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Variation selector 16 (emoji presentation)
Variation Selector 16 (VS-16, U+FE0F) forces emoji presentation for characters that have both text and emoji forms. For example, ☺ (U+263A) is 1 column in text presentation, but ☺️ (U+263A + VS-16) should be 2 columns in emoji presentation.
VS-16 is how Unicode asks for emoji presentation when a character has both text and emoji forms. Terminals must combine presentation selection with width calculation: the same base character can occupy one column as text and two columns as emoji. This is why emoji support cannot be reduced to a single wcwidth table.
How this is testedautomated
Write a character with Variation Selector 16 (e.g., U+263A + U+FE0F), verify it occupies 2 columns in emoji presentation.
Write a character with Variation Selector 16 (e.g., U+263A + U+FE0F), verify it occupies 2 columns in emoji presentation.
The same probe runs against headless backends (via Termless) and real terminal apps (via a daemon launched in each terminal). This lets us distinguish parser correctness from rendering correctness.
Analysis2026-05-17
Supported by 3 of 12 terminals (25%). Part of the Unicode baseline.
Supported by 4 of 14 backends (29%)
Terminal Applications
| Terminal | Version | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| iTerm2 | 3.6.9 | ✓ yes | |
| Ghostty | 1.3.1 | ✓ yes | |
| VS Code | ✗ no | ||
| Warp | ✗ no | ||
| Kitty | 0.46.2 | ✗ no | width=1, expected 2 |
| Cursor | ✗ no | ||
| Terminal.app | ✗ no |
Headless Backends
Parser correctness only — a ✓ means the parser accepts the sequence.
| Backend | Version | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| vterm.js | 0.2.0 | ✓ yes | |
| Alacritty | 0.26.0 | ✗ no | VS16 emoji variation selectors not handled |
| vt100.js | 0.2.1 | ✗ no | VS16 emoji variation selectors not handled |
| WezTerm | 0.1.0-fork.5 | ✗ no | VS16 emoji variation selectors not handled |
| xterm.js | 5.5.0 | ✗ no | VS16 emoji variation selectors not handled |