CAN — Cancel

Byte	0x18
Mnemonic	CAN
Otty support	✓

Description

Aborts any control sequence currently being parsed. After CAN the parser returns to the ground state — partially-received CSI / OSC / DCS payloads are silently discarded.

Useful for clients that detected an upstream desync and want to be sure the terminal is in a clean parsing state before sending more.

Example

printf '\e[31\x18m'      # an SGR was started but cancelled mid-way;
                          # the 'm' that follows is rendered as text.

Related

• SUB — identical effect.
• Control Sequences — how the parser handles aborts.