iTerm2 vs vterm

Side-by-side terminal feature comparison

Summary

iTerm2

99%

110/111 passed

vs

vterm

97%

124/128 passed

4 partial

32 features differ between these terminals

Feature Comparison

Character Sets

Feature	iTerm2	vterm
DEC Special Graphics	✓	✓
UTF-8 mode	✓	✓

Cursor

Feature	iTerm2	vterm
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	vterm
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	vterm
Delete characters (DCH)	✓	✓
Delete lines (DL)	✓	✓
Insert characters (ICH)	✓	✓
Insert lines (IL)	✓	✓
Repeat character (REP)	✓	✓

Erase

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

Modes

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

Scrollback

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

Only in iTerm2

5 features supported by iTerm2 but not vterm:

• extensions.sixel-da1Extensions
• Combining characters (0 cols)Text
• Regional indicator flags (2 cols)Text
• Variation selector 16 (emoji presentation)Text
• Emoji ZWJ sequences (2 cols)Text

Only in vterm

23 features supported by vterm but not iTerm2:

• Reverse Wrap (Mode 45)Cursor
• DECRQSS (Request Setting)Device Status
• Secondary Device Attributes (DA2)Device Status
• Tertiary Device Attributes (DA3)Device Status
• XTGETTCAP (Query Terminfo)Device Status
• Selective Erase (DECSED)Erase
• iTerm2 Inline ImagesExtensions
• Desktop Notifications (OSC 9/777)Extensions
• OSC 633 VS Code IntegrationExtensions
• Sixel graphicsExtensions
• Button-Event Mouse (1002)Input Protocols
• CSI u Key EncodingInput 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
• Backend reset() methodReset
• Reverse Index at Scroll TopText
• East Asian Ambiguous WidthUnicode
• Grapheme Cluster Cursor MovementUnicode
• Tab Stops (HT)Unicode
• Wide Char at Line WrapUnicode

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