bterm(1)

📦
version 0.1.18 · 2 versions
  • 0.1.18 · debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking (latest)
  • 0.1.18 · ubuntu jammy
, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 bterm — framebuffer terminal emulator 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because we're about to talk about bterm from the General Commands Manual and honestly? it's giving terminal emulator but make it ✨raw framebuffer✨. no cap.

✨ NAME ✨

bterm — a framebuffer terminal emulator 🖥️🌸

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

bterm -f font.bgf [-s scale] [-l locale] [program]

like. that's the whole vibe check right there. -f is not optional, bestie, it's the main character. 💅

🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

so bterm is a terminal emulator for the Linux framebuffer. no X, no Wayland, no drama — just you, the raw framebuffer, and a dream. 🫶

and the way that it supports multibyte locales and wide characters?? obsessed. plus all the basic terminal features you'd expect, like cursor positioning. it's iconic, it's foundational, it literally just works. periodt. 💜

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -f font.bgf — specify the font, bestie. and ngl, BGF fonts are produced by bdftobogl(1) from standard BDF font files. that's the pipeline. that's the lore. 🍓
  • -s scale — specify the font scale factor. and get this: 0 means auto. so if you don't wanna do math, just say 0 and let it cook. 🙈
  • -l locale — specify a locale for bterm and for the processes run within it. you can also just set the locale normally in the environment, so it's not strictly mandatory… BUT — and this is the important bit, so listen up — if a locale is going to be used inside of bterm, especially one with a different character set than the current locale, then it should be specified on the command line. like, do it properly. don't be chaotic. ✨

💀 EXIT STATUS 💀

here's what bterm hands back to you when it's done doing its thing:

  1. 0 — successful completion. slay. 💖
  2. 1-125 — exit code from the executed program.
  3. 127 — failed to exec program. 😭
  4. >=128 — program terminated by signal. 💅

🧚 NOTES 🧚

on Debian systems, one appropriate BDF font can be found in the bf-utf-source package. so if you're sitting there like "where is my font bestie" — there it is. go get it. 🎀

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

  • bdftobogl(1) — the font-conjuring bestie that makes your .bgf files. iykyk. 🦋

🌸 AUTHOR 🌸

this manual page was written by Daniel Jacobowitz <dan@debian.org>. king behavior, fr fr. 👑

okay that's the whole page!! and before you go — this little masterpiece comes to you from BOGL, dated 31 March 2002. vintage. retro. still valid. mwah. 💅✨💖

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