Skip to main content
ansicode

ANSI escape code cheatsheet

The ~30 codes you reach for most often, grouped into four print-friendly tables: text attributes, foreground / background colour, cursor + erase, and modes + OSC. Hit Print to drop the navigation chrome and fit one page; each row links to the canonical sequence page for byte forms, parameters, and per-terminal support.

Tip: print preview (Cmd/Ctrl-P) removes the header, footer, and navigation so the four tables fit on a single sheet.

Text attributes (SGR)

BytesMeaning
\x1b[0mReset / normal
\x1b[1mBold / increased intensity
\x1b[2mDim / decreased intensity
\x1b[3mItalic
\x1b[4mUnderline
\x1b[7mReverse video (swap fg / bg)
\x1b[9mStrikethrough
\x1b[22m \x1b[23m \x1b[24m \x1b[27mTurn off bold/dim · italic · underline · reverse

Foreground / background colour

BytesMeaning
\x1b[30m … \x1b[37mBasic 8 foreground (black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white)
\x1b[40m … \x1b[47mBasic 8 background
\x1b[90m … \x1b[97mBright 8 foreground (a.k.a. high-intensity)
\x1b[100m … \x1b[107mBright 8 background
\x1b[38;5;Nm \x1b[48;5;Nm256-colour palette — N is 0–255 (16 system + 6×6×6 cube + 24 greys)
\x1b[38;2;R;G;Bm \x1b[48;2;R;G;BmTruecolor (24-bit RGB) — R/G/B each 0–255
\x1b[39m \x1b[49mDefault foreground · default background

Cursor & erase

BytesMeaning
\x1b[<n>A B C DMove cursor up / down / forward / back by n cells
\x1b[<row>;<col>HCursor position — 1-based (CUP / HVP)
\x1b[s \x1b[uSave / restore cursor position (SCO)
\x1b[2JErase entire screen (ED 2)
\x1b[2KErase entire line (EL 2)
\x1b[?25l \x1b[?25hHide / show cursor (DECTCEM)

Modes & OSC

BytesMeaning
\x1b[?1049h \x1b[?1049lEnter / leave alternate screen buffer
\x1b[?2004h \x1b[?2004lEnable / disable bracketed paste mode
\x1b]0;<title>\x07Set window + icon title (OSC 0 — BEL terminator)
\x1b]8;;<url>\x1b\\<text>\x1b]8;;\x1b\\Hyperlink (OSC 8 — ST terminator)
\x1bcFull reset (RIS)
\x1b[!pSoft reset (DECSTR — keeps screen contents)

See also