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XTRESTORE — restore DEC private modes (CSI ? Pm r)

Category: modes · Baseline: rich · Tags: Xterm Extensions, DEC Private Modes · Specification ↗

ESC [ ? Pm r
XTRESTORE restores the most recently saved values for one or more DEC private modes. The sequence is CSI ? Pm r where Pm is a semicolon-separated list of mode numbers. Always paired with a matching XTSAVE (CSI ? Pm s) earlier in the session. Applications use this to clean up mode changes on exit without needing to remember (or query) the original values. Note that CSI Pt ; Pb r without the ? intermediate is DECSTBM (set top/bottom margin) — the question mark distinguishes the private-mode restore. Adopted by xterm, Ghostty, Kitty, WezTerm, foot, and other modern terminals.
How this is testedautomated
Send \x1b[?7s followed by \x1b[?7r, verify the sequences are consumed and the terminal stays responsive.

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 8 of 9 terminals (89%). Not supported by: Alacritty. Part of the Rich TUI baseline. Notes: Alacritty: XTRESTORE private mode restore not implemented by alacritty.

Supported by 9 of 14 backends (64%)

Terminal Applications

TerminalVersionSupportNotes
iTerm23.6.9✓ yesSequence consumed; terminal responsive
Ghostty1.3.1✓ yesSequence consumed; terminal responsive
Terminal.app2.15✓ yesSequence consumed; terminal responsive
Kitty0.46.2✓ yesXTRESTORE private mode restore not exposed via Python batch bridge
VS Code1.113.0? unknown
Warp0.2026.03.18.08.24.03? unknown
Cursor2.6.21? unknown

Headless Backends

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

BackendVersionSupportNotes
vt100.js0.2.1✓ yes
vterm0.2.0✓ yes
xterm.js5.5.0✓ yes
WezTerm0.1.0-fork.5~ partialXTRESTORE private mode restore not exposed in headless mode
Alacritty0.26.0✗ noXTRESTORE private mode restore not implemented by alacritty