Skip to main content

API reference — raw terminal

All types live in core.term.raw. This is the lowest layer: if you need the framework's guarantees (restore-on-exit, Mode 2026, capability detection) but not its Elm loop, this is your level.

RawTerminal​

public type RawTerminal is protocol extends Read + Write { ... };

public type TerminalMode is Raw | Cooked | CBreak;

public type TerminalSize is { cols: Int, rows: Int };

public type CursorShape is
    | Block         | Line          | Underline
    | BlinkingBlock | BlinkingLine  | BlinkingUnderline;

public type ClearMode is
    | Entire  | AfterCursor  | BeforeCursor
    | Line    | LineAfter    | LineBefore;

impl RawTerminal {
    fn enable_raw_mode(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn disable_raw_mode(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn enable_mouse_capture(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn disable_mouse_capture(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn enable_bracketed_paste(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn disable_bracketed_paste(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn enable_focus_events(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn disable_focus_events(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn enter_alternate_screen(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn leave_alternate_screen(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn show_cursor(&mut self, visible: Bool) -> IoResult<()>
    fn set_cursor_shape(&mut self, shape: CursorShape) -> IoResult<()>
    fn move_cursor(&mut self, x: Int, y: Int) -> IoResult<()>
    fn clear(&mut self, mode: ClearMode) -> IoResult<()>
    fn size(&self) -> IoResult<TerminalSize>
    fn begin_sync(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn end_sync(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
    fn flush(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>
}

PosixTerminal​

PosixTerminal.stdin()  -> IoResult<PosixTerminal>
PosixTerminal.stdout() -> IoResult<PosixTerminal>

impl RawTerminal for PosixTerminal { /* ... */ }

EscapeWriter​

Low-level helpers for writing CSI / OSC / DCS / SS3 sequences. Most code should not need to talk at this level; use RawTerminal methods.

public type EscapeWriter is protocol {
    fn write_all(&mut self, data: &[Byte]) -> IoResult<()>;
    fn write_csi(&mut self, params: &[Int], final_byte: Byte) -> IoResult<()>;
    fn write_osc(&mut self, code: Int, payload: &Text) -> IoResult<()>;
    fn write_dcs(&mut self, body: &[Byte]) -> IoResult<()>;
    fn write_ss3(&mut self, code: Byte) -> IoResult<()>;
    fn flush(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>;

    fn move_to(&mut self, x: Int, y: Int) -> IoResult<()>;
    fn begin_sync(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>;
    fn end_sync(&mut self) -> IoResult<()>;
};

TermCapabilities​

public type TermCapabilities is {
    color_profile: ColorProfile,
    unicode_support: UnicodeSupport,
    mouse_protocol: MouseProtocol,
    has_alternate_screen: Bool,
    has_synchronized_output: Bool,
    has_bracketed_paste: Bool,
    has_focus_events: Bool,
    has_kitty_keyboard: Bool,
    has_kitty_graphics: Bool,
    has_sixel: Bool,
    has_iterm_images: Bool,
    has_hyperlinks: Bool,
    has_osc52_clipboard: Bool,
    has_cursor_shape: Bool,
    term_name: Text,
    term_program: Maybe<Text>,
    is_tmux: Bool,
    is_screen: Bool,
};

public fn detect_capabilities(fd: FileDesc) -> TermCapabilities;
public fn query_background_color(fd: FileDesc) -> Maybe<Rgb>;  // blocking, 100 ms timeout

Built from $TERM, $COLORTERM, $TERM_PROGRAM, $TMUX, $STY, $NO_COLOR, $LANG / $LC_ALL heuristics and known-good-program lists (iTerm.app, kitty, WezTerm, Alacritty, foot, ghostty, ...).

Clipboard (OSC 52)​

mount core.term.raw.clipboard.*;

fn clipboard_set(writer: &mut (dyn EscapeWriter), text: &Text) -> IoResult<()>;
fn clipboard_get(writer: &mut (dyn EscapeWriter))              -> IoResult<()>;

clipboard_get emits a read request; the response arrives as an input event and must be parsed by the InputParser. Most modern terminals support this with per-app permission (Kitty, iTerm2, foot, WezTerm).