ANSI Strikethrough Text - Escape Code 9 for Crossed-Out Text

Strikethrough Text with ANSI Code 9

Strikethrough (also called "crossed-out") draws a horizontal line through the middle of text. It is activated with SGR code 9 and reset with code 29.

Basic Usage

# Bash
echo -e "\033[9mThis text is struck through\033[0m"

# Python
print("\033[9mThis text is struck through\033[0m")

# Node.js
console.log("\x1b[9mThis text is struck through\x1b[0m");

Practical Examples

# Showing before/after in a migration
echo -e "Config changes:"
echo -e "  \033[9;31m- old_setting: true\033[0m"
echo -e "  \033[32m+ new_setting: false\033[0m"

# Todo list with completed items
echo -e "Tasks:"
echo -e "  \033[9;90m[x] Set up database\033[0m"
echo -e "  \033[9;90m[x] Write API routes\033[0m"
echo -e "  [ ] Deploy to production"

# Deprecated API notice
echo -e "\033[33mWarning:\033[0m \033[9mgetUser()\033[0m is deprecated. Use \033[1mfetchUser()\033[0m instead."

Combining with Other Styles

# Strikethrough + dim (very subtle)
echo -e "\033[9;2mBarel visible struck text\033[0m"

# Strikethrough + red (deleted)
echo -e "\033[9;31mDeleted line\033[0m"

# Strikethrough + color + replacement
echo -e "Price: \033[9;31m$99\033[0m \033[1;32m$49\033[0m"

Terminal Support

Strikethrough is supported in most modern terminals including iTerm2, GNOME Terminal, Konsole, Windows Terminal, Alacritty, and Kitty. Some older terminals may not render it, but the text content remains visible even without the visual effect.

Reset Code

Use code 29 to reset only strikethrough while keeping other formatting:

echo -e "\033[9;1mBold struck\033[29m Bold only\033[0m"