A Terminal Protocol for Program Status (OSC 7501)

Mitchell HashimotoAboutWritingMiscMitchell HashimotoA Terminal Protocol for Program Status (OSC 7501)October 6, 2026I wrote a specification for a new terminal escape sequence: OSC 7501, the Program Status Protocol. It lets any program tell the terminal what it's doing: idle, working, waiting on the user, finished, or failed, and why. For example, here is how Terraform could indicate that it is blocked waiting for user input, with the message "Apply 3 to add, 1 to change, 0 to destroy?&