OSC 22 Change Pointer Shape

OSC 22 ; Pt ST sets the shape of the mouse pointer over the terminal to Pt, so that a program can show a hand over a link or a watch while it is busy. It is xterm’s, and xterm takes Pt as a name from the X cursor font: left_ptr for an arrow, hand2, watch, xterm for the I-beam, and so on. A name it does not know, or none at all, gives the I-beam, its default (xtermSetupPointer, LookupCursorShape).

kitty extended it in its Mouse pointer shapes document, which uses the CSS cursor names (default, pointer, wait, text, …) rather than X’s, adds a stack, OSC 22 ; > name ST to push and OSC 22 ; < ST to pop, and lets a program ask, with OSC 22 ; ? names ST, which shapes the terminal has and which is current.

libghostty-vt keeps a shape its host can read and draw. It accepts the CSS names, and the X names that have a CSS equivalent: watch is wait, left_ptr is default, xterm is text. An empty Pt puts back text. It ignores a name it does not know, rather than falling back as xterm does, and it does not have kitty’s stack or queries. The cases follow a default xterm, and give each shape by its CSS name, which is what a case’s pointer line checks; the X cursors xterm sets are given by their CSS equivalents. Those where a name is one only libghostty-vt knows, or neither does, are known differences.

Validation

OSC22-1: The I-beam to begin with

A

|A_____|
pointer text

OSC22-2: An X cursor name

\e]22;watch\e\\

|______|
pointer wait

OSC22-3: Another

\e]22;left_ptr\e\\

|______|
pointer default

OSC22-4: Empty puts back the I-beam

\e]22;watch\e\\
\e]22;\e\\

|______|
pointer text

OSC22-5: A CSS name, which xterm does not know

\e]22;watch\e\\
\e]22;pointer\e\\  # not an X cursor: the I-beam

|______|
pointer text

OSC22-6: A name neither knows

\e]22;watch\e\\
\e]22;nosuch\e\\

|______|
pointer text

OSC22-7: kitty’s query is not answered

\e]22;?__current__\e\\

|______|
reply none