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Full reset (RIS)

Category: reset · Baseline: core · Tags: ECMA-48 Standard, VT100 · Specification ↗

ESC c
RIS (Reset to Initial State) performs a complete terminal reset. The sequence is ESC c. This resets all modes, clears the screen, resets scroll regions, restores default character sets, clears tab stops, and resets cursor position and attributes. Equivalent to power-cycling the terminal. The reset command in most shells sends RIS.
How this is testedautomated
Write text, send \x1bc (RIS), verify cursor reset to (0,0).

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