# FAQ

> Short answers about paratext — why a pipe gets text, detecting support, tmux, adding a capability, images from files, and the drop-ins — each with where to read more.

Source: https://paratext.interlace.tools/docs/faq

## Why does my link print as `Docs (https://…)`?

Because stdout is not a terminal, or the terminal is not one paratext believes understands
OSC 8. That is the static projection, and it is the default whenever support is absent or
unknown ([The static projection](/docs/guides/static-projection)).

## My terminal supports hyperlinks, and paratext does not think so.

Register the `link` capability again with a `when` that matches your terminal; every later
`emit` uses it ([Detecting support](/docs/guides/detection#when-the-guess-is-wrong)).

## Can I ask the terminal whether it supports something?

Not for most OSC sequences: no terminal answers "do you do OSC 1337". The guess is data on the
capability — `TERM`, `TERM_PROGRAM`, an announcing variable — which is why it can be replaced.

## How do I add a capability paratext does not ship?

Register a plain object with `name`, `osc`, `when`, `encode` and `fallback`, or ship it as a
plugin and check it with `npx paratext check` ([Capabilities as data](/docs/guides/registry)).

## Why must every capability have a fallback?

So nothing registered can put raw bytes into a pipe. `fallback: ''` is allowed — a window title
has nothing to say in a log — but a missing one is refused at registration.

## Why does `paratext/term-img` not take a file path?

paratext has no `node:fs` dependency (D-030): the caller reads the file. It costs six of the
eighteen cases in term-img's suite, all of which pass a path ([Compatibility](/docs/drop-ins)).

## Does it move the cursor on a pipe?

If you ask it to: the CSI half — `cursorTo`, `eraseLines` and the rest — is ansi-escapes' bytes
and never degrades. Whether to redraw is a decision for your program, and roundel's
`outputMode` is the question to ask.

## Can I use it from CommonJS?

Yes, on Node 20.19+ and 22.13+: every entry is ESM with a `default` condition, so
`require('paratext')` loads it through `require(esm)`.