missing x,y for current cursor position on process.stdout #49

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1. coolaj86

   changed the title [-]missing info for current cursor position on process.stdout[/-] [+]missing x,y for current cursor position on process.stdout[/+] on Dec 14, 2015
2. bnoordhuis commented on Dec 15, 2015

   

   bnoordhuis

   on Dec 15, 2015

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   https://gist.github.com/lancejpollard/3765464 is an example of how you can query the tty for the cursor position. The key part is the '\x1b[6n' scan code.

   I think the reason node.js doesn't support it natively is that it's not very portable.
3. Knighton910

   closed this as completedon Aug 9, 2016
4. maltekosian commented on Feb 3, 2018

   

   maltekosian

   on Feb 3, 2018

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   Why this issue is closed? sh scripts do not work on windows and it is not a build-in method of node.

   👍React with 👍11Reacted by Ecin, hMihaiDavid, Mark Penner, Mark Wylde, Jan Stoots, Andrei Zagoruiko, pwilkowski, Amy, Octo, Joël Charles and 1 more
5. gibfahn commented on Feb 5, 2018

   

   gibfahn

   on Feb 5, 2018

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   I think the reason node.js doesn't support it natively is that it's not very portable.

   As Ben said:

   I think the reason node.js doesn't support it natively is that it's not very portable.

   Not sure if there is a way to do it in Windows, cc/ @nodejs/platform-windows
6. joaocgreis commented on Feb 5, 2018

   

   joaocgreis

   on Feb 5, 2018

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   https://www.npmjs.com/package/get-cursor-position has Windows support.

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by hMihaiDavid
7. alshdavid commented on Nov 25, 2021

   

   alshdavid

   on Nov 25, 2021

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   Is this available in nodejs yet?
8. UnluckyNinja commented on Mar 22, 2025

   

   UnluckyNinja

   on Mar 22, 2025

   Last edited by UnluckyNinja

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   In case someone come across this issue like me:
   Just like bnoordhuis pointed out, write \x1b[6n (or \u001b[6n) to stdout will have the cursor position returned in stdin. And it's doable with only js.

   There are js examples on stackoverflow:
   https://stackoverflow.com/questions/70033207/how-do-i-get-the-current-cursor-position-relative-to-the-output-with-nodejs-read
   Tested in win10 with cmd, powershell 5.1 & 7.4.7 in Windows Terminal. All of them can return cursor position with \x1b[6n.

   The only problem I currently have is that when using it with createInterface from node:readline, if the input buffer is long enough (>= 4 chars on my machine), an additional 'R' will be appended to current cursor position.

   (EDIT: turns out when the cursor is at column >=10 the input sequence received by keypress event is {"sequence":"\u001b[27;10","name":"undefined","ctrl":false,"meta":false,"shift":false,"code":"[27;10"} where the "R" at the sequence's end is left out.)
   (EDIT2: I think I found the cause, it's simply that in the code it doesn't take such sequence into account. It only parse 2 more characters after ";" (1 digit and 1 any char): https://github.com/nodejs/node/blob/3861eccc05751eea2a0915316c16b86caea531ba/lib/internal/readline/utils.js#L182-L188)

   And a reproduction, modified from above.

   import * as readline from 'node:readline';
   
   const rl = readline.createInterface({ input: process.stdin, output: process.stdout });
   const getCursorPos = () => new Promise((resolve) => {
     const termcodes = { cursorGetPosition: '\u001b[6n' };
   
     process.stdin.setEncoding('utf8');
     process.stdin.setRawMode(true);
   
     const readfx = function () {
         const buf = process.stdin.read();
         const str = JSON.stringify(buf); // "\u001b[9;1R"
         const regex = /\[(.*)/g;
         const xy = regex.exec(str)[0].replace(/\[|R"/g, '').split(';');
         const pos = { rows: xy[0], cols: xy[1] };
         process.stdin.setRawMode(false);
         resolve(pos);
     }
   
     process.stdin.once('readable', readfx);
     process.stdout.write(termcodes.cursorGetPosition);
   })
   
   const AppMain = async function () {
     process.stdout.write('HELLO');
     const pos = await getCursorPos();
     process.stdout.write("\n");
     console.log({ pos });
     process.stdin.unref()
   }
   
   console.log('Type some text >= 4 chars')
   setTimeout(()=>{
     setImmediate(AppMain);
   }, 2000)

   It would be convenient if we can have a builtin function that provides such feature and avoid conflicts/mistakes with readline or any custom interactive console.