Features›Editing

Editing

Insert and delete operations for characters and lines. ICH, DCH, IL, and DL are core VT100/VT220 sequences used by virtually every full-screen terminal application (vim, tmux, less). They allow inserting blank space or removing content at the cursor position, shifting surrounding content to accommodate the change. Without VT220's editing sequences, every text insertion in vim would require redrawing the entire line. ICH and DCH made character-level editing practical — transforming terminals from display devices into interactive editors.

17 features in this category

Analysis2026-04-06

The Editing category covers 17 features. Top performers (100%): Ghostty, Kitty, iTerm2, Terminal.app, vterm.js and 6 more. Common gaps: Insert characters (ICH) (1 terminal fails), Delete characters (DCH) (1 terminal fails), Insert lines (IL) (1 terminal fails).

Terminal Applications

Feature	iTerm2	Ghostty	VS Code	Warp	Cursor	Terminal.app
DECCARA — change attrs in rectangle	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECCRA — copy rectangular area	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECDC — delete columns (CSI Ps ' ~)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECERA — erase rectangular area	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECFRA — fill rectangular area	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECIC — insert columns (CSI Ps ' })	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECRARA — reverse attrs in rectangle	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECRQCRA — checksum rectangular area	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECSACE — select attribute-change extent	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECSERA — selective erase rectangular area	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Delete characters (DCH)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Delete lines (DL)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Insert characters (ICH)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Insert lines (IL)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Repeat character (REP)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
SL — shift left (CSI Ps SP @)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
SR — shift right (CSI Ps SP A)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Headless Backends

Parser correctness tested via Termless. A ✓ means the parser accepts the sequence, not that it renders correctly.

Feature	vterm	xterm.js	Kitty	Alacritty	WezTerm	vt100.js
DECCARA — change attrs in rectangle	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECCRA — copy rectangular area	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECDC — delete columns (CSI Ps ' ~)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECERA — erase rectangular area	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECFRA — fill rectangular area	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECIC — insert columns (CSI Ps ' })	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECRARA — reverse attrs in rectangle	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECRQCRA — checksum rectangular area	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DECSACE — select attribute-change extent	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
DECSERA — selective erase rectangular area	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Delete characters (DCH)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Delete lines (DL)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Insert characters (ICH)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Insert lines (IL)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Repeat character (REP)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
SL — shift left (CSI Ps SP @)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
SR — shift right (CSI Ps SP A)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗

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