DECSTBM — Set Top/Bottom Margins (CSI r)

Define the vertical scrolling region — rows outside it stay pinned, rows inside scroll.

Byte forms

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

\\x1b[\x1b[T;Br

\\033[\033[1;24r

\\e[\e[1;24r

ESC [ESC [ T ; B r

hex1b 5b <T> 3b <B> 72

Description

Set Top and Bottom Margins. Final byte `r` (0x72); parameters are 1-based row numbers — `T` (top row, default 1) and `B` (bottom row, default = screen height). Once set, all scrolling — natural overflow at the bottom row, LF beyond row `B`, SU / SD (`\x1b[NS` / `T`), and the alt screen — operates only on rows `T..B` inclusive; rows above `T` and below `B` stay pinned. Sending `\x1b[r` (no parameters) resets to the full screen. After DECSTBM the cursor is moved to the home position of the active region (top-left). Every full-screen TUI uses this to keep a status bar (row 1 or N) frozen while the body scrolls. Pair with DECOM (`?6h/l`) to ALSO clip cursor addressing to the region.

Spec citation: xterm-ctlseqs (DECSTBM, CSI Ps ; Ps r)

Parameters

T	top row, 1-based (default 1)
B	bottom row, 1-based (default = screen height)

Examples

bash

printf '\033[2;23r'   # rows 2..23 scroll; 1 and 24 pinned\nprintf '\033[r'       # reset to full screen

python

import sys; sys.stdout.write('\x1b[2;23r')

fmt.Print("\x1b[2;23r")

javascript

process.stdout.write('\x1b[2;23r')

printf("\x1b[2;23r");

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 · 5. Margins & scroll region — DECSTBM `r` and DECSLRM `s`