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Cursor shape (DECSCUSR)

Category: cursor · Tags: DEC Private Modes, VT510 · Specification ↗

DECSCUSR (DEC Set Cursor Style) changes the cursor appearance. The sequence is ESC [ N SP q where N is: 0 or 1 (blinking block), 2 (steady block), 3 (blinking underline), 4 (steady underline), 5 (blinking bar/I-beam), 6 (steady bar). Applications use this to signal editing mode — for example, vim uses a block cursor in normal mode and a bar cursor in insert mode.

Supported by 4 of 6 backends (67%)

Support Matrix

BackendVersionSupportNotes
Alacritty0.26.0✓ yes
Ghostty1.3.1✓ yes
Kitty0.40.0✓ yes
WezTerm0.1.0-fork.5✓ yes
xterm.js5.5.0~ partialParser handles DECSCUSR but headless mode doesn't expose cursor shape
vt1000.1.0✗ noNot implemented — pure TypeScript emulator

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