# Install vttest with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix Test compatibility of VT100-compatible terminals. Version 20251205 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:vttest ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install vttest ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install vttest ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/vttest/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install vttest ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: vttest from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install vttest ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: vttest from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#vttest ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/vt/vttest/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:vttest - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 20251205 - **Source summary:** Test compatibility of VT100-compatible terminals - **Homepage:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** BSD-3-Clause - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - vttest (cli) - vttest (alias) ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 20251205 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://invisible-island.net/vttest/ - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage vttest is an interactive terminal-emulation test program for VT100-compatible terminals and emulators, later extended to cover VT220 through VT520 behavior and xterm variants. It is used to demonstrate where a terminal emulator matches, diverges from, or only partially implements DEC and xterm control-sequence behavior. ### Project history Per Lindberg wrote the original vttest at the Stockholm University Computing Center between 1983 and 1985 to exercise DEC VT100 and VT102 terminals and software emulators. Version 1.7b, dated 1985-04-19, was later distributed through the Usenet `mod.sources` group in 1986 and became part of Unix source archives. Thomas E. Dickey began his maintained version in May 1996, starting from 1.7b, to support changes he was making to xterm. He changed the version number to 2.0 for the initial 1996 release, then moved from traditional version numbers to patch dates as the effective release identifier. ### Adoption history vttest became durable because terminal compatibility is difficult to specify from prose alone. Dickey's version expanded from the original VT100/VT102 focus into color erase behavior, character sets, VT220 and later DEC model features, xterm extensions, Tektronix-related tests, and other edge cases useful to emulator authors and maintainers. The vttest page documents its appearance across Unix-like packaging systems and related terminal projects. It has been used or referenced around PCVT, FreeBSD console work, rxvt, KDE Konsole, Linux console behavior, xterm, and terminal-description testing alongside tools such as tack. ### How it is used The program is menu-driven: users choose tests for cursor movement, screen features, character sets, keyboard reports, VT220-and-newer controls, color, xterm extensions, and related behavior, then inspect the screen or recorded replies. The man page describes it as testing display escape-sequence handling and keyboard behavior for VT100-type terminals. ### Why package nerds care For terminal and package nerds, vttest is a benchmark with historical teeth. A terminal emulator can advertise VT100 compatibility, but vttest makes obscure behavior visible: alternate screens, wraparound, erases with background color, DEC private modes, device attributes, national replacement character sets, and xterm-specific sequences. ### Timeline - 1983-1985: Per Lindberg writes the original VTTEST at Stockholm University. - 1985-04-19: Original line reaches version 1.7b. - 1986-09-02: Version 1.7b is distributed through Usenet `mod.sources`. - 1996-05: Thomas E. Dickey begins the maintained version from 1.7b for xterm work. - 1996: Maintained branch is released as version 2.0. - 2007-01-02: Dickey contacts Lindberg and receives permission to change the original copyright notice to a BSD-style license. - 2025-12-05: Current changelog shows continued maintenance and new terminal tests. ### Related projects - xterm is the closest related project in Dickey's maintained history of vttest. - tack, esctest, ncurses examples, terminal descriptions, rxvt, Konsole, FreeBSD console work, and Linux console behavior are all discussed in relation to vttest's testing role. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** vttest - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - vttest - 2.7+20241208-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: vttest from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | tool for testing VT100 compatibility of terminals | https://invisible-island.net/vttest/ - Nix - vttest: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/vt/vttest/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - vttest - 2.7+20230201-1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: vttest from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | tool for testing VT100 compatibility of terminals | https://invisible-island.net/vttest/ - dnf - vttest - 2.7.20251205-9.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: vttest from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | test VT100-type terminal | https://invisible-island.net/vttest/ - MacPorts - vttest: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: devel/vttest/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [luit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/luit/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, terminal, xterm. - [screen](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/screen/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, terminal, vt100. - [abduco](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/abduco/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, terminal. - [cmatrix](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cmatrix/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, terminal. - [cocot](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cocot/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, terminal. - [colortail](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/colortail/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, terminal. - [dtach](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dtach/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, terminal. - [gtop](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gtop/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, terminal. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/vttest.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/vttest.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph