Tput: no value for $term and no -t specified

tput: no value for $term and no -t specified

The tput command in Unix-like systems is used to interact with the terminal’s capabilities, such as querying or modifying terminal settings, moving the cursor, controlling colors, etc. However, when running the tput command, you may encounter the error message “tput: no value for $term and no -t specified”.

This error occurs when the $term environment variable is not set and no -t option is provided to explicitly specify the terminal type. The $term variable is used by tput to determine the terminal’s capabilities and behavior.

To fix this error, you need to either set the $term variable or provide the -t option with a valid terminal type as an argument to the tput command.

Here are some examples:

• Example 1: Setting the $term variable directly

            $ export term=xterm
            $ tput clear
          

  In this example, we set the $term variable to “xterm” before running the tput command. This allows tput to know the capabilities of an xterm terminal and successfully clear the screen.

• Example 2: Using the -t option

            $ tput -t xterm clear
          

  Alternatively, you can use the -t option followed by a valid terminal type (e.g., “xterm”) to explicitly specify the terminal type for the tput command. This instructs tput to use the capabilities of an xterm terminal and clear the screen.