This entire tree is "some highly unsupported crackrock", though we are cleaning it as fast as possible and aiming for a 1.0 release "next year". Please contact people listed in filed MAINTAINERS if you intend to hack on it, especially if you want to commit stuff. This is the most useful resource in understanding various internal states as well as control sequences: http://invisible-island.net/xterm/ctlseqs/ctlseqs.html And to understand termcap, terminfo, etc, "man 5 terminfo" is a great start.