terminal: Vim Cursor shape stays underscore. Not able to change it

From @ponegan on January 9, 2018 6:40

Your Windows build number: (Type ver at a Windows Command Prompt) Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.16299.125]
What you’re doing and what’s happening / What’s wrong / what should be happening instead: I’m using xterm-256color. I had been tried to change the shape of my vim cursor. I tried lots of different configuration for cursor shape (to be block) but none of them works as I put them in my .vimrc.

For example I tried some of these: http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Configuring_the_cursor

In the terminal I was able to change the shape of cursor to block by selecting ‘large’ in property as @zadjii-msft suggested in #1253. But the same trick won’t work for vim. Well… it will work at the moment I set it to ‘large’. But it will reset back to underscore every time I open another file.

As this:

Anyone got a good approach on this cursor configuration?

Copied from original issue: Microsoft/WSL#2821

About this issue

Original URL
State: closed
Created 6 years ago
Reactions: 8
Comments: 40 (8 by maintainers)

Most upvoted comments

@tuyenpm9 that’s no $PS1, that’s a %PROMPT% setting in CMD: https://github.com/zadjii/keep/blob/master/bin/reprompt.cmd#L33

Also, I’m certain support for this is in Insider’s (at the very least). How are you setting your cursor shape in vim?

I know that this method works at the very least: http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Change_cursor_shape_in_different_modes#For_Terminal_on_macOS

let &t_SI.="\e[5 q"
let &t_SR.="\e[4 q"
let &t_EI.="\e[1 q"

+19

zadjii-msft on Sep 4, 2018

Got block/bar cursor working in powershell, cmd, and wsl with :

if &term == 'win32'
        let &t_ti.=" \e[1 q"
        let &t_SI.=" \e[5 q-- INSERT --"
        let &t_EI.=" \e[1 q"
        let &t_te.=" \e[0 q"
else
        let &t_ti.="\e[1 q"
        let &t_SI.="\e[5 q"
        let &t_EI.="\e[1 q"
        let &t_te.="\e[0 q"
endif

Note spaces before the control sequence in the win32 terminal configuration. A few quirks but all in all much better than the cursor not indicating the current mode

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18362.657] 1903 VIM - Vi IMproved 8.1 (2018 May 18, compiled May 18 2018 18:26:56)

WSL - Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS VIM - Vi IMproved 8.0 (2016 Sep 12, compiled Jun 06 2019 17:31:41)

travisl09 on Mar 8, 2020

@p-groarke Thanks for the kind words, but please stop being nice to our dev’s - it makes them all happy and distracts them from their long list of bugs & features.

Back to your keyboard @zadjii-msft or I’ll have to put you on notice again 😉 backtowork

bitcrazed on Mar 21, 2018

Oh yea! I added support for cursor shapes, colors for RS5. If vim’s using them to set the shape, then they should work. It’s on it’s way to Insiders now 😃

zadjii-msft on Mar 20, 2018

I’ve never been able to get the cursor change working in vim.exe and I don’t know why. I mostly use neovim, and it does work there, so I think this is a vim issue now.

Edit - just experimented a bit, it sort of works this way, but the screen gets glitchy for me:

let &t_SI="\<CSI>5 q"
let &t_EI="\<CSI>1 q"

parkovski on Oct 8, 2019

This is I suppose tangental to the issue, but I really want the cursor to change in vim. I don’t know how to get 1809. I’m on 1803 (17134.556), and there is no update available. I tried doing that insiders program, but after doing the link my account go get started, it just does a little spin, then my account never gets added. Maybe because it’s an azure vm and/or the account is an alias(at)microsoft.com there is some restriction? (sorry I have no real idea how to use windows, which is why I’m clinging to vim and wsl as much as I can 😉 )

will on Feb 5, 2019

Wow the command prompt team keeps delivering time and time again. What a time to be alive! Thanks for all the great work.

p-groarke on Mar 20, 2018

There is also a psychological hack: at first, the underscore cursor looks very annoying and unnatural, but after a month of usage you will be absolutely comfortable with it and even won’t notice a switch between the underscore cursor and the standard block cursor when working in other environments. At least this is what happened to me.

Sure but not being able to distinguish between insert and command mode is annoying

mbowman34 on Aug 7, 2020

Update: My strange solution is broken/not necessary now (don’t know since when). The following works when sourced, but not when autoloaded as vimrc. I have no idea what’s going on.

let &t_SI=" \e[5 q"
let &t_SR=" \e[4 q"
let &t_EI=" \e[2 q"

let &t_ti=" \e[S \e[2 q"
let &t_te=" \e[E \e[1 q"

(I still see the visual bug for r)

gustaphe on Jun 23, 2022

@tuyenpm9 that’s no $PS1, that’s a %PROMPT% setting in CMD: https://github.com/zadjii/keep/blob/master/bin/reprompt.cmd#L33

Also, I’m certain support for this is in Insider’s (at the very least). How are you setting your cursor shape in vim?

I know that this method works at the very least: http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Change_cursor_shape_in_different_modes#For_Terminal_on_macOS
let &t_SI.="\e[5 q"
let &t_SR.="\e[4 q"
let &t_EI.="\e[1 q"

Also can add autocmd VimLeave * silent !echo -ne "\x1b[\x35 q" or any value x31-x35 to set the cursor back to your default after exiting vim

mbowman34 on Jul 14, 2020

if &term == 'win32'
        let &t_ti.=" \e[1 q"
        let &t_SI.=" \e[5 q-- INSERT --"
        let &t_EI.=" \e[1 q"
        let &t_te.=" \e[0 q"
else
        let &t_ti.="\e[1 q"
        let &t_SI.="\e[5 q"
        let &t_EI.="\e[1 q"
        let &t_te.="\e[0 q"
endif

Thanks for this, but somehow, it doesn’t work when set termguicolors is enabled

hummeleBop on Apr 30, 2020

That’s because we’re the best 😛

As a teaser, here’s a pic of a vertical bar cursor in a pleasing cyan:

Of course, there are other shapes too if you so choose. That’s just my default.

zadjii-msft on Mar 20, 2018