EL — Erase in line (\x1b[K)

Byte forms

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

Description

Final byte `K`. N = 0 erases from the cursor to the end of the line (default), N = 1 erases from the start of the line up to and including the cursor, N = 2 erases the entire current line. The cursor itself is NOT moved by EL — combine with `\r` if you want to overwrite the line from the start.

Spec citation: ECMA-48 §8.3.41 (EL)

Examples

printf 'progress... \r\033[Kdone\n'

import sys, time\nfor i in range(3): sys.stdout.write(f'\r\x1b[K{i}'); sys.stdout.flush(); time.sleep(0.2)\nprint()

fmt.Print("\r\x1b[Kclear line\n")

process.stdout.write('\r\x1b[Kclear line\n')

printf("\r\x1b[Kclear line\n");

Terminal support

xterm

yes

Linux console (fbcon)

yes

macOS Terminal.app

yes

iTerm2

yes

Windows Terminal

yes

cmd.exe / ConPTY

yes

kitty

yes

alacritty

yes

WezTerm

yes

Ghostty

yes

GNOME Terminal

yes

Konsole

yes

tmux

no

GNU screen

no

Related sequences

• ED — Erase in display (\x1b[2J clear screen)
• CUP — Set cursor position
• CUU / CUD / CUF / CUB — Move cursor
• DECSTR — Soft terminal reset

In the family cookbook

↗CSI cookbook · 3. Erase — ED `J` and EL `K`