GNU Screen vs tmux

Side-by-side terminal feature comparison

Summary

GNU Screen

86%

126/147 passed

vs

tmux

92%

135/147 passed

13 features differ between these terminals

Feature Comparison

Character Sets

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
DEC line drawing character set	✓	✓
DEC Special Graphics	✓	✓
G0/G1 character set switching	✓	✓
UTF-8 mode	✓	✓

Cursor

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
CUD stops at bottom	✓	✓
CUP at screen boundaries	✓	✗
CUP with DECOM	✓	✓
CUU stops at top	✓	✓
Hide cursor (DECTCEM)	✓	✓
Cursor horizontal absolute (CHA)	✓	✓
Cursor position (CUP)	✓	✓
Cursor back (CUB)	✓	✓
Cursor down (CUD)	✓	✓
Cursor forward (CUF)	✓	✓
Cursor home	✓	✓
Cursor up (CUU)	✓	✓
Cursor next line (CNL)	✓	✓
Cursor position report (DSR 6)	✓	✓
Reverse Wrap (Mode 45)	✓	✓
Save/restore cursor (DECSC)	✓	✓
Cursor shape (DECSCUSR)	✓	✓

Device Status

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
Mode Report (DECRPM)	✗	✗
Request Setting (DECRQSS)	✗	✓
Primary device attributes (DA1)	✓	✓
Secondary Device Attributes (DA2)	✓	✓
Device status report (DSR 5)	✓	✓
Feature Reporting (TERM_FEATURES)	✗	✗
Tertiary Device Attributes (DA3)	✗	✗
Query Terminfo (XTGETTCAP)	✗	✗
Terminal Version (XTVERSION)	✗	✓

Editing

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
Delete characters (DCH)	✓	✓
Delete lines (DL)	✓	✓
Insert characters (ICH)	✓	✓
Insert lines (IL)	✓	✓
Repeat character (REP)	✗	✓

Erase

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
Erase character (ECH)	✓	✓
ED at scroll region boundary	✓	✓
EL erases with bg color	✓	✓
Erase line (EL 2)	✓	✓
Erase to BOL (EL 1)	✓	✓
Erase to EOL (EL 0)	✓	✓
Erase above (ED 1)	✓	✓
Erase screen (ED 2)	✓	✓
Erase below (ED 0)	✓	✓
Erase scrollback (ED 3)	✓	✓
Selective Erase (DECSED)	✓	✓

Extensions

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
iTerm2 Inline Images (OSC 1337)	✓	✓
Kitty graphics protocol	✗	✗
Kitty keyboard protocol	✗	✗
Desktop Notifications (OSC 9/777)	✓	✓
VS Code Shell Integration (OSC 633)	✓	✓
Icon and title (OSC 0)	✓	✓
Foreground color query (OSC 10)	✗	✗
Background color query (OSC 11)	✗	✗
iTerm2 Capability Reporting (OSC 1337)	✗	✗
iTerm2 Cell Size Reporting (OSC 1337)	✗	✗
Window title (OSC 2)	✓	✓
Clipboard access (OSC 52)	✓	✓
Current directory (OSC 7)	✓	✓
Hyperlinks (OSC 8)	✓	✓
Text reflow on resize	✓	✓
Semantic prompts (OSC 133)	✓	✓
Sixel graphics	✗	✓
Sixel support in DA1	?	?
24-bit truecolor	✓	✓

Input Protocols

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
Button-Event Mouse (1002)	✓	✓
CSI u Key Encoding	✓	✓
modifyOtherKeys	✓	✓
Pixel Mouse Reporting (1016)	✓	✓
urxvt Mouse Reporting (1015)	✓	✓
X10 Mouse Tracking (9)	✓	✓

Modes

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
Enter alt screen (DECSET 1049)	✓	✓
Exit alt screen (DECRST 1049)	✓	✓
App cursor keys (DECCKM)	✓	✓
Application keypad (DECKPAM)	✓	✓
Auto-wrap (DECAWM)	✓	✓
Bracketed paste (DECSET 2004)	✓	✓
Focus tracking (DECSET 1004)	✓	✓
Insert/replace mode (IRM)	✓	✓
Left/Right Margins (DECLRMM, Mode 69)	✓	✓
All motion mouse (DECSET 1003)	✓	✓
SGR mouse mode (DECSET 1006)	✓	✓
Mouse tracking (DECSET 1000)	✓	✓
Origin mode (DECOM)	✓	✗
Reverse video (DECSCNM)	✓	✓
Synchronized output (DECSET 2026)	✓	✓

Reset

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
Backend reset() method	✓	✓
Full reset (RIS)	✓	✓
SGR reset clears attributes	✓	✓
Soft reset (DECSTR)	✓	✓

Scrollback

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
Scrollback accumulates	✓	✓
Alt screen separate scrollback	✗	✓
DECSTBM constrains scrolling	✓	✓
DECSTBM reset to full screen	✓	✓
Reverse index (RI)	✓	✓
Scroll down (SD)	✓	✓
Scroll up (SU)	✓	✓
Scroll region (DECSTBM)	✓	✓
Total line count	✓	✓

SGR (Text Styling)

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
256-color bg (SGR 48;5)	✓	✓
Bright bg colors (SGR 100-107)	✓	✓
Default bg color (SGR 49)	✓	✓
Standard bg colors (SGR 40-47)	✓	✓
24-bit bg (SGR 48;2)	✓	✓
Blink (SGR 5)	✓	✓
Bold (SGR 1)	✓	✓
Faint/dim (SGR 2)	✓	✓
256-color fg (SGR 38;5)	✓	✓
Bright fg colors (SGR 90-97)	✓	✓
Default fg color (SGR 39)	✓	✓
Standard fg colors (SGR 30-37)	✓	✓
24-bit fg (SGR 38;2)	✓	✓
Hidden/invisible (SGR 8)	✓	✓
Inverse video (SGR 7)	✓	✓
Italic (SGR 3)	✓	✓
Overline (SGR 53)	✓	✓
Reset all (SGR 0)	✓	✓
Reset bold/dim (SGR 22)	✓	✓
Reset inverse (SGR 27)	✓	✓
Reset italic (SGR 23)	✓	✓
Reset underline (SGR 24)	✓	✓
Strikethrough (SGR 9)	✓	✓
Underline color (SGR 58)	✓	✓
Curly underline (SGR 4:3)	✓	✓
Dashed underline (SGR 4:5)	✓	✓
Dotted underline (SGR 4:4)	✓	✓
Double underline (SGR 21)	✓	✓
Underline (SGR 4)	✓	✓

Text

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
Backspace (BS)	✓	✓
Basic text rendering	✓	✓
Combining characters (0 cols)	✓	✓
Carriage return	✓	✓
Index (IND)	✓	✓
Line feed	✓	✓
Next line (NEL)	✓	✓
Overwrite at cursor	✓	✓
Reverse Index at Scroll Top	✓	✓
Tab stops	✗	✓
CJK wide chars (2 cols)	✓	✓
Emoji wide chars (2 cols)	✗	✓
Regional indicator flags (2 cols)	✓	✓
Variation selector 16 (emoji presentation)	✗	✓
Emoji ZWJ sequences (2 cols)	✗	✓
Text wraps at width	✓	✓

Unicode

Feature	GNU Screen	tmux
East Asian Ambiguous Width	✓	✓
Grapheme Cluster Cursor Movement	✗	✓
Tab Stops (HT)	✗	✓
Wide Char at Line Wrap	✓	✓

Only in GNU Screen

2 features supported by GNU Screen but not tmux:

• CUP at screen boundariesCursor
• Origin mode (DECOM)Modes

Only in tmux

11 features supported by tmux but not GNU Screen:

• Request Setting (DECRQSS)Device Status
• Terminal Version (XTVERSION)Device Status
• Repeat character (REP)Editing
• Sixel graphicsExtensions
• Alt screen separate scrollbackScrollback
• Tab stopsText
• Emoji wide chars (2 cols)Text
• Variation selector 16 (emoji presentation)Text
• Emoji ZWJ sequences (2 cols)Text
• Grapheme Cluster Cursor MovementUnicode
• Tab Stops (HT)Unicode

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