Terminal.app vs vterm

Side-by-side terminal feature comparison

Summary

Terminal.app

92%

48/52 passed

vs

vterm

97%

124/128 passed

4 partial

86 features differ between these terminals

Feature Comparison

Character Sets

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

Cursor

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

Erase

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

Modes

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

Scrollback

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

Only in Terminal.app

3 features supported by Terminal.app but not vterm:

• extensions.bracketed-pasteExtensions
• extensions.da1Extensions
• extensions.da2Extensions

Only in vterm

83 features supported by vterm 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
• DECRQSS (Request Setting)Device Status
• Primary device attributes (DA1)Device Status
• Device status report (DSR 5)Device Status
• XTGETTCAP (Query Terminfo)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
• Selective Erase (DECSED)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
• Sixel graphicsExtensions
• 24-bit truecolorExtensions
• CSI u Key EncodingInput Protocols
• 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
• Backend reset() methodReset
• 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
• Index (IND)Text
• Next line (NEL)Text
• Overwrite at cursorText
• Reverse Index at Scroll TopText
• CJK wide chars (2 cols)Text
• Emoji wide chars (2 cols)Text
• Grapheme Cluster Cursor MovementUnicode

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