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Kitty graphics: animation
The animation frame action (
a=f) adds animation frames to a previously transmitted image. Supports frame composition modes (overwrite, blend), per-frame timing, and looping. Not all terminals that support kitty graphics support animation.How this is testedautomated
Transmit a base image, then add an animation frame with
Transmit a base image, then add an animation frame with
a=f. Check response for success (not EINVAL).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 10 of 14 backends (71%)
Terminal Applications
| Terminal | Version | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| iTerm2 | 3.6.9 | ✓ yes | |
| Ghostty | 1.3.1 | ✓ yes | |
| VS Code | ✓ yes | ||
| Warp | ✓ yes | ||
| Cursor | ✓ yes | ||
| Terminal.app | ✓ yes |
Headless Backends
Parser correctness only — a ✓ means the parser accepts the sequence.
| Backend | Version | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitty | 0.40.0 | ✓ yes | |
| vterm | 0.2.0 | ✓ yes | |
| Alacritty | 0.26.0 | ✗ no | Kitty graphics not implemented in alacritty |
| vt100.js | 0.2.1 | ✗ no | Not implemented — pure TypeScript emulator |
| WezTerm | 0.1.0-fork.5 | ✗ no | Kitty graphics not implemented in wezterm-term crate |
| xterm.js | 5.5.0 | ✗ no | Kitty graphics protocol not implemented in xterm.js |