Over-exposed colors on transparent background with 10-bpc + ACM #23776

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opened 2026-01-31 08:52:12 +00:00 by claunia · 0 comments
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Originally created by @NordLandeW on GitHub (Nov 4, 2025).

Originally assigned to: @lhecker on GitHub.

Windows Terminal version

1.23.12811.0

Windows build number

10.0.26200.0

Other Software

No response

Steps to reproduce

  1. In the NVIDIA settings application (NVIDIA Control Panel / NVIDIA App), navigate to the System > Display tab. Under the Color section, set Output color depth to 10 bpc.
  2. Enable "Automatic Colour Management" in Windows 11 Settings -> Display -> Color.
  3. In Windows Terminal settings, choose any standard sRGB image as the background.
  4. Set the background image opacity to any value less than 100% (e.g., 50%). (or alternatively use a pre-made semi-transparent PNG image as the background with 100% opacity.)
  5. Observe the terminal window on the physical display.

Example image:

Image

The issue can be mitigated by either of the following actions, but both have drawbacks:

  1. Switching to 8-bpc color depth: This resolves the over-exposure but re-introduces color banding on gradients, which is the primary reason for using 10-bpc.
  2. Disabling ACM: This also resolves the issue, but it breaks color management for other applications that rely on it, causing color inaccuracies elsewhere.

Expected Behavior

The background image should be displayed with correct sRGB colors, with its opacity correctly applied, without any color distortion.

Actual Behavior

The background image's colors are severely distorted, appearing over-exposed.

Example result:

Image

Originally created by @NordLandeW on GitHub (Nov 4, 2025). Originally assigned to: @lhecker on GitHub. ### Windows Terminal version 1.23.12811.0 ### Windows build number 10.0.26200.0 ### Other Software _No response_ ### Steps to reproduce 1. In the NVIDIA settings application (NVIDIA Control Panel / NVIDIA App), navigate to the System > Display tab. Under the Color section, set Output color depth to 10 bpc. 2. Enable "Automatic Colour Management" in Windows 11 Settings -> Display -> Color. 3. In Windows Terminal settings, choose any standard sRGB image as the background. 4. Set the background image opacity to any value less than 100% (e.g., 50%). (or alternatively use a pre-made semi-transparent PNG image as the background with 100% opacity.) 5. Observe the terminal window on the physical display. Example image: <img width="1980" height="1425" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e31bc604-dbef-4c1c-8dc2-425bb31afbcb" /> The issue can be mitigated by either of the following actions, but both have drawbacks: 1. **Switching to 8-bpc color depth:** This resolves the over-exposure but re-introduces color banding on gradients, which is the primary reason for using 10-bpc. 2. **Disabling ACM:** This also resolves the issue, but it breaks color management for other applications that rely on it, causing color inaccuracies elsewhere. ### Expected Behavior The background image should be displayed with correct sRGB colors, with its opacity correctly applied, without any color distortion. ### Actual Behavior The background image's colors are severely distorted, appearing over-exposed. Example result: ![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9dd308aa-af97-41a6-8b04-d213c69195da)
claunia added the Issue-BugProduct-TerminalArea-UserInterface labels 2026-01-31 08:52:12 +00:00
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Reference: starred/terminal#23776