DECSCUSR

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Standard

DECSCUSR (Set Cursor Style) is a CSI sequence that changes the cursor's shape and blink state.

Syntax

CSI Ps SP q    DECSCUSR — Set Cursor Style

Formal syntax

DECSCUSR = 0x1b, "[", [ Ps ], " ", "q" ;
Ps       = "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" ;   (* default: 0 *)

Parameters

Value	Description
`0`	Default cursor shape (typically blinking block)
`1`	Blinking block
`2`	Steady block
`3`	Blinking underline
`4`	Steady underline
`5`	Blinking bar (I-beam)
`6`	Steady bar (I-beam)

Description

Per the VT510 manual, DECSCUSR sets the style of the cursor. The original DEC specification only defined values 0-2 (block cursor, blinking or steady). XTerm extended this to include underline (3-4) and bar/I-beam (5-6) styles.

The parameter 0 resets to the terminal's default cursor style. Values 1 and 0 often behave identically (blinking block), though this varies by terminal.

Odd values select blinking cursors; even values select steady (non-blinking) cursors.

The bar (I-beam) cursor styles (5-6) are a widely adopted extension originally from XTerm. Most modern terminals support all six styles, though the exact cursor dimensions and blink rate may vary.

Examples

printf '\e[2 q'    # Steady block cursor
printf '\e[3 q'    # Blinking underline cursor
printf '\e[5 q'    # Blinking bar (I-beam) cursor
printf '\e[0 q'    # Reset to default cursor style

Specifications

Specification	Section
VT510 Reference	—

Terminal support

Terminal	Support	Version	Notes
Terminal Emulators
Alacritty	✓	v0.7.0
Bobcat	✓	0.9.0	Supported via TerminalCtrl library; configurable via profile settings in Bobcat (Terminal.cpp:488-497)
contour	✓	v0.1.0
foot	✓	Yes	Implemented at csi.c:1798-1832, supports all cursor styles
Ghostty	✓	v1.0.0
iTerm2	✓	Yes	Cursor style control fully implemented via VT100CSI_DECSCUSR (CSI SP q). Supports blinking/steady block, underline, and vertical bar cursors (params 0-6).
Kitty	✓	Yes	Supports cursor shapes: block, underline, beam
Konsole	✓	Yes	Supports block, underline, and bar cursor styles with blink control via CSI Ps SP q
mintty	✓	Yes	Implemented at src/termout.c:3517-3523. Supports cursor style (block/underline/bar) and blink control.
mlterm	✓	rel-3_8_2
PuTTY	✗	No	No implementation found in escape sequence parser
Rio	✓	v0.0.6
rxvt-unicode	✓	9.19
st	✓	0.6
terminology	✓	v1.10.0	Full support for block, underline, and bar cursor shapes
VT100	✗	No
VTE	✓	Yes	Supports 6 cursor styles: blinking/steady block, underline, and I-beam
WezTerm	✓	20191229-193639-e7aa2f3
Windows Terminal	✓	Yes	Full support for all cursor styles (block, underline, bar) with blinking/steady variants
xterm	✓	xterm-282
xterm.js	✓	2.3.0
Multiplexers
cy	✓	v0.1.0	Supports all cursor styles (block, underline, bar) with blinking variants
GNU Screen	✓	v.5.0.0	CSI Ps SP q implemented at src/ansi.c:1065
tmux	✓	1.7
tuios	✓	v0.0.15
Zellij	✓	v0.12.0	Supports all cursor styles: block, underline, and bar (steady and blinking)

Syntax​

Parameters​

Description​

Examples​

Specifications​

Terminal support​

See also​