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Kitty graphics: display

Category: extensions · Baseline: rich · Tags: Kitty Extensions · Specification ↗

The display/placement action (a=p) places a previously transmitted image at a screen position. Supports specifying rows/columns, z-index, and cropping. This separation of transmit and display enables efficient re-use — transmit once, place many times.
How this is testedautomated
Transmit a test image, then place it with a=p. Check for acknowledgment.

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 6 of 12 terminals (50%). Part of the Rich TUI baseline.

Supported by 7 of 14 backends (50%)

Terminal Applications

TerminalVersionSupportNotes
iTerm23.6.9✓ yes
Ghostty1.3.1✓ yes
Warp✓ yes
Terminal.app✓ yes
VS Code✗ no
Cursor✗ no

Headless Backends

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

BackendVersionSupportNotes
Kitty0.40.0✓ yes
vterm0.2.0✓ yes
Alacritty0.26.0✗ noKitty graphics not implemented in alacritty
vt100.js0.2.1✗ noNot implemented — pure TypeScript emulator
WezTerm0.1.0-fork.5✗ noKitty graphics not implemented in wezterm-term crate
xterm.js5.5.0✗ noKitty graphics protocol not implemented in xterm.js