tmux vs vt100

Side-by-side terminal feature comparison

Summary

tmux

92%

135/147 passed

vs

vt100

58%

85/147 passed

3 partial

58 features differ between these terminals

Feature Comparison

Character Sets

Feature	tmux	vt100
DEC line drawing character set	✓	✓
DEC Special Graphics	✓	✓
G0/G1 character set switching	✓	✓
UTF-8 mode	✓	✓

Cursor

Feature	tmux	vt100
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	tmux	vt100
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	tmux	vt100
Delete characters (DCH)	✓	✓
Delete lines (DL)	✓	✓
Insert characters (ICH)	✓	✓
Insert lines (IL)	✓	✓
Repeat character (REP)	✓	✗

Erase

Feature	tmux	vt100
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	tmux	vt100
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	tmux	vt100
Button-Event Mouse (1002)	✓	✗
CSI u Key Encoding	✓	✗
modifyOtherKeys	✓	✗
Pixel Mouse Reporting (1016)	✓	✗
urxvt Mouse Reporting (1015)	✓	✗
X10 Mouse Tracking (9)	✓	✗

Modes

Feature	tmux	vt100
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	tmux	vt100
Backend reset() method	✓	✓
Full reset (RIS)	✓	✓
SGR reset clears attributes	✓	✓
Soft reset (DECSTR)	✓	✓

Scrollback

Feature	tmux	vt100
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	tmux	vt100
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	tmux	vt100
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	tmux	vt100
East Asian Ambiguous Width	✓	✓
Grapheme Cluster Cursor Movement	✓	✓
Tab Stops (HT)	✓	✓
Wide Char at Line Wrap	✓	✗

Only in tmux

51 features supported by tmux but not vt100:

• CUP with DECOMCursor
• Cursor shape (DECSCUSR)Cursor
• Request Setting (DECRQSS)Device Status
• Secondary Device Attributes (DA2)Device Status
• Terminal Version (XTVERSION)Device Status
• Repeat character (REP)Editing
• EL erases with bg colorErase
• Selective Erase (DECSED)Erase
• iTerm2 Inline Images (OSC 1337)Extensions
• Desktop Notifications (OSC 9/777)Extensions
• VS Code Shell Integration (OSC 633)Extensions
• Current directory (OSC 7)Extensions
• Hyperlinks (OSC 8)Extensions
• Text reflow on resizeExtensions
• Semantic prompts (OSC 133)Extensions
• Sixel graphicsExtensions
• 24-bit truecolorExtensions
• 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
• Enter alt screen (DECSET 1049)Modes
• Bracketed paste (DECSET 2004)Modes
• Focus tracking (DECSET 1004)Modes
• Left/Right Margins (DECLRMM, Mode 69)Modes
• All motion mouse (DECSET 1003)Modes
• SGR mouse mode (DECSET 1006)Modes
• Mouse tracking (DECSET 1000)Modes
• Alt screen separate scrollbackScrollback
• 256-color bg (SGR 48;5)SGR (Text Styling)
• Bright bg colors (SGR 100-107)SGR (Text Styling)
• 24-bit bg (SGR 48;2)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)
• 24-bit fg (SGR 38;2)SGR (Text Styling)
• Italic (SGR 3)SGR (Text Styling)
• Strikethrough (SGR 9)SGR (Text Styling)
• Underline color (SGR 58)SGR (Text Styling)
• Curly underline (SGR 4:3)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)
• Combining characters (0 cols)Text
• CJK wide chars (2 cols)Text
• Emoji wide chars (2 cols)Text
• Regional indicator flags (2 cols)Text
• Variation selector 16 (emoji presentation)Text
• Wide Char at Line WrapUnicode

Only in vt100

4 features supported by vt100 but not tmux:

• CUP at screen boundariesCursor
• Foreground color query (OSC 10)Extensions
• Background color query (OSC 11)Extensions
• Origin mode (DECOM)Modes

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