Lobsters retrocomputing - 31 Aug 2026
Tracking terminal emulator support for Unicode's "Symbols for Legacy Computing" (U+1FB00-U+1FBFF) and its supplement block (U+1CC00-U+1CEBF)
Symbols for Legacy Computing and its supplement are unicode blocks containing graphical characters that were found on computers from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. These characters were used to show semi-graphical elements on the terminal's text grid, and were used to display pictures, render games, and enhance terminal UIs.
Here's some demos of what can build with these characters. If you have any that you'd like to contribute, please send them my way!
The Sextant (Legacy Computing) and Octant (Supplement) characters give you a 2x3 and 2x4 grid.
Use it for pixel art
Or bar charts, where you can fit two datapoints in a single character
These are unicode characters, why is this section concerned with
terminal emulators? Shouldn't this be "font support"?
Although these codepoints could be drawn by the standard text
rendering in a terminal, very few fonts actually contain the paths
necessary to display them, so many terminal emulators implement
custom drawing routines for them instead. But there's another
benefit to having the terminal draw the glyphs: the paths can be
customized to the users display settings, allowing graphical
elements to properly connect to one another even if the terminal
would otherwise add padding between glyphs.
The Symbols for Legacy Computing and Symbols for Legacy Computing Supplement blocks contain symbols that are useful for building graphical displays, and others that are less useful (unless you're building a space-invaders or pacman clone), so for the purposes of showing terminal support, I've grouped them into "Important" and "Unimportant" categories, which you can view separately.
To see which terminals implement custom drawing for codepoints in these blocks, I configured each emulator to use a font that didn't contain glyphs for any of the characters and then used a script to print all of them anyway. Any characters that still appeared on screen must have had custom logic in the emulator. This was a very manual process, and I may have made mistakes; If you notice that any of the data is incorrect, please email me or submit a pull request against the repository here or here.
| Emulator | Legacy Computing U+1FB00-U+1FBFF | Legacy Computing Supplement U+1CC00-U+1CEBF |
|---|---|---|
| ghostty | 100% 85% | 99% 53% |
| kitty | 84% 74% | 63% 33% |
| urxvt | 0% 0% | 0% 0% |
| vte | 94% 86% | 79% 42% |
| xtermjs | 100% 92% | 0% 0% |
- Ghostty is killing it.
- Kitty and libvte-based terminals (e.g. gnome-terminal and xfce's terminal) have excellent support for Legacy Computing and support the most important part of the Suppliment (the octant characters).
- xtermjs has great coverage of Legacy Computing, but sadly no support for anything in the Suppliment
- urxvt (and presumably it's entire family of terminals) support nothing.
| Section | ghostty | kitty | urxvt | vte | xtermjs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block mosaic | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Smooth mosaic | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Block elements | 100% | 95% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Window title bar | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Rectangular shade | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Fill | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Diagonal fill | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Triangular shade | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Character cell diagonals | 100% | 48% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Light solid line with stroke | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Terminal graphic | 0% | 0% | 0% | 39% | 48% |
| Arrows | 0% | 0% | 0% | 40% | 40% |
| Negative terminal graphic | 100% | 100% | 0% | 33% | 33% |
| Geometric shapes | 100% | 12% | 0% | 25% | 100% |
| Segmented digits | 0% | 50% | 0% | 50% | 50% |
| Total | 85% | 74% | 0% | 86% | 91% |
| Section | ghostty | kitty | urxvt | vte | xtermjs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block mosaic | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Smooth mosaic | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Block elements | 100% | 95% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Rectangular shade | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Fill | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Diagonal fill | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Character cell diagonals | 100% | 48% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Geometric shapes | 100% | 12% | 0% | 25% | 100% |
| Total | 100% | 84% | 0% | 94% | 100% |
| Section | ghostty | kitty | urxvt | vte | xtermjs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game sprites | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Rule segments | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Schematic symbols | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Box drawing | 80% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Separated mosaic | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Circle segments | 100% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Fill | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Emoticon | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Terminal graphic | 11% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 0% |
| Lines with tick marks | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Faces | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Icons | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Chess symbols | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Outlined uppercase Latin alphabet | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Outlined digits | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Block mosaic | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Dashed lines | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Large type pieces | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Block elements | 100% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Smalltalk symbols | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Total | 53% | 33% | 0% | 42% | 0% |
| Section | ghostty | kitty | urxvt | vte | xtermjs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box drawing | 80% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Separated mosaic | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Circle segments | 100% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Block mosaic | 100% | 100% | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Block elements | 100% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Total | 99% | 63% | 0% | 79% | 0% |
0
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1FB0
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1FB2A
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1FB30
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1FB3A
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1FB4
1FB40
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1FB4A
1FB4B
1FB4C
1FB4D
1FB4E
1FB4F
1FB5
1FB50
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1FB53
1FB54
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1FBFA
1FBFB
1FBFC
1FBFD
1FBFE
1FBFF
1CC0
1CC00
1CC01
1CC02
1CC03
1CC04
1CC05
1CC06
1CC07
1CC08
1CC09
1CC0A
1CC0B
1CC0C
1CC0D
1CC0E
1CC0F
1CC1
1CC10
1CC11
1CC12
1CC13
1CC14
1CC15
1CC16
1CC17
1CC18
1CC19
1CC1A
1CC1B
1CC1C
1CC1D
1CC1E
1CC1F
1CC2
1CC20
1CC21
1CC22
1CC23
1CC24
1CC25
1CC26
1CC27
1CC28
1CC29
1CC2A
1CC2B
1CC2C
1CC2D
1CC2E
1CC2F
1CC3
1CC30
1CC31
1CC32
1CC33
1CC34
1CC35
1CC36
1CC37
1CC38
1CC39
1CC3A
1CC3B
1CC3C
1CC3D
1CC3E
1CC3F
1CC4
1CC40
1CC41
1CC42
1CC43
1CC44
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1CC46
1CC47
1CC48
1CC49
1CC4A
1CC4B
1CC4C
1CC4D
1CC4E
1CC4F
1CC5
1CC50
1CC51
1CC52
1CC53
1CC54
1CC55
1CC56
1CC57
1CC58
1CC59
1CC5A
1CC5B
1CC5C
1CC5D
1CC5E
1CC5F
1CC6
1CC60
1CC61
1CC62
1CC63
1CC64
1CC65
1CC66
1CC67
1CC68
1CC69
1CC6A
1CC6B
1CC6C
1CC6D
1CC6E
1CC6F
1CC7
1CC70
1CC71
1CC72
1CC73
1CC74
1CC75
1CC76
1CC77
1CC78
1CC79
1CC7A
1CC7B
1CC7C
1CC7D
1CC7E
1CC7F
1CC8
1CC80
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1CC82
1CC83
1CC84
1CC85
1CC86
1CC87
1CC88
1CC89
1CC8A
1CC8B
1CC8C
1CC8D
1CC8E
1CC8F
1CC9
1CC90
1CC91
1CC92
1CC93
1CC94
1CC95
1CC96
1CC97
1CC98
1CC99
1CC9A
1CC9B
1CC9C
1CC9D
1CC9E
1CC9F
1CCA
1CCA0
1CCA1
1CCA2
1CCA3
1CCA4
1CCA5
1CCA6
1CCA7
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1CCA9
1CCAA
1CCAB
1CCAC
1CCAD
1CCAE
1CCAF
1CCB
1CCB0
1CCB1
1CCB2
1CCB3
1CCB4
1CCB5
1CCB6
1CCB7
1CCB8
1CCB9
1CCBA
1CCBB
1CCBC
1CCBD
1CCBE
1CCBF
1CCC
1CCC0
1CCC1
1CCC2
1CCC3
1CCC4
1CCC5
1CCC6
1CCC7
1CCC8
1CCC9
1CCCA
1CCCB
1CCCC
1CCCD
1CCCE
1CCCF
1CCD
1CCD0
1CCD1
1CCD2
1CCD3
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1CCDA
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1CCE0
1CCE1
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1CCF0
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1CCFB
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1CD0
1CD00
1CD01
1CD02
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1CD06
1CD07
1CD08
1CD09
1CD0A
1CD0B
1CD0C
1CD0D
1CD0E
1CD0F
1CD1
1CD10
1CD11
1CD12
1CD13
1CD14
1CD15
1CD16
1CD17
1CD18
1CD19
1CD1A
1CD1B
1CD1C
1CD1D
1CD1E
1CD1F
1CD2
1CD20
1CD21
1CD22
1CD23
1CD24
1CD25
1CD26
1CD27
1CD28
1CD29
1CD2A
1CD2B
1CD2C
1CD2D
1CD2E
1CD2F
1CD3
1CD30
1CD31
1CD32
1CD33
1CD34
1CD35
1CD36
1CD37
1CD38
1CD39
1CD3A
1CD3B
1CD3C
1CD3D
1CD3E
1CD3F
1CD4
1CD40
1CD41
1CD42
1CD43
1CD44
1CD45
1CD46
1CD47
1CD48
1CD49
1CD4A
1CD4B
1CD4C
1CD4D
1CD4E
1CD4F
1CD5
1CD50
1CD51
1CD52
1CD53
1CD54
1CD55
1CD56
1CD57
1CD58
1CD59
1CD5A
1CD5B
1CD5C
1CD5D
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1CD5F
1CD6
1CD60
1CD61
1CD62
1CD63
1CD64
1CD65
1CD66
1CD67
1CD68
1CD69
1CD6A
1CD6B
1CD6C
1CD6D
1CD6E
1CD6F
1CD7
1CD70
1CD71
1CD72
1CD73
1CD74
1CD75
1CD76
1CD77
1CD78
1CD79
1CD7A
1CD7B
1CD7C
1CD7D
1CD7E
1CD7F
1CD8
1CD80
1CD81
1CD82
1CD83
1CD84
1CD85
1CD86
1CD87
1CD88
1CD89
1CD8A
1CD8B
1CD8C
1CD8D
1CD8E
1CD8F
1CD9
1CD90
1CD91
1CD92
1CD93
1CD94
1CD95
1CD96
1CD97
1CD98
1CD99
1CD9A
1CD9B
1CD9C
1CD9D
1CD9E
1CD9F
1CDA
1CDA0
1CDA1
1CDA2
1CDA3
1CDA4
1CDA5
1CDA6
1CDA7
1CDA8
1CDA9
1CDAA
1CDAB
1CDAC
1CDAD
1CDAE
1CDAF
1CDB
1CDB0
1CDB1
1CDB2
1CDB3
1CDB4
1CDB5
1CDB6
1CDB7
1CDB8
1CDB9
1CDBA
1CDBB
1CDBC
1CDBD
1CDBE
1CDBF
1CDC
1CDC0
1CDC1
1CDC2
1CDC3
1CDC4
1CDC5
1CDC6
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1CDC8
1CDC9
1CDCA
1CDCB
1CDCC
1CDCD
1CDCE
1CDCF
1CDD
1CDD0
1CDD1
1CDD2
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1CDDA
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1CDE
1CDE0
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1CDF0
1CDF1
1CDF2
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1CDF5
1CDF6
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1CDF9
1CDFA
1CDFB
1CDFC
1CDFD
1CDFE
1CDFF
1CE0
1CE00
1CE01
1CE02
1CE03
1CE04
1CE05
1CE06
1CE07
1CE08
1CE09
1CE0A
1CE0B
1CE0C
1CE0D
1CE0E
1CE0F
1CE1
1CE10
1CE11
1CE12
1CE13
1CE14
1CE15
1CE16
1CE17
1CE18
1CE19
1CE1A
1CE1B
1CE1C
1CE1D
1CE1E
1CE1F
1CE2
1CE20
1CE21
1CE22
1CE23
1CE24
1CE25
1CE26
1CE27
1CE28
1CE29
1CE2A
1CE2B
1CE2C
1CE2D
1CE2E
1CE2F
1CE3
1CE30
1CE31
1CE32
1CE33
1CE34
1CE35
1CE36
1CE37
1CE38
1CE39
1CE3A
1CE3B
1CE3C
1CE3D
1CE3E
1CE3F
1CE4
1CE40
1CE41
1CE42
1CE43
1CE44
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1CE4A
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1CE5
1CE50
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1CE5A
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1CE6
1CE60
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1CE63
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1CE6A
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1CE7
1CE70
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1CE7A
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1CE8
1CE80
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1CE9
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1CEA
1CEA0
1CEA1
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1CEAA
1CEAB
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1CEB0
1CEB1
1CEB2
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1CEB6
1CEB7
1CEB8
1CEB9
1CEBA
1CEBB
1CEBC
1CEBD
1CEBE
1CEBF
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Original: https://arewelegacycomputingyet.com/