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ansicode

SGR 2 — Dim / Faint

Render following text at reduced intensity (faint).

Byte forms

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

\\x1b[\x1b[2m
\\033[\033[2m
\\e[\e[2m
ESC [ESC [ 2 m
hex1b 5b 32 6d

Description

Decreases the apparent intensity of the foreground color. On most modern emulators this is implemented as alpha-blending the foreground toward the background (typical ~60% opacity). Disable with `\x1b[22m` (SGR 22 — normal intensity, also clears bold). Support is broad but visually subtle on light themes; some terminals (Linux console, ConPTY) treat it as a no-op.

Spec citation: ECMA-48 §8.3.117 (SGR parameter 2)

Examples

bash
printf '\033[2mfaint\033[22m back\033[0m\n'
python
print('\x1b[2mfaint\x1b[0m')
go
fmt.Print("\x1b[2mfaint\x1b[0m")
javascript
console.log('\x1b[2mfaint\x1b[0m')
c
printf("\x1b[2mfaint\x1b[0m\n");

Terminal support

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

Related sequences