NAME

tput, clear —

terminal capability interface

SYNOPSIS

tput	[-T term] attribute [attribute-args] ...

tput	[-T term] -S

clear

[-T term]

DESCRIPTION

The tput utility makes terminal-dependent information available to users or shell applications. When invoked as clear it provides the same functionality as tput clear.

The options are as follows:

-S

The attributes are read from stdin instead of the command line.

-T

The terminal name as found in the terminfo(5) database; for example, “vt100” or “xterm”. If not specified, tput retrieves the TERM variable from the environment.

tput outputs a string if the attribute is of type string or a number if it is of type integer. If the attribute is of type boolean, tput exits 0 if the terminal has the capability or 1 if it does not. Each attribute should be a string defined in either terminfo(5) or termcap(5).

If the attribute is of type string and takes arguments (e.g., cursor movement, the terminfo(5) “cup” sequence) the arguments are taken from the command line immediately following the attribute.

The following special attributes are available:

clear

Clear the screen (the terminfo(5) “clear” sequence).

init

Print the terminfo(5) initialization strings for the specified terminal.

longname

Print the descriptive name of the user's terminal type.

reset

Reset the terminal (using the terminfo(5) reset sequences).

ENVIRONMENT

TERM

Determine the terminal type.

EXIT STATUS

The exit value of tput is based on the last attribute specified. If the attribute is of type string or of type integer the exit value is as follows:

0

The requested string was written successfully.

2

Usage error.

3

Unknown terminal type.

4

Unknown attribute name.

>4

An error occurred.

If the attribute is of type boolean, tput exits with a value of 0 if the terminal has this attribute or 1 if it does not.

EXAMPLES

Clear the screen and go to line 5 column 10:

$ tput clear cup 5 10

Go to line 6 column 11 and delete 6 characters:

$ tput cup 6 11 dch 6

SEE ALSO

terminfo(3), terminfo(5)

STANDARDS

The tput utility is compliant with the IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (“POSIX.1”) specification.

The flag [-S] and the attribute longname are extensions to that specification.

HISTORY

The clear utility first appeared in 2BSD. The tput utility appeared in 4.4BSD.

BUGS

tput can't really distinguish between different types of attributes.