diff --git a/doc/man/man1/ncplayer.1.md b/doc/man/man1/ncplayer.1.md
index 07acb9559..2121bd27e 100644
--- a/doc/man/man1/ncplayer.1.md
+++ b/doc/man/man1/ncplayer.1.md
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ Only applies to multiframe media such as video and animated images. Not supporte
 the "press any key to continue" prompt will not be displayed. **seconds** may
 be any non-negative number.
 
-**-l** ***loglevel***: Log between everything (loglevel 8) and nothing (loglevel 0) to stderr.
+**-l** ***loglevel***: Log between everything (loglevel 7) and nothing (loglevel 0) to stderr.
 
 **-s** ***scalemode***: Scaling mode, one of **none**, **hires**, **scale**, **scalehi**, or **stretch**.
 
diff --git a/doc/man/man1/notcurses-demo.1.md b/doc/man/man1/notcurses-demo.1.md
index 7f12be36e..931d2b0ec 100644
--- a/doc/man/man1/notcurses-demo.1.md
+++ b/doc/man/man1/notcurses-demo.1.md
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ terminal, and will refuse to run in anything smaller than 80x24.
 
 **-d** ***delaymult***: Apply a non-negative rational multiplier to the standard delay of 1s.
 
-**-l** ***loglevel***: Log between everything (loglevel 8) and nothing (loglevel 0) to stderr.
+**-l** ***loglevel***: Log between everything (loglevel 7) and nothing (loglevel 0) to stderr.
 
 **-f** ***renderfile***: Render each frame to ***renderfile*** in addition to the screen.
 
diff --git a/include/notcurses/notcurses.h b/include/notcurses/notcurses.h
index d4d975172..b76ca386d 100644
--- a/include/notcurses/notcurses.h
+++ b/include/notcurses/notcurses.h
@@ -824,17 +824,18 @@ nccell_load_egc32(struct ncplane* n, nccell* c, uint32_t egc){
 // does not use this full granularity. The log level does not affect the opening
 // and closing banners, which can be disabled via the notcurses_option struct's
 // 'suppress_banner'. Note that if stderr is connected to the same terminal on
-// which we're rendering, any kind of logging will disrupt the output.
+// which we're rendering, any kind of logging will disrupt the output (which is
+// undesirable). The "default" zero value is NCLOGLEVEL_PANIC.
 typedef enum {
-  NCLOGLEVEL_SILENT,  // default. print nothing once fullscreen service begins
-  NCLOGLEVEL_PANIC,   // print diagnostics immediately related to crashing
-  NCLOGLEVEL_FATAL,   // we're hanging around, but we've had a horrible fault
-  NCLOGLEVEL_ERROR,   // we can't keep doing this, but we can do other things
-  NCLOGLEVEL_WARNING, // you probably don't want what's happening to happen
-  NCLOGLEVEL_INFO,    // "standard information"
-  NCLOGLEVEL_VERBOSE, // "detailed information"
-  NCLOGLEVEL_DEBUG,   // this is honestly a bit much
-  NCLOGLEVEL_TRACE,   // there's probably a better way to do what you want
+  NCLOGLEVEL_SILENT = -1,// default. print nothing once fullscreen service begins
+  NCLOGLEVEL_PANIC = 0,  // print diagnostics related to catastrophic failure
+  NCLOGLEVEL_FATAL = 1,  // we're hanging around, but we've had a horrible fault
+  NCLOGLEVEL_ERROR = 2,  // we can't keep doing this, but we can do other things
+  NCLOGLEVEL_WARNING = 3,// you probably don't want what's happening to happen
+  NCLOGLEVEL_INFO = 4,   // "standard information"
+  NCLOGLEVEL_VERBOSE = 5,// "detailed information"
+  NCLOGLEVEL_DEBUG = 6,  // this is honestly a bit much
+  NCLOGLEVEL_TRACE = 7,  // there's probably a better way to do what you want
 } ncloglevel_e;
 
 // Bits for notcurses_options->flags.
diff --git a/src/demo/fission.c b/src/demo/fission.c
index 18d1f47a7..836f136f3 100644
--- a/src/demo/fission.c
+++ b/src/demo/fission.c
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ shuffle_in(struct ncplane** arr, int count, struct ncplane* n){
   }
   arr = tmp;
   // location of new element
-  int pos = random() % (count + 1);
+  int pos = rand() % (count + 1);
   if(pos < count){
     // move everything, starting at our new location, one spot right
     memmove(arr + pos + 1, arr + pos, sizeof(*arr) * (count - pos));
diff --git a/src/info/main.c b/src/info/main.c
index 33f269451..0610b70f8 100644
--- a/src/info/main.c
+++ b/src/info/main.c
@@ -424,7 +424,7 @@ tinfo_debug_styles(const notcurses* nc, struct ncplane* n, const char* indent){
   tinfo_debug_style(n, "struck", NCSTYLE_STRUCK, ' ');
   tinfo_debug_style(n, "ucurl", NCSTYLE_UNDERCURL, ' ');
   tinfo_debug_style(n, "uline", NCSTYLE_UNDERLINE, ' ');
-  tinfo_debug_cap(n, "u7", get_escape(ti, ESCAPE_DSRCPR), ' ');
+  tinfo_debug_cap(n, "u7", get_escape(ti, ESCAPE_U7), ' ');
   tinfo_debug_cap(n, "ccc", ti->caps.can_change_colors, ' ');
   tinfo_debug_cap(n, "rgb", ti->caps.rgb, ' ');
   finish_line(n);
diff --git a/src/lib/direct.c b/src/lib/direct.c
index 13bf1e2aa..74615155a 100644
--- a/src/lib/direct.c
+++ b/src/lib/direct.c
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ cursor_yx_get(int ttyfd, const char* u7, int* y, int* x){
 int ncdirect_cursor_move_yx(ncdirect* n, int y, int x){
   const char* hpa = get_escape(&n->tcache, ESCAPE_HPA);
   const char* vpa = get_escape(&n->tcache, ESCAPE_VPA);
-  const char* u7 = get_escape(&n->tcache, ESCAPE_DSRCPR);
+  const char* u7 = get_escape(&n->tcache, ESCAPE_U7);
   if(y == -1){ // keep row the same, horizontal move only
     if(hpa){
       return term_emit(tiparm(hpa, x), n->ttyfp, false);
@@ -410,7 +410,7 @@ int ncdirect_cursor_yx(ncdirect* n, int* y, int* x){
   if(n->ctermfd < 0){
     return -1;
   }
-  const char* u7 = get_escape(&n->tcache, ESCAPE_DSRCPR);
+  const char* u7 = get_escape(&n->tcache, ESCAPE_U7);
   if(u7 == NULL){
     fprintf(stderr, "Terminal doesn't support cursor reporting\n");
     return -1;
@@ -1411,7 +1411,7 @@ const nccapabilities* ncdirect_capabilities(const ncdirect* n){
 }
 
 bool ncdirect_canget_cursor(const ncdirect* n){
-  if(get_escape(&n->tcache, ESCAPE_DSRCPR) == NULL){
+  if(get_escape(&n->tcache, ESCAPE_U7) == NULL){
     return false;
   }
   if(n->ctermfd < 0){
diff --git a/src/lib/fbuf.h b/src/lib/fbuf.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2580dd660
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/fbuf.h
@@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
+#ifndef NOTCURSES_FBUF
+#define NOTCURSES_FBUF
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <assert.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <inttypes.h>
+#include "compat/compat.h"
+
+// a growable buffer into which one can perform formatted i/o, like the
+// ten thousand that came before it, and the ten trillion which shall
+// come after. uses mmap (with huge pages, if possible) on unix and
+// virtualalloc on windows. it can grow arbitrarily large. it does
+// *not* maintain a NUL terminator, and can hold binary data.
+// on Windows, we're using VirtualAlloc(). on BSD, we're using realloc().
+// on Linux, we're using mmap()+mremap().
+
+typedef struct fbuf {
+  uint64_t size;
+  uint64_t used;
+  char* buf;
+} fbuf;
+
+// header-only so that we can test it from notcurses-tester
+
+static inline char*
+fbuf_at(fbuf* f, uint64_t at){
+  if(at > f->used){
+    return NULL;
+  }
+  return f->buf + at;
+}
+
+#ifdef MAP_POPULATE
+#ifdef MAP_UNINITIALIZED
+#define MAPFLAGS (MAP_POPULATE | MAP_UNINITIALIZED)
+#else
+#define MAPFLAGS MAP_POPULATE
+#endif
+#else
+#ifdef MAP_UNINITIALIZED
+#define MAPFLAGS MAP_UNINITIALIZED
+#else
+#define MAPFLAGS 0
+#endif
+#endif
+
+// ensure there is sufficient room to add |n| bytes to |f|. if necessary,
+// enlarge the buffer, which might move it (invalidating any references
+// therein). the amount added is based on the current size (and |n|). we
+// never grow larger than SIZE_MAX / 2.
+static inline int
+fbuf_grow(fbuf* f, size_t n){
+  assert(NULL != f->buf);
+  assert(0 != f->size);
+  size_t size = f->size;
+  if(size - f->used >= n){
+    return 0; // we have enough space
+  }
+  while(SIZE_MAX / 2 >= size){
+    size *= 2;
+    if(size - f->used < n){
+      continue;
+    }
+    void* tmp;
+#ifdef __linux__
+    tmp = mremap(f->buf, f->size, size, MREMAP_MAYMOVE);
+    if(tmp == MAP_FAILED){
+      return -1;
+    }
+#else
+    tmp = realloc(f->buf, f->size);
+    if(tmp == NULL){
+      return -1;
+    }
+#endif
+    f->buf = (char*)tmp; // cast for c++ callers
+    f->size = size;
+    return 0;
+  }
+  // n (or our current buffer) is too large
+  return -1;
+}
+
+// prepare (a significant amount of) initial space for the fbuf.
+// pass 1 for |small| if it ought be...small.
+static inline int
+fbuf_initgrow(fbuf* f, unsigned small){
+  assert(NULL == f->buf);
+  assert(0 == f->used);
+  assert(0 == f->size);
+  // we start with 2MiB, the huge page size on all of x86+PAE,
+  // ARMv7+LPAE, ARMv8, and x86-64.
+  // FIXME use GetLargePageMinimum() and sysconf
+  size_t size = small ? (4096 > BUFSIZ ? 4096 : BUFSIZ) : 0x200000lu;
+#if defined(__linux__)
+  static bool hugepages_failed = false; // FIXME atomic
+  if(!hugepages_failed && !small){
+    // mmap(2): hugetlb results in automatic stretch out to cover hugepage
+    f->buf = (char*)mmap(NULL, size, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_HUGETLB |
+                         MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_ANONYMOUS | MAPFLAGS , -1, 0);
+    if(f->buf == MAP_FAILED){
+      hugepages_failed = true;
+      f->buf = NULL;
+    }
+  }
+  if(f->buf == NULL){ // try again without MAP_HUGETLB
+    f->buf = (char*)mmap(NULL, size, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
+                         MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_ANONYMOUS | MAPFLAGS , -1, 0);
+  }
+  if(f->buf == MAP_FAILED){
+    f->buf = NULL;
+    return -1;
+  }
+#else
+  f->buf = (char*)malloc(size);
+  if(f->buf == NULL){
+    return -1;
+  }
+#endif
+  f->size = size;
+  return 0;
+}
+#undef MAPFLAGS
+
+// prepare f with a small initial buffer.
+static inline int
+fbuf_init_small(fbuf* f){
+  f->used = 0;
+  f->size = 0;
+  f->buf = NULL;
+  return fbuf_initgrow(f, 1);
+}
+
+// prepare f with a large initial buffer.
+static inline int
+fbuf_init(fbuf* f){
+  f->used = 0;
+  f->size = 0;
+  f->buf = NULL;
+  return fbuf_initgrow(f, 0);
+}
+
+// reset usage, but don't shrink the buffer or anything
+static inline void
+fbuf_reset(fbuf* f){
+  f->used = 0;
+}
+
+static inline int
+fbuf_putc(fbuf* f, char c){
+  if(fbuf_grow(f, 1)){
+    return -1;
+  }
+  *fbuf_at(f, f->used++) = c;
+  return 1;
+}
+
+static inline int
+fbuf_putn(fbuf* f, const char* s, size_t len){
+  if(fbuf_grow(f, len)){
+    return -1;
+  }
+  memcpy(f->buf + f->used, s, len);
+  f->used += len;
+  return len;
+}
+
+static inline int
+fbuf_puts(fbuf* f, const char* s){
+  size_t slen = strlen(s);
+  return fbuf_putn(f, s, slen);
+}
+
+static inline int
+fbuf_putint(fbuf* f, int n){
+  if(fbuf_grow(f, 10)){ // 32-bit int might require up to 10 digits
+    return -1;
+  }
+  uint64_t r = snprintf(f->buf + f->used, f->size - f->used, "%d", n);
+  if(r > f->size - f->used){
+    assert(r <= f->size - f->used);
+    return -1; // FIXME grow?
+  }
+  f->used += r;
+  return r;
+}
+
+// FIXME eliminate this, ideally
+__attribute__ ((format (printf, 2, 3)))
+static inline int
+fbuf_printf(fbuf* f, const char* fmt, ...){
+  if(fbuf_grow(f, BUFSIZ) < 0){
+    return -1;
+  }
+  va_list va;
+  va_start(va, fmt);
+  int r = vsnprintf(f->buf + f->used, f->size - f->used, fmt, va);
+  va_end(va);
+  if((size_t)r >= f->size - f->used){
+    return -1;
+  }
+  assert(r >= 0);
+  f->used += r;
+  return r;
+}
+
+// emit an escape; obviously you can't flush here
+static inline int
+fbuf_emit(fbuf* f, const char* esc){
+  if(!esc){
+    return -1;
+  }
+  if(fbuf_puts(f, esc) < 0){
+    //logerror("error emitting escape (%s)\n", strerror(errno));
+    return -1;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+// releases the resources held by f. f itself is not freed.
+static inline void
+fbuf_free(fbuf* f){
+  if(f){
+//    logdebug("Releasing from %" PRIu32 "B (%" PRIu32 "B)\n", f->size, f->used);
+    if(f->buf){
+#if __linux__
+      if(munmap(f->buf, f->size)){
+        //logwarn("Error unmapping alloc (%s)\n", strerror(errno));
+      }
+#else
+      free(f->buf);
+#endif
+      f->buf = NULL;
+    }
+    f->size = 0;
+    f->used = 0;
+  }
+}
+
+// attempt to write the contents of |f| to the FILE |fp|, if there are any
+// contents, and free the fbuf either way. if |flushfp| is set, fflush(fp).
+static inline int
+fbuf_finalize(fbuf* f, FILE* fp, bool flushfp){
+  int ret = 0;
+  if(f->used){
+    if(fwrite(f->buf, f->used, 1, fp) != 1){
+      ret = -1;
+    }
+  }
+  if(flushfp && ret == 0 && fflush(fp) == EOF){
+    ret = -1;
+  }
+  fbuf_free(f);
+  return ret;
+}
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif
diff --git a/src/lib/input.h b/src/lib/input.h
index 14001ee68..af2d58f1d 100644
--- a/src/lib/input.h
+++ b/src/lib/input.h
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ typedef enum {
     TERMINAL_ITERM,         // XTVERSION == 'iTerm2 [ver]'
     TERMINAL_TERMINOLOGY,   // TDA: "~~TY"
     TERMINAL_APPLE,         // Terminal.App, determined by TERM_PROGRAM + macOS
+    TERMINAL_MSTERMINAL,    // Microsoft Windows Terminal
 } queried_terminals_e;
 
 // sets up the input layer, building a trie of escape sequences and their
diff --git a/src/lib/termdesc.c b/src/lib/termdesc.c
index 5d54c67e4..87a4a1152 100644
--- a/src/lib/termdesc.c
+++ b/src/lib/termdesc.c
@@ -261,41 +261,6 @@ compare_versions(const char* restrict v1, const char* restrict v2){
   return 0;
 }
 
-// tlen -- size of escape table. tused -- used bytes in same.
-// returns -1 if the starting location is >= 65535. otherwise,
-// copies tstr into the table, and sets up 1-biased index.
-static int
-grow_esc_table(tinfo* ti, const char* tstr, escape_e esc,
-               size_t* tlen, size_t* tused){
-  // the actual table can grow past 64KB, but we can't start there, as
-  // we only have 16-bit indices.
-  if(*tused >= 65535){
-    fprintf(stderr, "Can't add escape %d to full table\n", esc);
-    return -1;
-  }
-  if(get_escape(ti, esc)){
-    fprintf(stderr, "Already defined escape %d (%s)\n",
-            esc, get_escape(ti, esc));
-    return -1;
-  }
-  size_t slen = strlen(tstr) + 1; // count the nul term
-  if(*tlen - *tused < slen){
-    // guaranteed to give us enough space to add tstr (and then some)
-    size_t newsize = *tlen + 4020 + slen; // don't pull two pages ideally
-    char* tmp = realloc(ti->esctable, newsize);
-    if(tmp == NULL){
-      return -1;
-    }
-    ti->esctable = tmp;
-    *tlen = newsize;
-  }
-  // we now are guaranteed sufficient space to copy tstr
-  memcpy(ti->esctable + *tused, tstr, slen);
-  ti->escindices[esc] = *tused + 1; // one-bias
-  *tused += slen;
-  return 0;
-}
-
 // Tertiary Device Attributes, necessary to identify VTE.
 // https://vt100.net/docs/vt510-rm/DA3.html
 // Replies with DCS ! | ... ST
@@ -408,11 +373,11 @@ init_terminfo_esc(tinfo* ti, const char* name, escape_e idx,
 // terminal supports it, hah.
 static int
 add_u7_escape(tinfo* ti, size_t* tablelen, size_t* tableused){
-  const char* u7 = get_escape(ti, ESCAPE_DSRCPR);
+  const char* u7 = get_escape(ti, ESCAPE_U7);
   if(u7){
     return 0; // already present
   }
-  if(grow_esc_table(ti, DSRCPR, ESCAPE_DSRCPR, tablelen, tableused)){
+  if(grow_esc_table(ti, DSRCPR, ESCAPE_U7, tablelen, tableused)){
     return -1;
   }
   return 0;
@@ -777,7 +742,7 @@ int interrogate_terminfo(tinfo* ti, int fd, const char* termname, unsigned utf8,
     { ESCAPE_CLEAR, "clear", },
     { ESCAPE_OC, "oc", },
     { ESCAPE_RMKX, "rmkx", },
-    { ESCAPE_DSRCPR, "u7", },
+    { ESCAPE_U7, "u7", },
     { ESCAPE_MAX, NULL, },
   };
   size_t tablelen = 0;
@@ -942,7 +907,7 @@ locate_cursor_simple(int fd, const char* u7, int* cursor_y, int* cursor_x){
 // is valid, we can just camp there. otherwise, we need dance with potential
 // user input looking at infd.
 int locate_cursor(tinfo* ti, int* cursor_y, int* cursor_x){
-  const char* u7 = get_escape(ti, ESCAPE_DSRCPR);
+  const char* u7 = get_escape(ti, ESCAPE_U7);
   if(u7 == NULL){
     logwarn("No support in terminfo\n");
     return -1;
diff --git a/src/lib/termdesc.h b/src/lib/termdesc.h
index 213d92777..0aa3634c7 100644
--- a/src/lib/termdesc.h
+++ b/src/lib/termdesc.h
@@ -29,42 +29,42 @@ struct ncsharedstats;
 
 // indexes into the table of fixed-width (16-bit) indices
 typedef enum {
-  ESCAPE_CUP,      // "cup" move cursor to absolute x, y position
-  ESCAPE_HPA,      // "hpa" move cursor to absolute horizontal position
-  ESCAPE_VPA,      // "vpa" move cursor to absolute vertical position
-  ESCAPE_SETAF,    // "setaf" set foreground color
-  ESCAPE_SETAB,    // "setab" set background color
-  ESCAPE_OP,       // "op" set foreground and background color to defaults
-  ESCAPE_FGOP,     // set foreground only to default
-  ESCAPE_BGOP,     // set background only to default
-  ESCAPE_SGR0,     // "sgr0" turn off all styles
-  ESCAPE_CIVIS,    // "civis" make the cursor invisiable
-  ESCAPE_CNORM,    // "cnorm" restore the cursor to normal
-  ESCAPE_OC,       // "oc" restore original colors
-  ESCAPE_SITM,     // "sitm" start italics
-  ESCAPE_RITM,     // "ritm" end italics
-  ESCAPE_CUU,      // "cuu" move n cells up
-  ESCAPE_CUB,      // "cub" move n cells back (left)
-  ESCAPE_CUF,      // "cuf" move n cells forward (right)
-  ESCAPE_BOLD,     // "bold" enter bold mode
-  ESCAPE_NOBOLD,   // disable bold (ANSI but not terminfo, SGR 22)
-  ESCAPE_CUD,      // "cud" move n cells down
-  ESCAPE_SMKX,     // "smkx" keypad_xmit (keypad transmit mode)
-  ESCAPE_RMKX,     // "rmkx" keypad_local
-  ESCAPE_SMCUP,    // "smcup" enter alternate screen
-  ESCAPE_RMCUP,    // "rmcup" leave alternate screen
-  ESCAPE_SMXX,     // "smxx" start struckout
-  ESCAPE_SMUL,     // "smul" start underline
-  ESCAPE_RMUL,     // "rmul" end underline
-  ESCAPE_SMULX,    // "Smulx" deparameterized: start extended underline
-  ESCAPE_SMULNOX,  // "Smulx" deparameterized: kill underline
-  ESCAPE_RMXX,     // "rmxx" end struckout
-  ESCAPE_SC,       // "sc" push the cursor onto the stack
-  ESCAPE_RC,       // "rc" pop the cursor off the stack
-  ESCAPE_CLEAR,    // "clear" clear screen and home cursor
-  ESCAPE_INITC,    // "initc" set up palette entry
-  ESCAPE_GETM,     // "getm" get mouse events
-  ESCAPE_DSRCPR,   // "u7" cursor position report
+  ESCAPE_CUP,     // "cup" move cursor to absolute x, y position
+  ESCAPE_HPA,     // "hpa" move cursor to absolute horizontal position
+  ESCAPE_VPA,     // "vpa" move cursor to absolute vertical position
+  ESCAPE_SETAF,   // "setaf" set foreground color
+  ESCAPE_SETAB,   // "setab" set background color
+  ESCAPE_OP,      // "op" set foreground and background color to defaults
+  ESCAPE_FGOP,    // set foreground only to default
+  ESCAPE_BGOP,    // set background only to default
+  ESCAPE_SGR0,    // "sgr0" turn off all styles
+  ESCAPE_CIVIS,   // "civis" make the cursor invisiable
+  ESCAPE_CNORM,   // "cnorm" restore the cursor to normal
+  ESCAPE_OC,      // "oc" restore original colors
+  ESCAPE_SITM,    // "sitm" start italics
+  ESCAPE_RITM,    // "ritm" end italics
+  ESCAPE_CUU,     // "cuu" move n cells up
+  ESCAPE_CUB,     // "cub" move n cells back (left)
+  ESCAPE_CUF,     // "cuf" move n cells forward (right)
+  ESCAPE_BOLD,    // "bold" enter bold mode
+  ESCAPE_NOBOLD,  // disable bold (ANSI but not terminfo, SGR 22)
+  ESCAPE_CUD,     // "cud" move n cells down
+  ESCAPE_SMKX,    // "smkx" keypad_xmit (keypad transmit mode)
+  ESCAPE_RMKX,    // "rmkx" keypad_local
+  ESCAPE_SMCUP,   // "smcup" enter alternate screen
+  ESCAPE_RMCUP,   // "rmcup" leave alternate screen
+  ESCAPE_SMXX,    // "smxx" start struckout
+  ESCAPE_SMUL,    // "smul" start underline
+  ESCAPE_RMUL,    // "rmul" end underline
+  ESCAPE_SMULX,   // "Smulx" deparameterized: start extended underline
+  ESCAPE_SMULNOX, // "Smulx" deparameterized: kill underline
+  ESCAPE_RMXX,    // "rmxx" end struckout
+  ESCAPE_SC,      // "sc" push the cursor onto the stack
+  ESCAPE_RC,      // "rc" pop the cursor off the stack
+  ESCAPE_CLEAR,   // "clear" clear screen and home cursor
+  ESCAPE_INITC,   // "initc" set up palette entry
+  ESCAPE_GETM,    // "getm" get mouse events
+  ESCAPE_U7,      // "u7" cursor position report
   // Application synchronized updates, not present in terminfo
   // (https://gitlab.com/gnachman/iterm2/-/wikis/synchronized-updates-spec)
   ESCAPE_BSUM,     // Begin Synchronized Update Mode
@@ -231,6 +231,41 @@ char* termdesc_longterm(const tinfo* ti);
 
 int locate_cursor(tinfo* ti, int* cursor_y, int* cursor_x);
 
+// tlen -- size of escape table. tused -- used bytes in same.
+// returns -1 if the starting location is >= 65535. otherwise,
+// copies tstr into the table, and sets up 1-biased index.
+static inline int
+grow_esc_table(tinfo* ti, const char* tstr, escape_e esc,
+               size_t* tlen, size_t* tused){
+  // the actual table can grow past 64KB, but we can't start there, as
+  // we only have 16-bit indices.
+  if(*tused >= 65535){
+    fprintf(stderr, "Can't add escape %d to full table\n", esc);
+    return -1;
+  }
+  if(get_escape(ti, esc)){
+    fprintf(stderr, "Already defined escape %d (%s)\n",
+            esc, get_escape(ti, esc));
+    return -1;
+  }
+  size_t slen = strlen(tstr) + 1; // count the nul term
+  if(*tlen - *tused < slen){
+    // guaranteed to give us enough space to add tstr (and then some)
+    size_t newsize = *tlen + 4020 + slen; // don't pull two pages ideally
+    char* tmp = (char*)realloc(ti->esctable, newsize); // cast for c++
+    if(tmp == NULL){
+      return -1;
+    }
+    ti->esctable = tmp;
+    *tlen = newsize;
+  }
+  // we now are guaranteed sufficient space to copy tstr
+  memcpy(ti->esctable + *tused, tstr, slen);
+  ti->escindices[esc] = *tused + 1; // one-bias
+  *tused += slen;
+  return 0;
+}
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/src/lib/windows.c b/src/lib/windows.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..17538470c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/windows.c
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#include "termdesc.h"
+#include "internal.h"
+#include "windows.h"
+
+// ti has been memset to all zeroes. windows configuration is static.
+int prepare_windows_terminal(tinfo* ti, size_t* tablelen, size_t* tableused){
+  const struct wtermdesc {
+    escape_e esc;
+    const char* tinfo;
+  } wterms[] = {
+    { ESCAPE_CUP,   "\x1b[%i%p1%d;%p2%dH", },
+    { ESCAPE_RMKX,  "\x1b[?1l", },
+    { ESCAPE_SMKX,  "\x1b[?1h", },
+    { ESCAPE_VPA,   "\x1b[%i%p1%dd", },
+    { ESCAPE_HPA,   "\x1b[%i%p1%dG", },
+    { ESCAPE_SC,    "\x1b[s", },
+    { ESCAPE_RC,    "\x1b[u", },
+    { ESCAPE_CLEAR, "\x1b[2J", },
+    { ESCAPE_SMCUP, "\x1b[?1049h", },
+    { ESCAPE_RMCUP, "\x1b[?1049l", },
+    { ESCAPE_SETAF, "\x1b[38;5;%i%p1%dm", },
+    { ESCAPE_SETAB, "\x1b[48;5;%i%p1%dm", },
+    { ESCAPE_OP,    "\x1b[39;49m", },
+    { ESCAPE_CIVIS, "\x1b[?25l", },
+    { ESCAPE_CNORM, "\x1b[?25h", },
+    { ESCAPE_U7,    "\x1b[6n", },
+    { ESCAPE_MAX, NULL, }
+  }, *w; 
+  for(w = wterms ; w->tinfo; ++w){
+    if(grow_esc_table(ti, w->tinfo, w->esc, tablelen, tableused)){
+      return -1;
+    }
+  }
+  ti->caps.rgb = true;
+  ti->caps.colors = 256;
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/windows.h b/src/lib/windows.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..93ce3b9c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/windows.h
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#ifndef NOTCURSES_WINDOWS
+#define NOTCURSES_WINDOWS
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+struct tinfo;
+
+// ti has been memset to all zeroes. windows configuration is static.
+int prepare_windows_terminal(struct tinfo* ti, size_t* tablelen,
+                             size_t* tableused);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif
diff --git a/src/player/play.cpp b/src/player/play.cpp
index b8fceff93..012862215 100644
--- a/src/player/play.cpp
+++ b/src/player/play.cpp
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ void usage(std::ostream& o, const char* name, int exitcode){
   o << " -k: use direct mode (cannot be used with -L or -d)\n";
   o << " -L: loop frames\n";
   o << " -t seconds: delay t seconds after each file\n";
-  o << " -l loglevel: integer between 0 and 8, goes to stderr'\n";
+  o << " -l loglevel: integer between 0 and 7, goes to stderr'\n";
   o << " -s scaling: one of 'none', 'hires', 'scale', 'scalehi', or 'stretch'\n";
   o << " -b blitter: one of 'ascii', 'half', 'quad', 'sex', 'braille', or 'pixel'\n";
   o << " -m margins: margin, or 4 comma-separated margins\n";
@@ -259,11 +259,11 @@ auto handle_opts(int argc, char** argv, notcurses_options& opts, bool* quiet,
         int ll;
         ss >> ll;
         if(ll < NCLogLevel::Silent || ll > NCLogLevel::Trace){
-          std::cerr << "Invalid log level [" << optarg << "] (wanted [0..8])\n";
+          std::cerr << "Invalid log level [" << optarg << "] (wanted [-1..7])\n";
           usage(std::cerr, argv[0], EXIT_FAILURE);
         }
         if(ll == 0 && strcmp(optarg, "0")){
-          std::cerr << "Invalid log level [" << optarg << "] (wanted [0..8])\n";
+          std::cerr << "Invalid log level [" << optarg << "] (wanted [-1..7])\n";
           usage(std::cerr, argv[0], EXIT_FAILURE);
         }
         opts.loglevel = static_cast<ncloglevel_e>(ll);
@@ -486,11 +486,6 @@ auto main(int argc, char** argv) -> int {
     std::cerr << "Couldn't set locale based off LANG\n";
     return EXIT_FAILURE;
   }
-  sigset_t sigmask;
-  // ensure SIGWINCH is delivered only to a thread doing input
-  sigemptyset(&sigmask);
-  sigaddset(&sigmask, SIGWINCH);
-  pthread_sigmask(SIG_BLOCK, &sigmask, NULL);
   float timescale, displaytime;
   ncscale_e scalemode;
   notcurses_options ncopts{};
diff --git a/src/poc/zalgo.c b/src/poc/zalgo.c
index 0b9823a88..e759d5bbd 100644
--- a/src/poc/zalgo.c
+++ b/src/poc/zalgo.c
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ int main(void){
     .flags = NCOPTION_NO_ALTERNATE_SCREEN | NCOPTION_SUPPRESS_BANNERS,
   };
   struct notcurses* nc = notcurses_core_init(&nops, NULL);
+  if(nc == NULL){
+    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+  }
   struct ncplane* n = notcurses_stdplane(nc);
   const int y = 10;
   ncplane_putstr_aligned(n, y + 0, NCALIGN_CENTER, "Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.");
diff --git a/src/tests/fbuf.cpp b/src/tests/fbuf.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f0b763e58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/fbuf.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#include "main.h"
+#include "fbuf.h"
+
+TEST_CASE("Fbuf") {
+  auto nc_ = testing_notcurses();
+  if(!nc_){
+    return;
+  }
+  int dimy, dimx;
+  struct ncplane* n_ = notcurses_stddim_yx(nc_, &dimy, &dimx);
+  REQUIRE(n_);
+  REQUIRE(0 == ncplane_cursor_move_yx(n_, 0, 0));
+
+  // check that upon successful initialization, we have some space
+  SUBCASE("FbufInit") {
+    fbuf f{};
+    CHECK(0 == fbuf_init(&f));
+    CHECK(0 < f.size);
+    CHECK(0 == f.used);
+    CHECK(nullptr != f.buf);
+    fbuf_free(&f);
+  }
+
+  // fill the fbuf a character at a time
+  SUBCASE("FbufPutcCover") {
+    fbuf f{};
+    CHECK(0 == fbuf_init(&f));
+    CHECK(0 < f.size);
+    CHECK(0 == f.used);
+    CHECK(nullptr != f.buf);
+    auto oldsize = f.size;
+    for(size_t s = 0 ; s < oldsize ; ++s){
+      CHECK(1 == fbuf_putc(&f, 'X'));
+    }
+    CHECK(f.used == oldsize);
+    CHECK(oldsize <= f.size);
+    fbuf_free(&f);
+  }
+
+  // fill the fbuf with one large write
+  SUBCASE("FbufPutsCover") {
+    fbuf f{};
+    CHECK(0 == fbuf_init(&f));
+    CHECK(0 < f.size);
+    CHECK(0 == f.used);
+    CHECK(nullptr != f.buf);
+    auto oldsize = f.size;
+    auto erp = new char[oldsize + 1];
+    memset(erp, 'X', oldsize);
+    erp[oldsize] = '\0';
+    CHECK(oldsize == fbuf_puts(&f, erp));
+    delete[] erp;
+    CHECK(f.used == oldsize);
+    CHECK(oldsize <= f.size);
+    fbuf_free(&f);
+  }
+
+  // fill the fbuf with random writes
+  SUBCASE("FbufPutsCover") {
+    fbuf f{};
+    CHECK(0 == fbuf_init(&f));
+    CHECK(0 < f.size);
+    CHECK(0 == f.used);
+    CHECK(nullptr != f.buf);
+    auto oldsize = f.size;
+    auto erp = new char[oldsize + 1];
+    size_t used = 0;
+    while(used < oldsize){
+      size_t oldused = f.used;
+      size_t towrite = rand() % (oldsize - used) + 1;
+      memset(erp, rand() % 26 + 'A', towrite);
+      erp[towrite] = '\0';
+      CHECK(towrite == fbuf_puts(&f, erp));
+      CHECK(f.used == oldused + towrite);
+      used += towrite;
+    }
+    delete[] erp;
+    CHECK(f.used == oldsize);
+    CHECK(oldsize <= f.size);
+    fbuf_free(&f);
+  }
+
+  CHECK(0 == notcurses_stop(nc_));
+}