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Terminal CSI Cursor Move Formatter

Format a supported relative CSI cursor movement token with positive explicit count; directions are up/down/right/left only, no terminal execution.

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Description

Format a supported relative CSI cursor movement token with positive explicit count; directions are up/down/right/left only, no terminal execution.

Terminal escape sequences can encode cursor commands, text styles and other controls inside ordinary text. SGR changes selected graphic attributes; CSI and OSC tokens have different framing. These tools operate on explicit strings and records, with a deliberately limited parser or style model rather than an emulated screen.1

Format a supported relative CSI cursor movement token with positive explicit count; directions are up/down/right/left only, no terminal execution.

When to use this tool

Use this tool to format a supported relative CSI cursor movement token with positive explicit count; directions are up/down/right/left only, no terminal execution.

How to use the tool and how it works

  1. Enter direction, count using the field definitions below.
  2. Run the operation. Correct input errors before interpreting an output.
  3. Read result.token. Use the ordering, boundary rules and absence conditions described below.

Map up, down, right or left to A, B, C or D and format a positive movement count into a CSI token.2

Input fieldMeaning and unitsAccepted input
directionExact movement selector: up, down, right or left.Text, at most 8,192 UTF-16 code units; the operation’s grammar also applies.
countPositive integer cursor movement count.A finite safe integer within the operation’s stated bounds.
Output fieldInterpretation
resultObject containing the named fields below.
result.tokenFormatted terminal control string; JSON escaping shows its control characters.
json
{
  "input": {
    "direction": "left",
    "count": 2
  },
  "output": {
    "result": {
      "token": "\u001b[2D"
    }
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

  • Count is 1 through one million; this formats relative movement without simulating a cursor.
  • Source spans use zero-based UTF-16 offsets with exclusive ends; byte totals, where returned, use UTF-8. Escape tokens are represented as JSON escapes in the example and are not executed by this description.
  • Every declared top-level input field is required and unexpected fields are rejected. Ordinary strings are limited to 8,192 UTF-16 code units and lists to 128 entries, with tighter operation-specific bounds where stated. JSON text has bounded nesting and node counts.
  • Numeric outputs must be finite and no larger in absolute magnitude than the safe-integer limit; operations returning exact large integers use decimal text. Positions are zero-based and spans end exclusively unless the operation explicitly states a different convention.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use token inspection for source offsets and style replay for the supported attributes. A real terminal emulator is needed to determine screen contents, terminal-specific rendering or device behavior.

References

  1. ECMA-48: Control Functions for Coded Character Sets — Ecma International

  2. Tool behavior and example: Terminal CSI Cursor Move Formatter — tool.io

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