DECKPAM — Keypad Application Mode

Sequence	ESC =
Bytes	0x1B 0x3D
Mnemonic	DECKPAM
Otty support	✓

Description

Switches the numeric keypad to application mode. In application mode the keypad keys send escape sequences instead of their numeric values, so programs can bind them as function keys.

Pair with DECKPNM (ESC >) to switch back to numeric mode.

Most TUIs (vim, htop) enter application mode on start and exit it on quit; you rarely need to issue these manually.

Example

printf '\e='           # enter application keypad mode
# … now keypad '5' sends \eOu instead of '5'
printf '\e>'           # back to numeric

Related

• DECKPNM