1tput(1) General Commands Manual tput(1)
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6 tput, reset - initialize a terminal or query terminfo database
7
9 tput [-Ttype] capname [parameters]
10 tput [-Ttype] [-x] clear
11 tput [-Ttype] init
12 tput [-Ttype] reset
13 tput [-Ttype] longname
14 tput -S <<
15 tput -V
16
18 The tput utility uses the terminfo database to make the values of ter‐
19 minal-dependent capabilities and information available to the shell
20 (see sh(1)), to initialize or reset the terminal, or return the long
21 name of the requested terminal type. The result depends upon the capa‐
22 bility's type:
23 string
25 tput writes the string to the standard output. No trailing
26 newline is supplied.
27 integer
29 tput writes the decimal value to the standard output, with a
30 trailing newline.
31 boolean
33 tput simply sets the exit code (0 for TRUE if the terminal has
34 the capability, 1 for FALSE if it does not), and writes nothing
35 to the standard output.
36 Before using a value returned on the standard output, the application
38 should test the exit code (e.g., $?, see sh(1)) to be sure it is 0.
39 (See the EXIT CODES and DIAGNOSTICS sections.) For a complete list of
40 capabilities and the capname associated with each, see terminfo(5).
41 Options
43 -S allows more than one capability per invocation of tput. The
44 capabilities must be passed to tput from the standard input
45 instead of from the command line (see example). Only one cap‐
46 name is allowed per line. The -S option changes the meaning of
47 the 0 and 1 boolean and string exit codes (see the EXIT CODES
48 section).
49 Because some capabilities may use string parameters rather than
51 numbers, tput uses a table and the presence of parameters in its
52 input to decide whether to use tparm(3X), and how to interpret
53 the parameters.
54 -Ttype indicates the type of terminal. Normally this option is unnec‐
56 essary, because the default is taken from the environment vari‐
57 able TERM. If -T is specified, then the shell variables LINES
58 and COLUMNS will also be ignored.
59 -V reports the version of ncurses which was used in this program,
61 and exits.
62 -x do not attempt to clear the terminal's scrollback buffer using
64 the extended “E3” capability.
65 Commands
67 A few commands (init, reset and longname) are special; they are defined
68 by the tput program. The others are the names of capabilities from the
69 terminal database (see terminfo(5) for a list). Although init and
70 reset resemble capability names, tput uses several capabilities to per‐
71 form these special functions.
72 capname
74 indicates the capability from the terminal database.
75 If the capability is a string that takes parameters, the argu‐
77 ments following the capability will be used as parameters for
78 the string.
79 Most parameters are numbers. Only a few terminal capabilities
81 require string parameters; tput uses a table to decide which to
82 pass as strings. Normally tput uses tparm(3X) to perform the
83 substitution. If no parameters are given for the capability,
84 tput writes the string without performing the substitution.
85 init If the terminal database is present and an entry for the user's
87 terminal exists (see -Ttype, above), the following will occur:
88 (1) first, tput retrieves the current terminal mode settings
90 for your terminal. It does this by successively testing
91 · the standard error,
93 · standard output,
95 · standard input and
97 · ultimately “/dev/tty”
99 to obtain terminal settings. Having retrieved these set‐
101 tings, tput remembers which file descriptor to use when
102 updating settings.
103 (2) if the window size cannot be obtained from the operating
105 system, but the terminal description (or environment, e.g.,
106 LINES and COLUMNS variables specify this), update the oper‐
107 ating system's notion of the window size.
108 (3) the terminal modes will be updated:
110 · any delays (e.g., newline) specified in the entry will
112 be set in the tty driver,
113 · tabs expansion will be turned on or off according to
115 the specification in the entry, and
116 · if tabs are not expanded, standard tabs will be set
118 (every 8 spaces).
119 (4) if present, the terminal's initialization strings will be
121 output as detailed in the terminfo(5) section on Tabs and
122 Initialization,
123 (5) output is flushed.
125 If an entry does not contain the information needed for any of
127 these activities, that activity will silently be skipped.
128 reset This is similar to init, with two differences:
130 (1) before any other initialization, the terminal modes will be
132 reset to a “sane” state:
133 · set cooked and echo modes,
135 · turn off cbreak and raw modes,
137 · turn on newline translation and
139 · reset any unset special characters to their default
141 values
142 (2) Instead of putting out initialization strings, the termi‐
144 nal's reset strings will be output if present (rs1, rs2,
145 rs3, rf). If the reset strings are not present, but ini‐
146 tialization strings are, the initialization strings will be
147 output.
148 Otherwise, reset acts identically to init.
150 longname
152 If the terminal database is present and an entry for the user's
153 terminal exists (see -Ttype above), then the long name of the
154 terminal will be put out. The long name is the last name in the
155 first line of the terminal's description in the terminfo data‐
156 base [see term(5)].
157 Aliases
159 tput handles the clear, init and reset commands specially: it allows
160 for the possibility that it is invoked by a link with those names.
161 If tput is invoked by a link named reset, this has the same effect as
163 tput reset. The tset(1) utility also treats a link named reset spe‐
164 cially.
165 Before ncurses 6.1, the two utilities were different from each other:
167 · tset utility reset the terminal modes and special characters (not
169 done with tput).
170 · On the other hand, tset's repertoire of terminal capabilities for
172 resetting the terminal was more limited, i.e., only reset_1string,
173 reset_2string and reset_file in contrast to the tab-stops and mar‐
174 gins which are set by this utility.
175 · The reset program is usually an alias for tset, because of this
177 difference with resetting terminal modes and special characters.
178 With the changes made for ncurses 6.1, the reset feature of the two
180 programs is (mostly) the same. A few differences remain:
181 · The tset program waits one second when resetting, in case it hap‐
183 pens to be a hardware terminal.
184 · The two programs write the terminal initialization strings to dif‐
186 ferent streams (i.e.,. the standard error for tset and the standard
187 output for tput).
188 Note: although these programs write to different streams, redirect‐
190 ing their output to a file will capture only part of their actions.
191 The changes to the terminal modes are not affected by redirecting
192 the output.
193 If tput is invoked by a link named init, this has the same effect as
195 tput init. Again, you are less likely to use that link because another
196 program named init has a more well-established use.
197
199 tput init
200 Initialize the terminal according to the type of terminal in the
201 environmental variable TERM. This command should be included in
202 everyone's .profile after the environmental variable TERM has been
203 exported, as illustrated on the profile(5) manual page.
204 tput -T5620 reset
206 Reset an AT&T 5620 terminal, overriding the type of terminal in
207 the environmental variable TERM.
208 tput cup 0 0
210 Send the sequence to move the cursor to row 0, column 0 (the upper
211 left corner of the screen, usually known as the “home” cursor
212 position).
213 tput clear
215 Echo the clear-screen sequence for the current terminal.
216 tput cols
218 Print the number of columns for the current terminal.
219 tput -T450 cols
221 Print the number of columns for the 450 terminal.
222 bold=`tput smso` offbold=`tput rmso`
224 Set the shell variables bold, to begin stand-out mode sequence,
225 and offbold, to end standout mode sequence, for the current termi‐
226 nal. This might be followed by a prompt: echo "${bold}Please type
227 in your name: ${offbold}\c"
228 tput hc
230 Set exit code to indicate if the current terminal is a hard copy
231 terminal.
232 tput cup 23 4
234 Send the sequence to move the cursor to row 23, column 4.
235 tput cup
237 Send the terminfo string for cursor-movement, with no parameters
238 substituted.
239 tput longname
241 Print the long name from the terminfo database for the type of
242 terminal specified in the environmental variable TERM.
243 tput -S <<!
245 > clear
246 > cup 10 10
247 > bold
248 > !
249 This example shows tput processing several capabilities in one
251 invocation. It clears the screen, moves the cursor to position
252 10, 10 and turns on bold (extra bright) mode. The list is termi‐
253 nated by an exclamation mark (!) on a line by itself.
254
256 /usr/share/terminfo
257 compiled terminal description database
258 /usr/share/tabset/*
260 tab settings for some terminals, in a format appropriate to be
261 output to the terminal (escape sequences that set margins and
262 tabs); for more information, see the Tabs and Initialization,
263 section of terminfo(5)
264
266 If the -S option is used, tput checks for errors from each line, and if
267 any errors are found, will set the exit code to 4 plus the number of
268 lines with errors. If no errors are found, the exit code is 0. No
269 indication of which line failed can be given so exit code 1 will never
270 appear. Exit codes 2, 3, and 4 retain their usual interpretation. If
271 the -S option is not used, the exit code depends on the type of cap‐
272 name:
273 boolean
275 a value of 0 is set for TRUE and 1 for FALSE.
276 string a value of 0 is set if the capname is defined for this termi‐
278 nal type (the value of capname is returned on standard out‐
279 put); a value of 1 is set if capname is not defined for this
280 terminal type (nothing is written to standard output).
281 integer
283 a value of 0 is always set, whether or not capname is defined
284 for this terminal type. To determine if capname is defined
285 for this terminal type, the user must test the value written
286 to standard output. A value of -1 means that capname is not
287 defined for this terminal type.
288 other reset or init may fail to find their respective files. In
290 that case, the exit code is set to 4 + errno.
291 Any other exit code indicates an error; see the DIAGNOSTICS section.
293
295 tput prints the following error messages and sets the corresponding
296 exit codes.
297 exit code error message
299 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
300 0 (capname is a numeric variable that is not specified in
301 the terminfo(5) database for this terminal type, e.g.
302 tput -T450 lines and tput -T2621 xmc)
303 1 no error message is printed, see the EXIT CODES section.
304 2 usage error
305 3 unknown terminal type or no terminfo database
306 4 unknown terminfo capability capname
307 >4 error occurred in -S
308 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
309
311 The tput command was begun by Bill Joy in 1980. The initial version
312 only cleared the screen.
313 AT&T System V provided a different tput command, whose init and reset
315 subcommands (more than half the program) were incorporated from the
316 reset feature of BSD tset written by Eric Allman.
317 Keith Bostic replaced the BSD tput command in 1989 with a new implemen‐
319 tation based on the AT&T System V program tput. Like the AT&T program,
320 Bostic's version accepted some parameters named for terminfo capabili‐
321 ties (clear, init, longname and reset). However (because he had only
322 termcap available), it accepted termcap names for other capabilities.
323 Also, Bostic's BSD tput did not modify the terminal I/O modes as the
324 earlier BSD tset had done.
325 At the same time, Bostic added a shell script named “clear”, which used
327 tput to clear the screen.
328 Both of these appeared in 4.4BSD, becoming the “modern” BSD implementa‐
330 tion of tput.
331 This implementation of tput began from a different source than AT&T or
333 BSD: Ross Ridge's mytinfo package, published on comp.sources.unix in
334 December 1992. Ridge's program made more sophisticated use of the ter‐
335 minal capabilities than the BSD program. Eric Raymond used the tput
336 program (and other parts of mytinfo) in ncurses in June 1995. Using
337 the portions dealing with terminal capabilities almost without change,
338 Raymond made improvements to the way the command-line parameters were
339 handled.
340
342 This implementation of tput differs from AT&T tput in two important
343 areas:
344 · tput capname writes to the standard output. That need not be a
346 regular terminal. However, the subcommands which manipulate termi‐
347 nal modes may not use the standard output.
348 The AT&T implementation's init and reset commands use the BSD
350 (4.1c) tset source, which manipulates terminal modes. It succes‐
351 sively tries standard output, standard error, standard input before
352 falling back to “/dev/tty” and finally just assumes a 1200Bd termi‐
353 nal. When updating terminal modes, it ignores errors.
354 Until changes made after ncurses 6.0, tput did not modify terminal
356 modes. tput now uses a similar scheme, using functions shared with
357 tset (and ultimately based on the 4.4BSD tset). If it is not able
358 to open a terminal, e.g., when running in cron, tput will return an
359 error.
360 · AT&T tput guesses the type of its capname operands by seeing if all
362 of the characters are numeric, or not.
363 Most implementations which provide support for capname operands use
365 the tparm function to expand parameters in it. That function
366 expects a mixture of numeric and string parameters, requiring tput
367 to know which type to use.
368 This implementation uses a table to determine the parameter types
370 for the standard capname operands, and an internal library function
371 to analyze nonstandard capname operands.
372 This implementation (unlike others) can accept both termcap and ter‐
374 minfo names for the capname feature, if termcap support is compiled in.
375 However, the predefined termcap and terminfo names have two ambiguities
376 in this case (and the terminfo name is assumed):
377 · The termcap name dl corresponds to the terminfo name dl1 (delete
379 one line).
380 The terminfo name dl corresponds to the termcap name DL (delete a
381 given number of lines).
382 · The termcap name ed corresponds to the terminfo name rmdc (end
384 delete mode).
385 The terminfo name ed corresponds to the termcap name cd (clear to
386 end of screen).
387 The longname and -S options, and the parameter-substitution features
389 used in the cup example, were not supported in BSD curses before
390 4.3reno (1989) or in AT&T/USL curses before SVr4 (1988).
391 IEEE Std 1003.1/The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7
393 (POSIX.1-2008) documents only the operands for clear, init and reset.
394 There are a few interesting observations to make regarding that:
395 · In this implementation, clear is part of the capname support. The
397 others (init and longname) do not correspond to terminal capabili‐
398 ties.
399 · Other implementations of tput on SVr4-based systems such as
401 Solaris, IRIX64 and HPUX as well as others such as AIX and Tru64
402 provide support for capname operands.
403 · A few platforms such as FreeBSD recognize termcap names rather than
405 terminfo capability names in their respective tput commands. Since
406 2010, NetBSD's tput uses terminfo names. Before that, it (like
407 FreeBSD) recognized termcap names.
408 Because (apparently) all of the certified Unix systems support the full
410 set of capability names, the reasoning for documenting only a few may
411 not be apparent.
412 · X/Open Curses Issue 7 documents tput differently, with capname and
414 the other features used in this implementation.
415 · That is, there are two standards for tput: POSIX (a subset) and
417 X/Open Curses (the full implementation). POSIX documents a subset
418 to avoid the complication of including X/Open Curses and the termi‐
419 nal capabilities database.
420 · While it is certainly possible to write a tput program without
422 using curses, none of the systems which have a curses implementa‐
423 tion provide a tput utility which does not provide the capname fea‐
424 ture.
425
427 clear(1), stty(1), tabs(1), tset(1), terminfo(5), curs_termcap(3X).
428 This describes ncurses version 6.1 (patch 20180224).
430 tput(1)