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DEC VT220
Historical Terminal
Reference entry — no automated probe data
Added editing operations and 8-bit controls. DEC, 1983.
See also: VT220 standard features
Historical Terminal · 1983 · Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
The DEC VT220, released in November 1983, was DEC's most commercially successful terminal — over 1 million units shipped, commanding 42% market share in 1986. Priced at $1,295, it replaced the VT100 as the standard office terminal.
The VT220 introduced insert/delete operations (ICH, DCH, IL, DL) that are fundamental to every full-screen terminal application — vim, tmux, less all depend on these sequences. It also added 8-bit control codes, user-defined keys, and national replacement character sets.
The VT220's LK201 keyboard layout shaped every keyboard that followed. IBM's Model M design team explicitly copied the inverted-T arrow cluster, navigation keys, and numeric keypad arrangement. The VT220 also controversially moved the Escape key from the upper-left corner, sparking a debate that persists through Vim users today.
Significance: Introduced editing operations (ICH/DCH/IL/DL) used by every TUI application
Analysis2026-03-26
DEC VT220 (1983) was manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Introduced editing operations (ICH/DCH/IL/DL) used by every TUI application. This is a historical reference entry — no automated probe data is available for this terminal.