gh-sjungling-claude-plugins-plugins-cli-developer/skills/cli-ux-designer/references/unicode-symbols.md

Unicode Symbols Reference for CLI Design

This reference provides CLI-safe Unicode symbols with platform compatibility notes and usage recommendations.

Status Indicators

Success/Completion

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
✓	U+2713	Check Mark	✓	✓	✓	Universal, highly recommended
✔	U+2714	Heavy Check	✓	✓	✓	Bolder variant
✅	U+2705	Check Button	✓	✓	Windows 10+	Emoji, may render large
◉	U+25C9	Fisheye	✓	✓	✓	Alternative indicator
●	U+25CF	Black Circle	✓	✓	✓	Simple, safe

Failure/Error

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
✗	U+2717	Ballot X	✓	✓	✓	Universal, highly recommended
✘	U+2718	Heavy Ballot X	✓	✓	✓	Bolder variant
❌	U+274C	Cross Mark	✓	✓	Windows 10+	Emoji, may render large
⨯	U+2A2F	Vector Cross	✓	✓	Limited	Mathematical, less support
×	U+00D7	Multiplication	✓	✓	✓	Very safe fallback

Warning/Alert

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
!	U+0021	Exclamation	✓	✓	✓	ASCII, universal
⚠	U+26A0	Warning Sign	✓	✓	✓	Good support
⚠️	U+26A0 U+FE0F	Warning (Emoji)	✓	✓	Windows 10+	May render colorful
⚡	U+26A1	High Voltage	✓	✓	✓	Alternative attention
ⓘ	U+24D8	Info Circle	✓	✓	Limited	Less common

Neutral/In Progress

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
-	U+002D	Hyphen	✓	✓	✓	ASCII, universal
•	U+2022	Bullet	✓	✓	✓	Good for lists
○	U+25CB	White Circle	✓	✓	✓	Hollow indicator
◦	U+25E6	Small Circle	✓	✓	✓	Smaller variant
⋯	U+22EF	Midline Ellipsis	✓	✓	✓	Indicates processing

Directional Arrows

Basic Arrows

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
→	U+2192	Rightwards	✓	✓	✓	Universal, highly recommended
←	U+2190	Leftwards	✓	✓	✓	Universal
↑	U+2191	Upwards	✓	✓	✓	Universal
↓	U+2193	Downwards	✓	✓	✓	Universal
↔	U+2194	Left-Right	✓	✓	✓	Bidirectional
⇄	U+21C4	Right-Left	✓	✓	✓	Over arrows

Special Arrows

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
➜	U+279C	Heavy Arrow	✓	✓	Limited	Prompt indicator
⟹	U+27F9	Long Right	✓	✓	Limited	Implications
↩	U+21A9	Left Hook	✓	✓	✓	Return, undo
↪	U+21AA	Right Hook	✓	✓	✓	Forward, redo
⤴	U+2934	Up-Right	✓	✓	Limited	External link
⤵	U+2935	Down-Right	✓	✓	Limited	Nested content

Tree/Hierarchy Symbols

Box Drawing Characters

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
│	U+2502	Vertical	✓	✓	✓	Tree lines
─	U+2500	Horizontal	✓	✓	✓	Tree branches
├	U+251C	Middle Node	✓	✓	✓	Tree connector
└	U+2514	Last Node	✓	✓	✓	Tree terminal
┌	U+250C	Top-Left	✓	✓	✓	Box corners
┐	U+2510	Top-Right	✓	✓	✓	Box corners
┘	U+2518	Bottom-Right	✓	✓	✓	Box corners
┤	U+2524	Right T	✓	✓	✓	Box connectors
┬	U+252C	Top T	✓	✓	✓	Box connectors

Tree Connectors (Heavy)

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
┃	U+2503	Heavy Vertical	✓	✓	✓	Emphasis
━	U+2501	Heavy Horizontal	✓	✓	✓	Emphasis
┣	U+2523	Heavy Middle	✓	✓	✓	Emphasis
┗	U+2517	Heavy Last	✓	✓	✓	Emphasis

List Markers

Bullets

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
•	U+2022	Bullet	✓	✓	✓	Standard list
◦	U+25E6	White Bullet	✓	✓	✓	Nested lists
▪	U+25AA	Black Square	✓	✓	✓	Alternative
▸	U+25B8	Right Tri	✓	✓	✓	Collapsible
▾	U+25BE	Down Tri	✓	✓	✓	Expanded
‣	U+2023	Triangular	✓	✓	✓	Alternative

Numbered Alternatives

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
①②③	U+2460+	Circled Digits	✓	✓	✓	1-20 available
⑴⑵⑶	U+2474+	Parenthesized	✓	✓	✓	1-20 available
➀➁➂	U+2780+	Sans-Serif	✓	✓	Limited	Less support

Shapes & Indicators

Geometric Shapes

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
■	U+25A0	Black Square	✓	✓	✓	Filled indicator
□	U+25A1	White Square	✓	✓	✓	Hollow indicator
▪	U+25AA	Small Square	✓	✓	✓	Compact
▫	U+25AB	Small White	✓	✓	✓	Compact hollow
▲	U+25B2	Black Triangle	✓	✓	✓	Up indicator
△	U+25B3	White Triangle	✓	✓	✓	Up hollow
▼	U+25BC	Down Triangle	✓	✓	✓	Down indicator
▽	U+25BD	Down White	✓	✓	✓	Down hollow

Progress Indicators

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
░	U+2591	Light Shade	✓	✓	✓	Progress bar empty
▒	U+2592	Medium Shade	✓	✓	✓	Progress bar partial
▓	U+2593	Dark Shade	✓	✓	✓	Progress bar almost
█	U+2588	Full Block	✓	✓	✓	Progress bar filled
▌	U+258C	Left Half	✓	✓	✓	Partial progress
▐	U+2590	Right Half	✓	✓	✓	Partial progress

Spinners & Animations

Rotating Indicators

Sequence	Unicode	Description	Notes
⠋⠙⠹⠸⠼⠴⠦⠧⠇⠏	U+280B+	Braille Dots	Smooth spinner
◐◓◑◒	U+25D0-U+25D2	Circles	Simple rotation
◴◷◶◵	U+25F4-U+25F7	Quadrants	Rotating
⣾⣽⣻⢿⡿⣟⣯⣷	U+28BE+	Braille Heavy	Heavy spinner
▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█▇▆▅▄▃▂	U+2581+	Bars	Growing/shrinking

Discrete States

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
◜◝◞◟	U+25DC+	Quarter Circles	✓	✓	Limited	4-state indicator
▖▘▝▗	U+2596+	Quarter Blocks	✓	✓	✓	4-state

Special Purpose

Git/Version Control

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
+	U+002B	Addition	✓	✓	✓	ASCII, additions
-	U+002D	Deletion	✓	✓	✓	ASCII, deletions
±	U+00B1	Plus-Minus	✓	✓	✓	Changes
≠	U+2260	Not Equal	✓	✓	✓	Conflicts
∼	U+223C	Tilde	✓	✓	✓	Modified
⎇	U+2387	Alternative	✓	✓	Limited	Branch symbol

File Operations

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
📁	U+1F4C1	Folder	✓	✓	Windows 10+	Emoji
📄	U+1F4C4	Document	✓	✓	Windows 10+	Emoji
🔗	U+1F517	Link	✓	✓	Windows 10+	Emoji
🗑	U+1F5D1	Trash	✓	✓	Windows 10+	Emoji
∅	U+2205	Empty Set	✓	✓	✓	No files

Time & Duration

Symbol	Unicode	Description	macOS	Linux	Windows	Notes
⏱	U+23F1	Stopwatch	✓	✓	Limited	Timing
⌛	U+231B	Hourglass	✓	✓	✓	Waiting
⏳	U+23F3	Flowing Sand	✓	✓	Limited	Processing
🕐	U+1F550	Clock	✓	✓	Windows 10+	Emoji

Platform Compatibility Guide

Universal (Safe Everywhere)

These work reliably across all platforms:

• ASCII characters (!, -, +, *, |)
• Basic arrows (→, ←, ↑, ↓)
• Check/X marks (✓, ✗)
• Box drawing (│, ─, ├, └)
• Basic bullets (•, ○)
• Basic shapes (■, □, ▲, ▼)

Good Support (Modern Terminals)

Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows 10+:

• Warning symbols (⚠)
• Extended arrows (➜, ↩, ↪)
• Progress blocks (░, ▒, ▓, █)
• Braille spinners (⠋, ⠙, ⠹, etc.)

Limited Support (Use with Caution)

May not render on older systems or all terminals:

• Emoji (✅, ❌, 📁, 📄, 🕐)
• Specialized math symbols (⟹, ⨯)
• Advanced geometric shapes (◴, ◷, ◜, ◝)

Windows Considerations

• Windows 10+ has much better Unicode support than earlier versions
• Windows Terminal supports more symbols than legacy cmd.exe
• PowerShell 7+ has improved rendering
• Consider providing -UseAscii flag for older systems

Usage Recommendations

1. Semantic Consistency

Use the same symbol for the same meaning throughout your CLI:

✓ Operation completed successfully
✗ Operation failed
⚠ Warning: destructive action
→ Navigate to next step

2. Provide ASCII Fallbacks

For critical information, offer ASCII alternatives:

if supports_unicode; then
    echo "✓ Success"
else
    echo "[OK] Success"
fi

3. Test Rendering

Always test symbols in:

• macOS Terminal
• iTerm2
• Windows Terminal
• PowerShell
• VS Code integrated terminal
• Linux GNOME Terminal

4. Avoid Emoji in Production CLIs

Emoji can:

• Render at different sizes
• Display in color (disrupting design)
• Fail on older systems
• Be inconsistent across fonts

Use simple Unicode symbols instead.

5. Consider Accessibility

• Screen readers handle ASCII better than Unicode
• Provide text alternatives
• Don't rely solely on symbols for meaning

Quick Reference: Common Patterns

Status Line

✓ Task completed
✗ Task failed
⚠ Task needs attention
- Task pending

File Tree

project/
├── src/
│   ├── main.rs
│   └── lib.rs
├── tests/
│   └── test.rs
└── Cargo.toml

Progress Bar

[████████░░] 80%
[▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒] 8/10 complete

List Navigation

→ Selected item
  Other item
  Another item

Spinner States

⠋ Loading...
⠙ Loading...
⠹ Loading...
⠸ Loading...

Testing Utilities

Environment Detection

# Check Unicode support
locale | grep -i utf

# Check terminal capabilities
echo $TERM

# Test symbol rendering
echo "✓ ✗ ⚠ → ├ ▓"

Manual Test String

Copy this string to test symbol support:

✓✗⚠!•→←↑↓│─├└■□▲▼░▒▓█⠋⠙⠹⠸

Additional Resources

• Unicode Character Database: https://unicode.org/charts/
• Terminal compatibility: https://github.com/sindresorhus/figures
• Box drawing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box-drawing_character
• Braille patterns: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille_Patterns