[PATCH 1/4] console_codes.4: rephrase description for xterm's ESC ] 4 command

[PATCH 1/4] console_codes.4: rephrase description for xterm's ESC ] 4 command

[Jan Engelhardt]

The \e]4 code is capable of modifying xterm's entire 256-slot palette,
not just the ANSI sub-portion thereof.

Signed-off-by: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@inai.de>
---
 man/man4/console_codes.4 | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/man/man4/console_codes.4 b/man/man4/console_codes.4
index e0e88537a..28ee4c2fc 100644
--- a/man/man4/console_codes.4
+++ b/man/man4/console_codes.4
@@ -753,7 +753,7 @@ Set icon name and window title to
 T}
 ESC ] 1 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set icon name to \f[I]txt\f[].
 ESC ] 2 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set window title to \f[I]txt\f[].
-ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set ANSI color \f[I]num\f[] to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set color \f[I]num\f[] (0-255) to \f[I]txt\f[].
 ESC ] 10 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set dynamic text color to \f[I]txt\f[].
 ESC ] 46 ; \f[I]name\f[] ST	T{
 Change log file to
-- 
2.54.0

[PATCH 2/4] console_codes.4: rephrase description for xterm's ESC ] 10 command

[Jan Engelhardt]

The term "dynamic" text color is too unspecific.
Since xterm has more codes for tuning colors, all colors
could be considered "dynamic".

Signed-off-by: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@inai.de>
---
 man/man4/console_codes.4 | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/man/man4/console_codes.4 b/man/man4/console_codes.4
index 28ee4c2fc..2fa8368e1 100644
--- a/man/man4/console_codes.4
+++ b/man/man4/console_codes.4
@@ -754,7 +754,7 @@ T}
 ESC ] 1 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set icon name to \f[I]txt\f[].
 ESC ] 2 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set window title to \f[I]txt\f[].
 ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set color \f[I]num\f[] (0-255) to \f[I]txt\f[].
-ESC ] 10 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set dynamic text color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 10 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the foreground text color to \f[I]txt\f[].
 ESC ] 46 ; \f[I]name\f[] ST	T{
 Change log file to
 .I name
-- 
2.54.0

[PATCH 3/4] console_codes.4: mention caveats for xterm's ESC ] 50 command

[Jan Engelhardt]

Fonts are only settable if xterm was launched with the right options
(or X11 resources) that would allow this operation.

Signed-off-by: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@inai.de>
---
 man/man4/console_codes.4 | 4 +++-
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/man/man4/console_codes.4 b/man/man4/console_codes.4
index 2fa8368e1..e309293ca 100644
--- a/man/man4/console_codes.4
+++ b/man/man4/console_codes.4
@@ -760,7 +760,9 @@ Change log file to
 .I name
 (normally disabled by a compile-time option).
 T}
-ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	Set font to \f[I]fn\f[].
+ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	T{
+Set font to \f[I]fn\f[] (normally disabled; cf. the "allowFontOps" resource)
+T}
 .TE
 .P
 It recognizes the following with slightly modified meaning
-- 
2.54.0

Re: [PATCH 3/4] console_codes.4: mention caveats for xterm's ESC ] 50 command

[Alejandro Colomar]

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Hi Jan,

On 2026-07-08T14:14:57+0200, Jan Engelhardt wrote:
> Fonts are only settable if xterm was launched with the right options
> (or X11 resources) that would allow this operation.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@inai.de>
> ---
>  man/man4/console_codes.4 | 4 +++-
>  1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> diff --git a/man/man4/console_codes.4 b/man/man4/console_codes.4
> index 2fa8368e1..e309293ca 100644
> --- a/man/man4/console_codes.4
> +++ b/man/man4/console_codes.4
> @@ -760,7 +760,9 @@ Change log file to
>  .I name
>  (normally disabled by a compile-time option).
>  T}
> -ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	Set font to \f[I]fn\f[].
> +ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	T{
> +Set font to \f[I]fn\f[] (normally disabled; cf. the "allowFontOps" resource)

Please replace "cf." by English words.  Also, where is "allowFontOps"
documented?


Cheers,
Alex

> +T}
>  .TE
>  .P
>  It recognizes the following with slightly modified meaning
> -- 
> 2.54.0
> 
> 

-- 
<https://www.alejandro-colomar.es>

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Re: [PATCH 3/4] console_codes.4: mention caveats for xterm's ESC ] 50 command

[Jan Engelhardt]

On Wednesday 2026-07-08 17:29, Alejandro Colomar wrote:
>>
>> -ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	Set font to \f[I]fn\f[].
>> +ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	T{
>> +Set font to \f[I]fn\f[] (normally disabled; cf. the "allowFontOps" resource)
>
>Please replace "cf." by English words.

But I was just following precedent:

man-pages$ git grep '\be\.g\.'|wc -l
481
$ git grep '\bi\.e\.'|wc -l
516
$ git grep '\bcf\.'|wc -l
10
$ git grep '\bN\.?B\.'|wc -l
0

and the Linux kernel source for completeness:

$ git grep '\be\.g\.'|wc -l
9582
$ git grep '\bi\.e\.'|wc -l
7397
$ git grep '\bN\.?B\.'|wc -l
235
$ git grep '\bcf\.'|wc -l
165


>Also, where is "allowFontOps" documented?

The console_codes.4 manpage section that is being edited talks
extensively about *xterm*, so it felt obvious that, if a term was
unclear, the reader need look no further than into the xterm manpage
to resolve his quest.

In fact, the xterm manpage even declares what constitutes "dynamic"
colors (now that I happen to look for that term which tripped me up
earlier).

Does that sound reasonable?

Re: [PATCH 3/4] console_codes.4: mention caveats for xterm's ESC ] 50 command

[Alejandro Colomar]

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Hi Jan,

On 2026-07-08T21:03:01+0200, Jan Engelhardt wrote:
> 
> On Wednesday 2026-07-08 17:29, Alejandro Colomar wrote:
> >>
> >> -ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	Set font to \f[I]fn\f[].
> >> +ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	T{
> >> +Set font to \f[I]fn\f[] (normally disabled; cf. the "allowFontOps" resource)
> >
> >Please replace "cf." by English words.
> 
> But I was just following precedent:
> 
> man-pages$ git grep '\be\.g\.'|wc -l
> 481
> $ git grep '\bi\.e\.'|wc -l
> 516
> $ git grep '\bcf\.'|wc -l
> 10
> $ git grep '\bN\.?B\.'|wc -l
> 0

There are still some uses, but we're trying to reduce them (and
especially, not add more).  See man-pages(7):

$ MANWIDTH=72 man man-pages | awk '/Use of e.g.,/,/^$/'
   Use of e.g., i.e., etc., a.k.a., and similar
     In  general,  the  use  of  abbreviations  such as "e.g.", "i.e.",
     "etc.", "cf.", and "a.k.a." should be avoided, in favor  of  suit‐
     able  full  wordings ("for example", "that is", "and so on", "com‐
     pare to", "also known as").

Compare the numbers with:

$ grep -rio for.example man/ | wc -l
585
$ grep -rio that.is man/ | wc -l
808
$ grep -rio compare.to | wc -l
2

> and the Linux kernel source for completeness:
> 
> $ git grep '\be\.g\.'|wc -l
> 9582
> $ git grep '\bi\.e\.'|wc -l
> 7397
> $ git grep '\bN\.?B\.'|wc -l
> 235
> $ git grep '\bcf\.'|wc -l
> 165
> 
> 
> >Also, where is "allowFontOps" documented?
> 
> The console_codes.4 manpage section that is being edited talks
> extensively about *xterm*, so it felt obvious that, if a term was
> unclear, the reader need look no further than into the xterm manpage
> to resolve his quest.

Hmmm, I'd append something like "in xterm(1)".  It's not much text, and
helps know where to search for its documentation.   wdyt?


Have a lovely day!
Alex

> In fact, the xterm manpage even declares what constitutes "dynamic"
> colors (now that I happen to look for that term which tripped me up
> earlier).
> 
> Does that sound reasonable?
> 

-- 
<https://www.alejandro-colomar.es>

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[PATCH 4/4] console_codes.4: document more xterm codes

[Jan Engelhardt]

Signed-off-by: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@inai.de>
---
 man/man4/console_codes.4 | 41 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 41 insertions(+)

diff --git a/man/man4/console_codes.4 b/man/man4/console_codes.4
index e309293ca..a34adc57f 100644
--- a/man/man4/console_codes.4
+++ b/man/man4/console_codes.4
@@ -754,7 +754,36 @@ T}
 ESC ] 1 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set icon name to \f[I]txt\f[].
 ESC ] 2 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set window title to \f[I]txt\f[].
 ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set color \f[I]num\f[] (0-255) to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 5 ; 0 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the color for bold substitution to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 5 ; 1 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the color for underline substitution to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 5 ; 2 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the color for blinking substitution to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 5 ; 3 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	T{
+Set the color for reverse substitution to \f[I]txt\f[]. Because xterm still
+reverses fg-bg pairs, the effect is that only the background of a character
+cell is colorized this way.
+T}
+ESC ] 5 ; 4 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the color for italic substitution to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 6 ; 0 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle bold rendition: 0=bold, 1=substitute by color.
+ESC ] 6 ; 1 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle underscore rendition: 0=underscore, 1=color.
+ESC ] 6 ; 2 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle blinking rendition: 0=blinking, 1=color.
+ESC ] 6 ; 3 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle reverse rendition: 0=reverse, 1=color.
+ESC ] 6 ; 4 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle italic rendition: 0=italic, 1=color.
 ESC ] 10 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the foreground text color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 11 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the background color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 12 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the text cursor color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 13 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the mouse cursor foreground color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 14 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the mouse cursor background color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 15 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the Tektronix foreground color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 16 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the Tektronix background color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 17 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	T{
+Set the background text color for reverse video (provided it is not substituted
+with 6;3;1) to \f[I]txt\f[].
+T}
+ESC ] 18 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the Tektronix cursor color to \f[I]txt\f[].
+ESC ] 19 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	T{
+Set the foreground text color for reverse video (provided it is not substituted
+with 6;3;1) to \f[I]txt\f[].
+T}
 ESC ] 46 ; \f[I]name\f[] ST	T{
 Change log file to
 .I name
@@ -763,6 +792,18 @@ T}
 ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	T{
 Set font to \f[I]fn\f[] (normally disabled; cf. the "allowFontOps" resource)
 T}
+ESC ] 104 ; \f[I]num\f[] ST	Reset color for mode 4;\f[I]num\f[]
+ESC ] 105 ; \f[I]num\f[] ST	Reset color for mode 5;\f[I]num\f[]
+ESC ] 106 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	T{
+Exactly equal to 6;\f[I]num\f[];\f[I]val\f[]. (no "reset" logic)
+T}
+ESC ] 110 ST	T{
+Reset color for mode 10. (Codes 111-119 map to resetting modes 11-19,
+respectively.)
+T}
+ESC ] \f[I]mode\f[] ; ? ST	T{
+Query the respective property/color/etc. (modes 4,5,10-19,50)
+T}
 .TE
 .P
 It recognizes the following with slightly modified meaning
-- 
2.54.0

Re: [PATCH 4/4] console_codes.4: document more xterm codes

[Alejandro Colomar]

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Hi Jan,

On 2026-07-08T14:14:58+0200, Jan Engelhardt wrote:
> Signed-off-by: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@inai.de>
> ---
>  man/man4/console_codes.4 | 41 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 41 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/man/man4/console_codes.4 b/man/man4/console_codes.4
> index e309293ca..a34adc57f 100644
> --- a/man/man4/console_codes.4
> +++ b/man/man4/console_codes.4
> @@ -754,7 +754,36 @@ T}
>  ESC ] 1 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set icon name to \f[I]txt\f[].
>  ESC ] 2 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set window title to \f[I]txt\f[].
>  ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set color \f[I]num\f[] (0-255) to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 5 ; 0 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the color for bold substitution to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 5 ; 1 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the color for underline substitution to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 5 ; 2 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the color for blinking substitution to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 5 ; 3 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	T{
> +Set the color for reverse substitution to \f[I]txt\f[]. Because xterm still

Please use semantic newlines.  See man-pages(7):

$ MANWIDTH=72 man man-pages | awk '/Use semantic newlines/,/^$/'
   Use semantic newlines
     In the source of a manual page, new sentences should be started on
     new lines, long sentences should be split  into  lines  at  clause
     breaks  (commas,  semicolons, colons, and so on), and long clauses
     should be split at phrase boundaries.  This convention,  sometimes
     known as "semantic newlines", makes it easier to see the effect of
     patches, which often operate at the level of individual sentences,
     clauses, or phrases.


Cheers,
Alex

> +reverses fg-bg pairs, the effect is that only the background of a character
> +cell is colorized this way.
> +T}
> +ESC ] 5 ; 4 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the color for italic substitution to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 6 ; 0 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle bold rendition: 0=bold, 1=substitute by color.
> +ESC ] 6 ; 1 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle underscore rendition: 0=underscore, 1=color.
> +ESC ] 6 ; 2 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle blinking rendition: 0=blinking, 1=color.
> +ESC ] 6 ; 3 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle reverse rendition: 0=reverse, 1=color.
> +ESC ] 6 ; 4 ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	Toggle italic rendition: 0=italic, 1=color.
>  ESC ] 10 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the foreground text color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 11 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the background color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 12 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the text cursor color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 13 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the mouse cursor foreground color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 14 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the mouse cursor background color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 15 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the Tektronix foreground color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 16 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the Tektronix background color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 17 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	T{
> +Set the background text color for reverse video (provided it is not substituted
> +with 6;3;1) to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +T}
> +ESC ] 18 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set the Tektronix cursor color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 19 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	T{
> +Set the foreground text color for reverse video (provided it is not substituted
> +with 6;3;1) to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +T}
>  ESC ] 46 ; \f[I]name\f[] ST	T{
>  Change log file to
>  .I name
> @@ -763,6 +792,18 @@ T}
>  ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	T{
>  Set font to \f[I]fn\f[] (normally disabled; cf. the "allowFontOps" resource)
>  T}
> +ESC ] 104 ; \f[I]num\f[] ST	Reset color for mode 4;\f[I]num\f[]
> +ESC ] 105 ; \f[I]num\f[] ST	Reset color for mode 5;\f[I]num\f[]
> +ESC ] 106 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]val\f[] ST	T{
> +Exactly equal to 6;\f[I]num\f[];\f[I]val\f[]. (no "reset" logic)
> +T}
> +ESC ] 110 ST	T{
> +Reset color for mode 10. (Codes 111-119 map to resetting modes 11-19,
> +respectively.)
> +T}
> +ESC ] \f[I]mode\f[] ; ? ST	T{
> +Query the respective property/color/etc. (modes 4,5,10-19,50)
> +T}
>  .TE
>  .P
>  It recognizes the following with slightly modified meaning
> -- 
> 2.54.0
> 
> 

-- 
<https://www.alejandro-colomar.es>

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Re: [PATCH 1/4] console_codes.4: rephrase description for xterm's ESC ] 4 command

[Alejandro Colomar]

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Hi Jan,

On 2026-07-08T14:14:55+0200, Jan Engelhardt wrote:
> The \e]4 code is capable of modifying xterm's entire 256-slot palette,
> not just the ANSI sub-portion thereof.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@inai.de>

Thanks!  I've applied all 4 patches.


Cheers,
Alex

> ---
>  man/man4/console_codes.4 | 2 +-
>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> diff --git a/man/man4/console_codes.4 b/man/man4/console_codes.4
> index e0e88537a..28ee4c2fc 100644
> --- a/man/man4/console_codes.4
> +++ b/man/man4/console_codes.4
> @@ -753,7 +753,7 @@ Set icon name and window title to
>  T}
>  ESC ] 1 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set icon name to \f[I]txt\f[].
>  ESC ] 2 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set window title to \f[I]txt\f[].
> -ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set ANSI color \f[I]num\f[] to \f[I]txt\f[].
> +ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set color \f[I]num\f[] (0-255) to \f[I]txt\f[].
>  ESC ] 10 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set dynamic text color to \f[I]txt\f[].
>  ESC ] 46 ; \f[I]name\f[] ST	T{
>  Change log file to
> -- 
> 2.54.0
> 

-- 
<https://www.alejandro-colomar.es>

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Re: [PATCH 1/4] console_codes.4: rephrase description for xterm's ESC ] 4 command

[Alejandro Colomar]

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On 2026-07-08T17:17:57+0200, Alejandro Colomar wrote:
> Hi Jan,
> 
> On 2026-07-08T14:14:55+0200, Jan Engelhardt wrote:
> > The \e]4 code is capable of modifying xterm's entire 256-slot palette,
> > not just the ANSI sub-portion thereof.
> > 
> > Signed-off-by: Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@inai.de>
> 
> Thanks!  I've applied all 4 patches.

Actually, I've only applied the first 2.  I've found some issues with
patch 4 in CI, so I've reverted it, and I also want to discuss patch 3.


Cheers,
Alex

> 
> 
> Cheers,
> Alex
> 
> > ---
> >  man/man4/console_codes.4 | 2 +-
> >  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
> > 
> > diff --git a/man/man4/console_codes.4 b/man/man4/console_codes.4
> > index e0e88537a..28ee4c2fc 100644
> > --- a/man/man4/console_codes.4
> > +++ b/man/man4/console_codes.4
> > @@ -753,7 +753,7 @@ Set icon name and window title to
> >  T}
> >  ESC ] 1 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set icon name to \f[I]txt\f[].
> >  ESC ] 2 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set window title to \f[I]txt\f[].
> > -ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set ANSI color \f[I]num\f[] to \f[I]txt\f[].
> > +ESC ] 4 ; \f[I]num\f[] ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set color \f[I]num\f[] (0-255) to \f[I]txt\f[].
> >  ESC ] 10 ; \f[I]txt\f[] ST	Set dynamic text color to \f[I]txt\f[].
> >  ESC ] 46 ; \f[I]name\f[] ST	T{
> >  Change log file to
> > -- 
> > 2.54.0
> > 
> 
> -- 
> <https://www.alejandro-colomar.es>



-- 
<https://www.alejandro-colomar.es>

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