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Exit alt screen (DECRST 1049)

Category: modes · Baseline: core · Tags: DEC Private Modes, Xterm Extensions · Specification ↗

ESC [ ? 1049 l
DECRST 1049 exits the alternate screen buffer and restores the cursor position. The sequence is ESC [ ? 1049 l. Restores the main screen buffer, including all scrollback content that was present before the application entered the alternate screen.
How this is testedautomated
Enter then exit alt screen via \x1b[?1049h / \x1b[?1049l, verify altScreen mode is off.

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 12 tested terminals — universal adoption. Part of the Core TUI baseline.

Supported by 14 of 14 backends (100%)

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✓ yes
Kitty0.40.0✓ yes
vt100.js0.2.1✓ yes
vterm0.2.0✓ yes
WezTerm0.1.0-fork.5✓ yes
xterm.js5.5.0✓ yes