table starts with the original 16 colors (0-15).

The proceeding 216 colors (16-231) or formed by a 3bpc RGB value offset by 16, packed into a single value.

The final 24 colors (232-255) are grayscale starting from a shade slighly lighter than black, ranging up to shade slightly darker than white.

Some emulators interpret these steps as linear increments (256 / 24) on all three channels, although some emulators may explicitly define these values.
RGB Colors

More modern terminals supports Truecolor (24-bit RGB), which allows you to set foreground and background colors using RGB.

These escape sequences are usually not well documented.
ESC Code Sequence 	Description
ESC[38;2;{r};{g};{b}m 	Set foreground color as RGB.
ESC[48;2;{r};{g};{b}m 	Set background color as RGB.

    Note that ;38 and ;48 corresponds to the 16 color sequence and is interpreted by the terminal to set the foreground and background color respectively. Where as ;2 and ;5 sets the color format.

Screen Modes
Set Mode
ESC Code Sequence 	Description
ESC[={value}h 	Changes the screen width or type to the mode specified by value.
ESC[=0h 	40 x 25 monochrome (text)
ESC[=1h 	40 x 25 color (text)
ESC[=2h 	80 x 25 monochrome (text)
ESC[=3h 	80 x 25 color (text)
ESC[=4h 	320 x 200 4-color (graphics)
ESC[=5h 	320 x 200 monochrome (graphics)
ESC[=6h 	640 x 200 monochrome (graphics)
ESC[=7h 	Enables line wrapping
ESC[=13h 	320 x 200 color (graphics)
ESC[=14h 	640 x 200 color (16-color graphics)
ESC[=15h 	640 x 350 monochrome (2-color graphics)
ESC[=16h 	640 x 350 color (16-color graphics)
ESC[=17h 	640 x 480 monochrome (2-color graphics)
ESC[=18h 	640 x 480 color (16-color graphics)
ESC[=19h 	320 x 200 color (256-color graphics)
ESC[={value}l 	Resets the mode by using the same values that Set Mode uses, except for 7, which disables line wrapping. The last character in this escape sequence is a lowercase L.
Common Private Modes

These are some examples of private modes, which are not defined by the specification, but are implemented in most terminals.
ESC Code Sequence 	Description
ESC[?25l 	make cursor invisible
ESC[?25h 	make cursor visible
ESC[?47l 	restore screen
ESC[?47h 	save screen
ESC[?1049h 	enables the alternative buffer
ESC[?1049l 	disables the alternative buffer

Refer to the XTerm Control Sequences for a more in-depth list of private modes defined by XTerm.

    Note: While these modes may be supported by the most terminals, some may not work in multiplexers like tmux.

Keyboard Strings

ESC[{code};{string};{...}p

Redefines a keyboard key to a specified string.

The parameters for this escape sequence are defined as follows:

    code is one or more of the values listed in the following table. These values represent keyboard keys and key combinations. When using these values in a command, you must type the semicolons shown in this table in addition to the semicolons required by the escape sequence. The codes in parentheses are not available on some keyboards. ANSI.SYS will not interpret the codes in parentheses for those keyboards unless you specify the /X switch in the DEVICE command for ANSI.SYS.

    string is either the ASCII code for a single character or a string contained in quotation marks. For example, both 65 and "A" can be used to represent an uppercase A.

    IMPORTANT: Some of the values in the following table are not valid for all computers. Check your computer's documentation for values that are different.

List of keyboard strings
Key 	Code 	SHIFT+code 	CTRL+code 	ALT+code
F1 	0;59 	0;84 	0;94 	0;104
F2 	0;60 	0;85 	0;95 	0;105
F3 	0;61 	0;86 	0;96 	0;106
F4 	0;62 	0;87 	0;97 	0;107
F5 	0;63 	0;88 	0;98 	0;108
F6 	0;64 	0;89 	0;99 	0;109
F7 	0;65 	0;90 	0;100 	0;110
F8 	0;66 	0;91 	0;101 	0;111
F9 	0;67 	0;92 	0;102 	0;112
F10 	0;68 	0;93 	0;103 	0;113
F11 	0;133 	0;135 	0;137 	0;139
F12 	0;134 	0;136 	0;138 	0;140
HOME (num keypad) 	0;71 	55 	0;119 	--
UP ARROW (num keypad) 	0;72 	56 	(0;141) 	--
PAGE UP (num keypad) 	0;73 	57 	0;132 	--
LEFT ARROW (num keypad) 	0;75 	52 	0;115 	--
RIGHT ARROW (num keypad) 	0;77 	54 	0;116 	--
END (num keypad) 	0;79 	49 	0;117 	--
DOWN ARROW (num keypad) 	0;80 	50 	(0;145) 	--
PAGE DOWN (num keypad) 	0;81 	51 	0;118 	--
INSERT (num keypad) 	0;82 	48 	(0;146) 	--
DELETE (num keypad) 	0;83 	46 	(0;147) 	--
HOME 	(224;71) 	(224;71) 	(224;119) 	(224;151)
UP ARROW 	(224;72) 	(224;72) 	(224;141) 	(224;152)
PAGE UP 	(224;73) 	(224;73) 	(224;132) 	(224;153)
LEFT ARROW 	(224;75) 	(224;75) 	(224;115) 	(224;155)
RIGHT ARROW 	(224;77) 	(224;77) 	(224;116) 	(224;157)
END 	(224;79) 	(224;79) 	(224;117) 	(224;159)
DOWN ARROW 	(224;80) 	(224;80) 	(224;145) 	(224;154)
PAGE DOWN 	(224;81) 	(224;81) 	(224;118) 	(224;161)
INSERT 	(224;82) 	(224;82) 	(224;146) 	(224;162)
DELETE 	(224;83) 	(224;83) 	(224;147) 	(224;163)
PRINT SCREEN 	-- 	-- 	0;114 	--
PAUSE/BREAK 	-- 	-- 	0;0 	--
BACKSPACE 	8 	8 	127 	(0)
ENTER 	13 	-- 	10 	(0
TAB 	9 	0;15 	(0;148) 	(0;165)
NULL 	0;3 	-- 	-- 	--
A 	97 	65 	1 	0;30
B 	98 	66 	2 	0;48
C 	99 	66 	3 	0;46
D 	100 	68 	4 	0;32
E 	101 	69 	5 	0;18
F 	102 	70 	6 	0;33
G 	103 	71 	7 	0;34
H 	104 	72 	8 	0;35
I 	105 	73 	9 	0;23
J 	106 	74 	10 	0;36
K 	107 	75 	11 	0;37
L 	108 	76 	12 	0;38
M 	109 	77 	13 	0;50
N 	110 	78 	14 	0;49
O 	111 	79 	15 	0;24
P 	112 	80 	16 	0;25
Q 	113 	81 	17 	0;16
R 	114 	82 	18 	0;19
S 	115 	83 	19 	0;31
T 	116 	84 	20 	0;20
U 	117 	85 	21 	0;22
V 	118 	86 	22 	0;47
W 	119 	87 	23 	0;17
X 	120 	88 	24 	0;45
Y 	121 	89 	25 	0;21
Z 	122 	90 	26 	0;44
1 	49 	33 	-- 	0;120
2 	50 	64 	0 	0;121
3 	51 	35 	-- 	0;122
4 	52 	36 	-- 	0;123
5 	53 	37 	-- 	0;124
6 	54 	94 	30 	0;125
7 	55 	38 	-- 	0;126
8 	56 	42 	-- 	0;126
9 	57 	40 	-- 	0;127
0 	48 	41 	-- 	0;129
- 	45 	95 	31 	0;130
= 	61 	43 	--- 	0;131
[ 	91 	123 	27 	0;26
] 	93 	125 	29 	0;27
	92 	124 	28 	0;43
; 	59 	58 	-- 	0;39
' 	39 	34 	-- 	0;40
, 	44 	60 	-- 	0;51
. 	46 	62 	-- 	0;52
/ 	47 	63 	-- 	0;53
` 	96 	126 	-- 	(0;41)
ENTER (keypad) 	13 	-- 	10 	(0;166)
/ (keypad) 	47 	47 	(0;142) 	(0;74)
* (keypad) 	42 	(0;144) 	(0;78) 	--
- (keypad) 	45 	45 	(0;149) 	(0;164)
+ (keypad) 	43 	43 	(0;150) 	(0;55)
5 (keypad) 	(0;76) 	53 	(0;143) 	--
Resources

    Wikipedia: ANSI escape code
    Build your own Command Line with ANSI escape codes
    ascii-table: ANSI Escape sequences
    bluesock: ansi codes
    bash-hackers: Terminal Codes (ANSI/VT100) introduction
    XTerm Control Sequences
    VT100 – Various terminal manuals
    xterm.js – Supported Terminal Sequences

click to expand⣿⣿⣷⣶⣦⣤⣄⣀⡀ Control Characters - VT100 User Guide

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