ICH — Insert Character (CSI Pn @)

Shift the rest of the current line right by N cells and blank-fill the gap — the primitive vim's insert mode is built on.

Byte forms

Every common string-literal form so you can paste-and-search either direction.

\\x1b[\x1b[Pn@

\\033[\033[Pn@

\\e[\e[Pn@

ESC [ESC [ Pn @

hex1b 5b <Pn> 40

Description

Insert Character. Final byte `@` (0x40) shifts the cursor position and every cell to its right within the current line rightward by `Pn` cells (default 1); cells that fall off the right edge are discarded and the `Pn`-wide gap at the cursor is filled with blanks (SP, 0x20) carrying the current SGR background. The cursor itself does not move. ICH is the primitive `vim` insert mode emits per typed character — `vim` could redraw the whole line for every keystroke, but using ICH keeps screen updates O(1) per character. Pair with DCH (`\x1b[Pn P`) to delete the same way. ICH is bounded by the right margin (DECSTBM column-margins, if set); cells past the right margin are NOT shifted into. The terminfo capability is `ich1` (Pn=1) or `ich` (parameterised).

Spec citation: ECMA-48 §8.3.64 (ICH)

Examples

bash

# Move cursor to column 5, insert 3 cells, then type 'xyz' (it lands at col 5).\nprintf 'Hello world\033[5G\033[3@xyz'

python

import sys; sys.stdout.write('\x1b[3@')   # open a 3-cell gap at the cursor

fmt.Print("\x1b[3@")

javascript

process.stdout.write('\x1b[3@')

printf("\x1b[3@");

Terminal support

xterm: yes
Linux console (fbcon): yes
macOS Terminal.app: yes
iTerm2: yes
Windows Terminal: yes
cmd.exe / ConPTY: partial
kitty: yes
alacritty: yes
WezTerm: yes
Ghostty: yes
GNOME Terminal: yes
Konsole: yes
tmux: no
GNU screen: no

xterm	Linux console (fbcon)	macOS Terminal.app	iTerm2	Windows Terminal	cmd.exe / ConPTY	kitty	alacritty	WezTerm	Ghostty	GNOME Terminal	Konsole	tmux	GNU screen
yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	partial	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no

Related sequences

In the family cookbook

CSI cookbook · 6. Insert / delete / cursor shape — IL / DL / ICH / DCH / ECH + DECSCUSR