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Secondary Device Attributes (DA2)

Category: device · Baseline: modern · Tags: VT220 · Specification ↗

ESC [ > c
DA2 (CSI > c) returns the terminal's type, firmware version, and ROM cartridge registration number. Modern terminals use DA2 to identify themselves — e.g., xterm returns CSI > 41 ; version ; 0 c. This is commonly used for terminal detection.
How this is testedautomated
Send CSI > c, check for a CSI > Pp ; Pv ; Pc c response via onResponse callback.

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 11 of 12 terminals (92%). Not supported by: vt100.js. Part of the Modern TUI baseline. Notes: vt100.js: No output stream — pure TypeScript emulator.

Supported by 10 of 14 backends (71%)

Terminal Applications

TerminalVersionSupportNotes
iTerm23.6.9✓ yes
Ghostty1.3.1✓ yes
VS Code✓ yes
Warp✓ yes
Cursor✓ yes
Terminal.app✓ yes

Headless Backends

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

BackendVersionSupportNotes
vterm0.2.0✓ yes
xterm.js5.5.0✓ yes
Alacritty0.26.0~ partialHeadless mode has no output stream for DA2 responses
Kitty0.40.0~ partialHeadless mode has no output stream for DA2 responses
WezTerm0.1.0-fork.5~ partialHeadless mode has no output stream for DA2 responses
vt100.js0.2.1✗ noNo output stream — pure TypeScript emulator