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Pointer shape (OSC 22)

Category: extensions · Baseline: rich · Tags: Operating System Commands (OSC), Xterm Extensions · Specification ↗

ESC ] 22 ; shape BEL
OSC 22 sets the mouse pointer cursor shape when hovering over the terminal window. The sequence ESC ] 22 ; name BEL sets the pointer to a named cursor shape (e.g., pointer, crosshair, text, wait, help). Applications use this to provide visual feedback — a text cursor over editable regions, a pointer over clickable elements, or a wait cursor during processing. Supported by xterm, foot, Ghostty, and WezTerm. Shape names follow the X11 cursor font or CSS cursor keyword conventions.
How this is testedpartial
Send OSC 22 ; pointer BEL and verify the terminal consumes the sequence (cursor position unchanged).

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 all 4 tested terminals — universal adoption. Part of the Rich TUI baseline.

Supported by 8 of 14 backends (57%)

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
Alacritty0.26.0? unknown
Kitty0.40.0? unknown
vt100.js0.2.1? unknown
vterm0.2.0? unknown
WezTerm0.1.0-fork.5? unknown
xterm.js5.5.0? unknown