When should I use RIS (\x1bc) instead of DECSTR (\x1b[!p) or clear?

Use RIS only as last-resort recovery from a corrupted terminal state — it clears the screen *and* scrollback, resets every SGR, every DEC private mode, tab stops, character sets, and on most terminals the palette. Use DECSTR to undo a TUI's mode + SGR changes while leaving the user's screen and scrollback intact — it's the surgical 'reset to defaults without losing history' option. Use clear (which expands to \x1b[H\x1b[2J\x1b[3J) for the everyday 'wipe what's visible' need, without touching SGR or modes.

RIS — Reset to Initial State (full terminal reset)

Hard reset the terminal: clear screen + scrollback, reset every mode and SGR, home the cursor.

Byte forms

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

\\x1b[\x1bc

\\033[\033c

\\e[\ec

ESC [ESC c

hex1b 63

Description

Reset to Initial State. Two bytes — ESC (0x1b) followed by c (0x63) — with no CSI introducer, no parameters. The terminal does the moral equivalent of a power cycle: clears the screen and (on most terminals) the scrollback, resets every SGR attribute and color, exits the alt screen, resets DEC private modes (auto-wrap on, cursor visible, mouse off, bracketed-paste off), resets character sets, and homes the cursor. This is what reset(1) and tput reset ultimately emit. Use it as a last-resort recovery when a crashed TUI has left the terminal in an unusable state — but be aware it also wipes scrollback in most modern terminals, which the gentler \x1b[!p (DECSTR, soft reset) does not.

Spec citation: ECMA-48 §8.3.105 (RIS) / xterm-ctlseqs (ESC c)

Examples

bash

printf '\033c'   # full reset; same as tput reset

python

import sys; sys.stdout.write('\x1bc')

fmt.Print("\x1bc")

javascript

process.stdout.write('\x1bc')

printf("\x1bc");

Frequently asked

Short answers to the questions developers actually search for this sequence.

When should I use RIS (\x1bc) instead of DECSTR (\x1b[!p) or clear?: Use RIS only as last-resort recovery from a corrupted terminal state — it clears the screen *and* scrollback, resets every SGR, every DEC private mode, tab stops, character sets, and on most terminals the palette. Use DECSTR to undo a TUI's mode + SGR changes while leaving the user's screen and scrollback intact — it's the surgical 'reset to defaults without losing history' option. Use clear (which expands to \x1b[H\x1b[2J\x1b[3J) for the everyday 'wipe what's visible' need, without touching SGR or modes.

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: yes
GNU screen: yes

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	yes	yes

Related sequences

In the family cookbook

ESC cookbook · 1. Hard reset vs. soft reset — `\x1bc` (RIS) and `\x1b[!p` (DECSTR)