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Reset highlight background (OSC 117)

Category: extensions · Baseline: rich · Tags: Operating System Commands (OSC), Xterm Extensions · Specification ↗

ESC ] 117 BEL
OSC 117 resets the selection highlight background color to the terminal's default. The sequence is ESC ] 117 BEL. The highlight background is set via OSC 17. Terminals that support customizable selection colors use this to restore the default appearance. Support is limited to xterm and terminals with full xterm color protocol compatibility.
How this is testedpartial
Send OSC 117 BEL and verify the terminal remains responsive (sequence consumed without error).

The same probe runs against headless backends (via Termless) and real terminal apps (via a daemon launched in each terminal). This lets us distinguish parser correctness from rendering correctness.

Analysis2026-04-06

Supported by all 3 tested terminals — universal adoption. Part of the Rich TUI baseline.

Supported by 5 of 14 backends (36%)

Terminal Applications

TerminalVersionSupportNotes
iTerm23.6.9✓ yes
Ghostty1.3.1✓ yes
Kitty0.46.2✓ yes
VS Code1.113.0? unknown
Warp0.2026.03.18.08.24.03? unknown
Cursor2.6.21? unknown
Terminal.app2.15? unknown

Headless Backends

Parser correctness only — a means the parser accepts the sequence.

BackendVersionSupportNotes
Alacritty0.26.0? unknown
vt100.js0.2.1? unknown
vterm0.2.0? unknown
WezTerm0.1.0-fork.5? unknown
xterm.js5.5.0? unknown