FAQ - st - simple terminal | |
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FAQ (9923B) | |
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1 ## Why does st not handle utmp entries? | |
2 | |
3 Use the excellent tool of [utmp](https://git.suckless.org/utmp/) for thi… | |
4 | |
5 | |
6 ## Some _random program_ complains that st is unknown/not recognised/uns… | |
7 | |
8 It means that st doesn’t have any terminfo entry on your system. Chanc… | |
9 you did not `make install`. If you just want to test it without installi… | |
10 you can manually run `tic -sx st.info`. | |
11 | |
12 | |
13 ## Nothing works, and nothing is said about an unknown terminal! | |
14 | |
15 * Some programs just assume they’re running in xterm i.e. they don’t… | |
16 terminfo. What you see is the current state of the “xterm compliance… | |
17 * Some programs don’t complain about the lacking st description and de… | |
18 another terminal. In that case see the question about terminfo. | |
19 | |
20 | |
21 ## How do I scroll back up? | |
22 | |
23 * Using a terminal multiplexer. | |
24 * `st -e tmux` using C-b [ | |
25 * `st -e screen` using C-a ESC | |
26 * Using the excellent tool of [scroll](https://git.suckless.org/scroll/). | |
27 * Using the scrollback [patch](https://st.suckless.org/patches/scrollbac… | |
28 | |
29 | |
30 ## I would like to have utmp and/or scroll functionality by default | |
31 | |
32 You can add the absolute path of both programs in your config.h file. Yo… | |
33 have to modify the value of utmp and scroll variables. | |
34 | |
35 | |
36 ## Why doesn't the Del key work in some programs? | |
37 | |
38 Taken from the terminfo manpage: | |
39 | |
40 If the terminal has a keypad that transmits codes when the keys | |
41 are pressed, this information can be given. Note that it is not | |
42 possible to handle terminals where the keypad only works in | |
43 local (this applies, for example, to the unshifted HP 2621 keys). | |
44 If the keypad can be set to transmit or not transmit, give these | |
45 codes as smkx and rmkx. Otherwise the keypad is assumed to | |
46 always transmit. | |
47 | |
48 In the st case smkx=E[?1hE= and rmkx=E[?1lE>, so it is mandatory that | |
49 applications which want to test against keypad keys send these | |
50 sequences. | |
51 | |
52 But buggy applications (like bash and irssi, for example) don't do this.… | |
53 solution for them is to use the following command: | |
54 | |
55 $ printf '\033[?1h\033=' >/dev/tty | |
56 | |
57 or | |
58 $ tput smkx | |
59 | |
60 In the case of bash, readline is used. Readline has a different note in … | |
61 manpage about this issue: | |
62 | |
63 enable-keypad (Off) | |
64 When set to On, readline will try to enable the | |
65 application keypad when it is called. Some systems | |
66 need this to enable arrow keys. | |
67 | |
68 Adding this option to your .inputrc will fix the keypad problem for all | |
69 applications using readline. | |
70 | |
71 If you are using zsh, then read the zsh FAQ | |
72 <http://zsh.sourceforge.net/FAQ/zshfaq03.html#l25>: | |
73 | |
74 It should be noted that the O / [ confusion can occur with other… | |
75 such as Home and End. Some systems let you query the key sequenc… | |
76 sent by these keys from the system's terminal database, terminfo. | |
77 Unfortunately, the key sequences given there typically apply to … | |
78 mode that is not the one zsh uses by default (it's the "applicat… | |
79 mode rather than the "raw" mode). Explaining the use of terminfo… | |
80 outside of the scope of this FAQ, but if you wish to use the key | |
81 sequences given there you can tell the line editor to turn on | |
82 "application" mode when it starts and turn it off when it stops: | |
83 | |
84 function zle-line-init () { echoti smkx } | |
85 function zle-line-finish () { echoti rmkx } | |
86 zle -N zle-line-init | |
87 zle -N zle-line-finish | |
88 | |
89 Putting these lines into your .zshrc will fix the problems. | |
90 | |
91 | |
92 ## How can I use meta in 8bit mode? | |
93 | |
94 St supports meta in 8bit mode, but the default terminfo entry doesn't | |
95 use this capability. If you want it, you have to use the 'st-meta' value | |
96 in TERM. | |
97 | |
98 | |
99 ## I cannot compile st in OpenBSD | |
100 | |
101 OpenBSD lacks librt, despite it being mandatory in POSIX | |
102 <http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/c99.html#tag_… | |
103 If you want to compile st for OpenBSD you have to remove -lrt from confi… | |
104 st will compile without any loss of functionality, because all the funct… | |
105 included in libc on this platform. | |
106 | |
107 | |
108 ## The Backspace Case | |
109 | |
110 St is emulating the Linux way of handling backspace being delete and del… | |
111 backspace. | |
112 | |
113 This is an issue that was discussed in suckless mailing list | |
114 <https://lists.suckless.org/dev/1404/20697.html>. Here is why some old g… | |
115 terminal users wants its backspace to be how he feels it: | |
116 | |
117 Well, I am going to comment why I want to change the behaviour | |
118 of this key. When ASCII was defined in 1968, communication | |
119 with computers was done using punched cards, or hardcopy | |
120 terminals (basically a typewriter machine connected with the | |
121 computer using a serial port). ASCII defines DELETE as 7F, | |
122 because, in punched-card terms, it means all the holes of the | |
123 card punched; it is thus a kind of 'physical delete'. In the | |
124 same way, the BACKSPACE key was a non-destructive backspace, | |
125 as on a typewriter. So, if you wanted to delete a character, | |
126 you had to BACKSPACE and then DELETE. Another use of BACKSPACE | |
127 was to type accented characters, for example 'a BACKSPACE `'. | |
128 The VT100 had no BACKSPACE key; it was generated using the | |
129 CONTROL key as another control character (CONTROL key sets to | |
130 0 b7 b6 b5, so it converts H (code 0x48) into BACKSPACE (code | |
131 0x08)), but it had a DELETE key in a similar position where | |
132 the BACKSPACE key is located today on common PC keyboards. | |
133 All the terminal emulators emulated the difference between | |
134 these keys correctly: the backspace key generated a BACKSPACE | |
135 (^H) and delete key generated a DELETE (^?). | |
136 | |
137 But a problem arose when Linus Torvalds wrote Linux. Unlike | |
138 earlier terminals, the Linux virtual terminal (the terminal | |
139 emulator integrated in the kernel) returned a DELETE when | |
140 backspace was pressed, due to the VT100 having a DELETE key in | |
141 the same position. This created a lot of problems (see [1] | |
142 and [2]). Since Linux has become the king, a lot of terminal | |
143 emulators today generate a DELETE when the backspace key is | |
144 pressed in order to avoid problems with Linux. The result is | |
145 that the only way of generating a BACKSPACE on these systems | |
146 is by using CONTROL + H. (I also think that emacs had an | |
147 important point here because the CONTROL + H prefix is used | |
148 in emacs in some commands (help commands).) | |
149 | |
150 From point of view of the kernel, you can change the key | |
151 for deleting a previous character with stty erase. When you | |
152 connect a real terminal into a machine you describe the type | |
153 of terminal, so getty configures the correct value of stty | |
154 erase for this terminal. In the case of terminal emulators, | |
155 however, you don't have any getty that can set the correct | |
156 value of stty erase, so you always get the default value. | |
157 For this reason, it is necessary to add 'stty erase ^H' to your | |
158 profile if you have changed the value of the backspace key. | |
159 Of course, another solution is for st itself to modify the | |
160 value of stty erase. I usually have the inverse problem: | |
161 when I connect to non-Unix machines, I have to press CONTROL + | |
162 h to get a BACKSPACE. The inverse problem occurs when a user | |
163 connects to my Unix machines from a different system with a | |
164 correct backspace key. | |
165 | |
166 [1] http://www.ibb.net/~anne/keyboard.html | |
167 [2] http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Keyboard-and-Console-HOWTO-5.html | |
168 | |
169 | |
170 ## But I really want the old grumpy behaviour of my terminal | |
171 | |
172 Apply [1]. | |
173 | |
174 [1] https://st.suckless.org/patches/delkey | |
175 | |
176 | |
177 ## Why do images not work in st using the w3m image hack? | |
178 | |
179 w3mimg uses a hack that draws an image on top of the terminal emulator D… | |
180 window. The hack relies on the terminal to use a single buffer to draw i… | |
181 contents directly. | |
182 | |
183 st uses double-buffered drawing so the image is quickly replaced and may… | |
184 short flicker effect. | |
185 | |
186 Below is a patch example to change st double-buffering to a single Drawa… | |
187 buffer. | |
188 | |
189 diff --git a/x.c b/x.c | |
190 --- a/x.c | |
191 +++ b/x.c | |
192 @@ -732,10 +732,6 @@ xresize(int col, int row) | |
193 win.tw = col * win.cw; | |
194 win.th = row * win.ch; | |
195 | |
196 - XFreePixmap(xw.dpy, xw.buf); | |
197 - xw.buf = XCreatePixmap(xw.dpy, xw.win, win.w, win.h, | |
198 - DefaultDepth(xw.dpy, xw.scr)); | |
199 - XftDrawChange(xw.draw, xw.buf); | |
200 xclear(0, 0, win.w, win.h); | |
201 | |
202 /* resize to new width */ | |
203 @@ -1148,8 +1144,7 @@ xinit(int cols, int rows) | |
204 gcvalues.graphics_exposures = False; | |
205 dc.gc = XCreateGC(xw.dpy, parent, GCGraphicsExposures, | |
206 &gcvalues); | |
207 - xw.buf = XCreatePixmap(xw.dpy, xw.win, win.w, win.h, | |
208 - DefaultDepth(xw.dpy, xw.scr)); | |
209 + xw.buf = xw.win; | |
210 XSetForeground(xw.dpy, dc.gc, dc.col[defaultbg].pixel); | |
211 XFillRectangle(xw.dpy, xw.buf, dc.gc, 0, 0, win.w, win.h); | |
212 | |
213 @@ -1632,8 +1627,6 @@ xdrawline(Line line, int x1, int y1, int x2) | |
214 void | |
215 xfinishdraw(void) | |
216 { | |
217 - XCopyArea(xw.dpy, xw.buf, xw.win, dc.gc, 0, 0, win.w, | |
218 - win.h, 0, 0); | |
219 XSetForeground(xw.dpy, dc.gc, | |
220 dc.col[IS_SET(MODE_REVERSE)? | |
221 defaultfg : defaultbg].pixel); | |
222 | |
223 | |
224 ## BadLength X error in Xft when trying to render emoji | |
225 | |
226 Xft makes st crash when rendering color emojis with the following error: | |
227 | |
228 "X Error of failed request: BadLength (poly request too large or intern… | |
229 Major opcode of failed request: 139 (RENDER) | |
230 Minor opcode of failed request: 20 (RenderAddGlyphs) | |
231 Serial number of failed request: 1595 | |
232 Current serial number in output stream: 1818" | |
233 | |
234 This is a known bug in Xft (not st) which happens on some platforms and | |
235 combination of particular fonts and fontconfig settings. | |
236 | |
237 See also: | |
238 https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/lib/libxft/issues/6 | |
239 https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=107534 | |
240 https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1498269 | |
241 | |
242 The solution is to remove color emoji fonts or disable this in the fontc… | |
243 XML configuration. As an ugly workaround (which may work only on newer | |
244 fontconfig versions (FC_COLOR)), the following code can be used to mask … | |
245 fonts: | |
246 | |
247 FcPatternAddBool(fcpattern, FC_COLOR, FcFalse); | |
248 | |
249 Please don't bother reporting this bug to st, but notify the upstream Xft | |
250 developers about fixing this bug. | |
251 | |
252 As of 2022-09-05 this now seems to be finally fixed in libXft 2.3.5: | |
253 https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/lib/libxft/-/blob/libXft-2.3.5/NEWS |