--- url: /reference/terminal-matrix.md --- # Terminal Compatibility Matrix *Terminal capabilities last verified: 2026-07.* Comprehensive reference of terminal emulator feature support as detected by Silvery. ## Capability Matrix | Terminal | Colors | Kitty KB | Kitty Gfx | Sixel | OSC 52 | Hyperlinks | Notify | Paste | Mouse | Sync | Unicode | | ------------ | -------- | -------- | --------- | ----- | ------ | ---------- | ------ | ----- | ----- | ---- | ------- | | Ghostty | 24-bit | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | 777 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | kitty | 24-bit | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | 99 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | WezTerm | 24-bit | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | 777 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | iTerm2 | 24-bit | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | 9 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | foot | 24-bit | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | 777 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Alacritty | 24-bit | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | VS Code | 24-bit | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | | Terminal.app | 256 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | | tmux | 24-bit\* | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | | TERM=dumb | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | \* tmux color support depends on the outer terminal and tmux configuration. For comprehensive, feature-by-feature terminal compatibility data beyond what Silvery detects, see [terminfo.dev](https://terminfo.dev). ## Column Descriptions | Column | Protocol/Standard | Description | | ---------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | Colors | SGR | Color depth: 24-bit (truecolor), 256, 16 (basic), or none | | Kitty KB | CSI > u | Kitty keyboard protocol for unambiguous key identification | | Kitty Gfx | APC G | Kitty graphics protocol for inline image display | | Sixel | DCS q | Sixel graphics for inline image display | | OSC 52 | OSC 52 | Clipboard access (works over SSH) | | Hyperlinks | OSC 8 | Clickable hyperlinks in terminal output | | Notify | OSC 9/777/99 | Capability-selected desktop notification protocol | | Paste | DEC 2004 | Bracketed paste mode (distinguish pasted from typed input) | | Mouse | SGR 1003/1006/1016 | SGR mouse tracking (click, drag, scroll); optional SGR-Pixels | | Sync | DEC 2026 | Synchronized output (batch rendering to prevent tearing) | | Unicode | - | Unicode and emoji rendering | ## Terminal Details ### Ghostty * **Env**: `TERM_PROGRAM=ghostty`, `COLORTERM=truecolor` * **Keyboard**: Full Kitty keyboard protocol (Cmd, Hyper, event types) * **Images**: Kitty graphics protocol * **Clipboard**: OSC 52 (works over SSH) * **Notifications**: OSC 777 * **Notes**: Modern GPU-accelerated terminal. ### kitty * **Env**: `TERM=xterm-kitty`, `COLORTERM=truecolor` * **Keyboard**: Full Kitty keyboard protocol (originator of the spec) * **Images**: Kitty graphics protocol (originator of the spec) * **Clipboard**: OSC 52 * **Notifications**: OSC 99, including buttons and typed activation replies * **Notes**: Feature-rich terminal, defines many protocols used by others. ### WezTerm * **Env**: `TERM_PROGRAM=WezTerm`, `COLORTERM=truecolor` * **Keyboard**: Kitty keyboard protocol * **Images**: Sixel graphics * **Clipboard**: OSC 52 * **Notifications**: OSC 777 * **Notes**: Cross-platform (macOS, Linux, Windows). Also supports iTerm2 image protocol. ### iTerm2 * **Env**: `TERM_PROGRAM=iTerm.app`, `COLORTERM=truecolor` * **Keyboard**: Legacy xterm sequences only (no Kitty protocol) * **Images**: Proprietary iTerm2 inline image protocol (not Kitty or Sixel) * **Clipboard**: OSC 52 * **Notifications**: OSC 9 * **Notes**: macOS only. Most popular macOS terminal after Terminal.app. ### foot * **Env**: `TERM=foot` or `TERM=foot-extra`, `COLORTERM=truecolor` * **Notifications**: OSC 777 * **Keyboard**: Kitty keyboard protocol * **Images**: Sixel graphics * **Clipboard**: OSC 52 * **Notes**: Wayland-native, minimalist, fast. Linux only. ### Alacritty * **Env**: `TERM_PROGRAM=Alacritty`, `COLORTERM=truecolor` * **Keyboard**: Legacy xterm sequences only * **Images**: None (no image protocol support) * **Clipboard**: OSC 52 * **Notes**: GPU-accelerated, cross-platform. Focused on performance over features. Sync output since 0.14. ### VS Code Integrated Terminal * **Env**: `TERM_PROGRAM=vscode`, `COLORTERM=truecolor` * **Notes**: Embedded terminal in VS Code. Basic capabilities. xterm.js-based. ### Terminal.app (macOS) * **Env**: `TERM_PROGRAM=Apple_Terminal`, `TERM=xterm-256color` * **Colors**: 256 only (no truecolor) * **Notes**: macOS built-in. Most limited of common terminals. No OSC 52, no hyperlinks. ### tmux * **Env**: `TERM=tmux-256color`, also `TMUX` env var set * **Colors**: Passes through outer terminal's color support (configure with `set -as terminal-features ",*:RGB"`) * **Keyboard**: Does not pass through Kitty keyboard protocol * **Notes**: Terminal multiplexer. Capabilities largely depend on the outer terminal and configuration. Use `set -sg escape-time 0` for responsive input. ### CI / Headless (TERM=dumb) * **Env**: `TERM=dumb` or no TERM set * **Notes**: No advanced capabilities. Use `renderString()` with `plain: true` for clean output. ## Detection Method Silvery detects capabilities synchronously from environment variables at startup: | Variable | Purpose | | -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | `TERM` | Terminal type (e.g., `xterm-256color`, `xterm-kitty`) | | `TERM_PROGRAM` | Terminal emulator name (e.g., `ghostty`, `iTerm.app`) | | `COLORTERM` | Color capability hint (`truecolor` or `24bit`) | | `NO_COLOR` | Disable all color output when set | ```typescript import { createTerminalProfile } from "@silvery/ag-term" const profile = createTerminalProfile() const caps = profile.caps // caps.colorLevel, caps.kittyKeyboard, caps.osc52, etc. // profile.colorLevel, profile.caps.colorProvenance — resolved + attribution ``` No I/O is performed -- detection is instant but limited to what env vars reveal. For runtime detection of specific protocols (like Kitty keyboard support), use: ```typescript import { detectKittyFromStdio } from "@silvery/ag-term" const result = await detectKittyFromStdio(process.stdout, process.stdin, 200) // result.supported: boolean, result.flags: number ``` ## References * [ECMA-48 / ISO 6429](https://www.ecma-international.org/publications-and-standards/standards/ecma-48/) -- CSI/OSC standard * [XTerm Control Sequences](https://invisible-island.net/xterm/ctlseqs/ctlseqs.html) -- de facto terminal standard * [Kitty Keyboard Protocol](https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/keyboard-protocol/) * [Kitty Graphics Protocol](https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/graphics-protocol/) * [Sixel Graphics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixel) * [OSC 8 Hyperlinks](https://gist.github.com/egmontkob/eb114294efbcd5adb1944c9f3cb5feda) * [Synchronized Output](https://gist.github.com/christianparpart/d8a62cc1ab659194337d73e399004036) * [Bracketed Paste](https://cirw.in/blog/bracketed-paste) * [NO\_COLOR Standard](https://no-color.org/)