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Next line (NEL)

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

NEL (Next Line) moves the cursor to the beginning of the next line. The sequence is ESC E. Equivalent to a carriage return followed by a line feed (CR + LF). If the cursor is at the bottom margin, the content scrolls up.
How this is testedautomated
Write "ABC" then send \x1bE (NEL), verify cursor is at row 1, col 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 13 of 14 backends (93%)

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