Fix terminal color support: default TERM=xterm-256color and COLORTERM=truecolor

Author: AnExiledDev

.devcontainer/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 # CodeForge Devcontainer Changelog
 
+## [v1.14.3] - 2026-02-24
+
+### Fixed
+
+#### Terminal Color Support
+- **devcontainer.json** — added `TERM=xterm-256color` and `COLORTERM=truecolor` to `remoteEnv`; Docker defaults to `TERM=xterm` (8 colors) which caused Claude Code and other CLI tools to downgrade rendering
+- **setup-aliases.sh** — added terminal color defaults to managed shell block so tmux panes, `docker exec`, and SSH sessions also get 256-color and truecolor support
+- **kitty-terminfo/README.md** — updated documentation to reflect container terminal color defaults
+
 ## [v1.14.2] - 2026-02-24
 
 ### Fixed

.devcontainer/devcontainer.json

@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 		"CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR": "/workspaces/.claude",
 		"GH_CONFIG_DIR": "/workspaces/.gh",
 		"TMPDIR": "/workspaces/.tmp",
+		"TERM": "xterm-256color",
+		"COLORTERM": "truecolor",
 		"CLAUDECODE": null
 	},
 

.devcontainer/features/kitty-terminfo/README.md

@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ Downloads and compiles the official kitty terminfo entry from the [Kitty termina
 
 ## Usage
 
-No configuration needed. Once installed, containers automatically recognize `TERM=xterm-kitty` and provide full capability support.
+The container defaults to `TERM=xterm-256color` with `COLORTERM=truecolor`, which provides full 256-color and 24-bit truecolor support for all terminals.
+
+For Kitty users: if your host terminal forwards `TERM=xterm-kitty` into the container, the installed terminfo ensures full Kitty-specific capability support (correct `bce` behavior, status line, etc.). If not forwarded, `xterm-256color` provides equivalent color rendering.
 
 ```bash
 # Verify installation

.devcontainer/scripts/setup-aliases.sh

@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ export GH_CONFIG_DIR="${GH_CONFIG_DIR:-/workspaces/.gh}"
 export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 export LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
 
+# Terminal color defaults — Docker sets TERM=xterm (8 colors); upgrade to 256-color
+if [ "\$TERM" = "xterm" ] || [ -z "\$TERM" ]; then
+    export TERM=xterm-256color
+fi
+export COLORTERM="\${COLORTERM:-truecolor}"
+
 # Prefer native binary over npm-installed version
 if [ -x "\$HOME/.local/bin/claude" ]; then
     _CLAUDE_BIN="\$HOME/.local/bin/claude"