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.\" Copyright 2018-2024,2025 Thomas E. Dickey                                *
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.\" $Id: terminfo.head,v 1.69 2025/08/16 21:50:23 tom Exp $
.TH terminfo 5 2025-08-16 "ncurses @NCURSES_MAJOR@.@NCURSES_MINOR@" "File formats"
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.
.SH NAME
\fB\%terminfo\fP \-
terminal capability database
.SH SYNOPSIS
@TERMINFO@/*/*
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Terminfo
is a database describing terminals,
used by screen-oriented programs such as
\fBnvi\fP(1),
\fBlynx\fP(1),
\fBmutt\fP(1),
and other curses applications,
using high-level calls to libraries such as \fBcurses\fP(3X).
It is also used via low-level calls by non-curses applications
which may be screen-oriented (such as \fB@CLEAR@\fP(1))
or non-screen (such as \fB@TABS@\fP(1)).
.PP
.I Terminfo
describes terminals by giving a set of capabilities which they
have, by specifying how to perform screen operations, and by
specifying padding requirements and initialization sequences.
.PP
This document describes
.I \%ncurses
version @NCURSES_MAJOR@.@NCURSES_MINOR@
(patch @NCURSES_PATCH@).
.SS "\fIterminfo\fP Entry Syntax"
Entries in
.I terminfo
consist of a sequence of fields:
.bP
Each field ends with a comma \*(``,\*(''
(embedded commas may be
escaped with a backslash or written as \*(``\e054\*('').
.bP
White space between fields is ignored.
.bP
The first field in a \fIterminfo\fP entry begins in the first column.
.bP
Newlines and leading whitespace (spaces or tabs)
may be used for formatting entries for readability.
These are removed from parsed entries.
.IP
The \fB@INFOCMP@\fP \fB\-f\fP and \fB\-W\fP options rely on this to
format if-then-else expressions,
or to enforce maximum line-width.
The resulting formatted terminal description can be read by \fB@TIC@\fP.
.bP
The first field for each terminal gives the names which are known for the
terminal, separated by \*(``|\*('' characters.
.IP
The first name given is the most common abbreviation for the terminal
(its primary name),
the last name given should be a long name fully identifying the terminal
(see \fBlongname\fP(3X)),
and all others are treated as synonyms (aliases) for the primary terminal name.
.IP
X/Open Curses advises that all names but the last should be in lower case
and contain no blanks;
the last name may well contain upper case and blanks for readability.
.IP
This implementation is not so strict;
it allows mixed case in the primary name and aliases.
If the last name has no embedded blanks,
it allows that to be both an alias and a verbose name
(but will warn about this ambiguity).
.bP
Lines beginning with a \*(``#\*('' in the first column are treated as comments.
.IP
While comment lines are valid at any point, the output of \fB@CAPTOINFO@\fP
and \fB@INFOTOCAP@\fP (aliases for \fB@TIC@\fP)
will move comments so they occur only between entries.
.PP
Terminal names (except for the last, verbose entry) should
be chosen using the following conventions.
The particular piece of hardware making up the terminal should
have a root name, thus \*(``hp2621\*(''.
This name should not contain hyphens.
Modes that the hardware can be in, or user preferences, should
be indicated by appending a hyphen and a mode suffix.
Thus, a vt100 in 132-column mode would be vt100\-w.
The following suffixes should be used where possible:
.PP
.TS
center;
Lb Lb Lb
L  L  Lx.
Suffix	Example	Meaning
_
\-\fInn\fP	aaa\-60	Number of lines on the screen
\-\fIn\fPp	c100\-4p	Number of pages of memory
\-am	vt100\-am	With automargins (usually the default)
\-m	ansi\-m	Mono mode; suppress color
\-mc	wy30\-mc	Magic cookie; spaces when highlighting
\-na	c100\-na	No arrow keys (leave them in local)
\-nam	vt100\-nam	Without automatic margins
\-nl	hp2621\-nl	No status line
\-ns	hp2626\-ns	No status line
\-rv	c100\-rv	Reverse video
\-s	vt100\-s	Enable status line
\-vb	wy370\-vb	Use visible bell instead of beep
\-w	vt100\-w	Wide mode (> 80 columns, usually 132)
.TE
.PP
For more on terminal naming conventions, see the \fBterm\fP(7) manual page.
.SS "\fIterminfo\fP Capabilities Syntax"
The terminfo entry consists of several \fIcapabilities\fP,
i.e., features that the terminal has,
or methods for exercising the terminal's features.
.PP
After the first field (giving the name(s) of the terminal entry),
there should be one or more \fIcapability\fP fields.
These are Boolean, numeric or string names with corresponding values:
.bP
Boolean capabilities are true when present, false when absent.
There is no explicit value for Boolean capabilities.
.bP
Numeric capabilities have a \*(``#\*('' following the name,
then an unsigned decimal integer value.
.bP
String capabilities have a \*(``=\*('' following the name,
then an string of characters making up the capability value.
.IP
String capabilities can be split into multiple lines,
just as the fields comprising a terminal entry can be
split into multiple lines.
While blanks between fields are ignored,
blanks embedded within a string value are retained,
except for leading blanks on a line.
.PP
Any capability can be \fIcanceled\fP,
i.e., suppressed from the terminal entry,
by following its name with \*(``@\*(''
rather than a capability value.
.SS "Similar Terminals"
If there are two very similar terminals, one (the variant) can be defined as
being just like the other (the base) with certain exceptions.
In the
definition of the variant, the string capability \fBuse\fP can be given with
the name of the base terminal:
.bP
The capabilities given before
.B use
override those in the base type named by
.BR use .
.bP
If there are multiple \fBuse\fP capabilities, they are merged in reverse order.
That is, the rightmost \fBuse\fP reference is processed first, then the one to
its left, and so forth.
.bP
Capabilities given explicitly in the entry override
those brought in by \fBuse\fP references.
.PP
A capability can be canceled by placing \fBxx@\fP to the left of the
use reference that imports it, where \fIxx\fP is the capability.
For example, the entry
.RS
.PP
2621\-nl, smkx@, rmkx@, use=2621,
.RE
.PP
defines a 2621\-nl that does not have the \fBsmkx\fP or \fBrmkx\fP capabilities,
and hence does not turn on the function key labels when in visual mode.
This is useful for different modes for a terminal, or for different
user preferences.
.PP
An entry included via \fBuse\fP can contain canceled capabilities,
which have the same effect as if those cancels were inline in the
using terminal entry.
.SS "Standard Capabilities"
.\" Head of terminfo man page ends here
.ps -1
