iTerm2 vs Terminal.app

Side-by-side terminal feature comparison

Summary

iTerm2

99%

110/111 passed

vs

Terminal.app

92%

48/52 passed

101 features differ between these terminals

Feature Comparison

Character Sets

Feature	iTerm2	Terminal.app
DEC Special Graphics	✓	?
UTF-8 mode	✓	?

Cursor

Feature	iTerm2	Terminal.app
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	iTerm2	Terminal.app
Mode Reporting (DECRPM)	✓	✗
DECRQSS (Request Setting)	?	?
Primary device attributes (DA1)	✓	?
Secondary Device Attributes (DA2)	?	✓
Device status report (DSR 5)	✓	?
Tertiary Device Attributes (DA3)	?	✓
XTGETTCAP (Query Terminfo)	?	?

Editing

Feature	iTerm2	Terminal.app
Delete characters (DCH)	✓	?
Delete lines (DL)	✓	?
Insert characters (ICH)	✓	?
Insert lines (IL)	✓	?
Repeat character (REP)	✓	?

Erase

Feature	iTerm2	Terminal.app
Erase character (ECH)	✓	?
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	iTerm2	Terminal.app
extensions.bracketed-paste	?	✓
extensions.da1	?	✓
extensions.da2	?	✓
iTerm2 Inline Images	?	✓
Kitty graphics protocol	✓	?
Kitty keyboard protocol	✓	✗
Desktop Notifications (OSC 9/777)	?	✓
OSC 633 VS Code Integration	?	✓
Icon and title (OSC 0)	✓	?
Foreground color query (OSC 10)	✓	?
Background color query (OSC 11)	✓	?
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	✗	?
extensions.sixel-da1	✓	?
24-bit truecolor	✓	?

Input Protocols

Feature	iTerm2	Terminal.app
Button-Event Mouse (1002)	?	✓
CSI u Key Encoding	?	?
modifyOtherKeys	?	✓
Pixel Mouse Reporting (1016)	?	✓
urxvt Mouse Reporting (1015)	?	✓
X10 Mouse Tracking (9)	?	✓

Modes

Feature	iTerm2	Terminal.app
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	iTerm2	Terminal.app
Backend reset() method	?	?
Full reset (RIS)	✓	✓
SGR reset clears attributes	✓	✓
Soft reset (DECSTR)	✓	?

Scrollback

Feature	iTerm2	Terminal.app
Scrollback accumulates	✓	?
Alt screen separate scrollback	✓	?
Reverse index (RI)	✓	✓
Scroll down (SD)	✓	?
Scroll up (SU)	✓	✓
Scroll region (DECSTBM)	✓	?
Total line count	✓	?

SGR (Text Styling)

Feature	iTerm2	Terminal.app
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 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	iTerm2	Terminal.app
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	iTerm2	Terminal.app
East Asian Ambiguous Width	?	✓
Grapheme Cluster Cursor Movement	?	?
Tab Stops (HT)	?	✓
Wide Char at Line Wrap	?	✓

Only in iTerm2

80 features supported by iTerm2 but not Terminal.app:

• DEC Special GraphicsCharacter Sets
• UTF-8 modeCharacter Sets
• Hide cursor (DECTCEM)Cursor
• Cursor horizontal absolute (CHA)Cursor
• Cursor next line (CNL)Cursor
• Cursor position report (DSR 6)Cursor
• Cursor shape (DECSCUSR)Cursor
• Mode Reporting (DECRPM)Device Status
• Primary device attributes (DA1)Device Status
• Device status report (DSR 5)Device Status
• Delete characters (DCH)Editing
• Delete lines (DL)Editing
• Insert characters (ICH)Editing
• Insert lines (IL)Editing
• Repeat character (REP)Editing
• Erase character (ECH)Erase
• Erase line (EL 2)Erase
• Erase to BOL (EL 1)Erase
• Erase above (ED 1)Erase
• Erase below (ED 0)Erase
• Erase scrollback (ED 3)Erase
• Kitty graphics protocolExtensions
• Kitty keyboard protocolExtensions
• Icon and title (OSC 0)Extensions
• Foreground color query (OSC 10)Extensions
• Background color query (OSC 11)Extensions
• Clipboard access (OSC 52)Extensions
• Current directory (OSC 7)Extensions
• Hyperlinks (OSC 8)Extensions
• Text reflow on resizeExtensions
• Semantic prompts (OSC 133)Extensions
• extensions.sixel-da1Extensions
• 24-bit truecolorExtensions
• App cursor keys (DECCKM)Modes
• Application keypad (DECKPAM)Modes
• Bracketed paste (DECSET 2004)Modes
• Focus tracking (DECSET 1004)Modes
• Insert/replace mode (IRM)Modes
• All motion mouse (DECSET 1003)Modes
• SGR mouse mode (DECSET 1006)Modes
• Mouse tracking (DECSET 1000)Modes
• Origin mode (DECOM)Modes
• Reverse video (DECSCNM)Modes
• Synchronized output (DECSET 2026)Modes
• Soft reset (DECSTR)Reset
• Scrollback accumulatesScrollback
• Alt screen separate scrollbackScrollback
• Scroll down (SD)Scrollback
• Scroll region (DECSTBM)Scrollback
• Total line countScrollback
• 256-color bg (SGR 48;5)SGR (Text Styling)
• Bright bg colors (SGR 100-107)SGR (Text Styling)
• Default bg color (SGR 49)SGR (Text Styling)
• Standard bg colors (SGR 40-47)SGR (Text Styling)
• Blink (SGR 5)SGR (Text Styling)
• Faint/dim (SGR 2)SGR (Text Styling)
• 256-color fg (SGR 38;5)SGR (Text Styling)
• Bright fg colors (SGR 90-97)SGR (Text Styling)
• Default fg color (SGR 39)SGR (Text Styling)
• Standard fg colors (SGR 30-37)SGR (Text Styling)
• Hidden/invisible (SGR 8)SGR (Text Styling)
• Inverse video (SGR 7)SGR (Text Styling)
• Overline (SGR 53)SGR (Text Styling)
• Reset bold/dim (SGR 22)SGR (Text Styling)
• Reset inverse (SGR 27)SGR (Text Styling)
• Reset underline (SGR 24)SGR (Text Styling)
• Underline color (SGR 58)SGR (Text Styling)
• Dashed underline (SGR 4:5)SGR (Text Styling)
• Dotted underline (SGR 4:4)SGR (Text Styling)
• Double underline (SGR 21)SGR (Text Styling)
• Backspace (BS)Text
• Combining characters (0 cols)Text
• Index (IND)Text
• Next line (NEL)Text
• Overwrite at cursorText
• CJK wide chars (2 cols)Text
• Emoji wide chars (2 cols)Text
• Regional indicator flags (2 cols)Text
• Variation selector 16 (emoji presentation)Text
• Emoji ZWJ sequences (2 cols)Text

Only in Terminal.app

18 features supported by Terminal.app but not iTerm2:

• Reverse Wrap (Mode 45)Cursor
• Secondary Device Attributes (DA2)Device Status
• Tertiary Device Attributes (DA3)Device Status
• extensions.bracketed-pasteExtensions
• extensions.da1Extensions
• extensions.da2Extensions
• iTerm2 Inline ImagesExtensions
• Desktop Notifications (OSC 9/777)Extensions
• OSC 633 VS Code IntegrationExtensions
• Button-Event Mouse (1002)Input Protocols
• modifyOtherKeysInput Protocols
• Pixel Mouse Reporting (1016)Input Protocols
• urxvt Mouse Reporting (1015)Input Protocols
• X10 Mouse Tracking (9)Input Protocols
• Left/Right Margins (DECLRMM, Mode 69)Modes
• East Asian Ambiguous WidthUnicode
• Tab Stops (HT)Unicode
• Wide Char at Line WrapUnicode

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