diff --git a/src/app.rs b/src/app.rs
index 2c90728..75846b0 100644
--- a/src/app.rs
+++ b/src/app.rs
@@ -571,7 +571,7 @@ fn grab_keys(ctx: &egui::Context) {
 }
 
 /// Corner rounding shared by a pane's border and its title bar.
-const CORNER: u8 = 5;
+const CORNER: u8 = theme::CORNER_RADIUS;
 
 fn show_pane(
     ui: &mut egui::Ui,
@@ -638,7 +638,7 @@ fn show_pane(
         rect,
         CORNER,
         Stroke::new(
-            1.0_f32,
+            theme::BORDER_WIDTH,
             if active {
                 accent
             } else {
diff --git a/src/pane.rs b/src/pane.rs
index 11689c3..3ae13d8 100644
--- a/src/pane.rs
+++ b/src/pane.rs
@@ -100,6 +100,8 @@ pub fn terminal(config: &Config, theme: &Theme) -> Result<Terminal<'static, 'sta
     })?;
     term.resize(80, 24, 8, 16)?;
     apply_config(&mut term, config, theme)?;
+    term.set_default_cursor_style(Some(terminal::CursorStyle::BlockHollow))?;
+    term.vt_write(b"\x1b[0 q");
     term.on_xtversion(|_| Some(concat!("slerm ", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"))))?;
     term.on_device_attributes(|_| {
         Some(terminal::DeviceAttributes {
diff --git a/src/render.rs b/src/render.rs
index 83f4ea6..06bad29 100644
--- a/src/render.rs
+++ b/src/render.rs
@@ -471,11 +471,37 @@ impl Renderer {
                     cursor_rect.min.y = cursor_rect.max.y - 2.0;
                     painter.rect_filled(cursor_rect, 0, c);
                 }
+                CursorVisualStyle::Block if active => {
+                    painter.rect_filled(cursor_rect, 0, c);
+                    // Redraw the covered glyph in the background color so an
+                    // application's solid block cursor leaves text readable.
+                    let ink = color(colors.background);
+                    let cursor_painter =
+                        painter.with_clip_rect(cursor_rect.intersect(painter.clip_rect()));
+                    cursor_painter.extend(
+                        self.row_cache[cursor.y as usize]
+                            .foregrounds
+                            .iter()
+                            .cloned()
+                            .map(|mut shape| {
+                                shape.translate(rect.min.to_vec2());
+                                egui::epaint::shape_transform::adjust_colors(
+                                    &mut shape,
+                                    move |color| {
+                                        if *color != Color32::TRANSPARENT {
+                                            *color = ink;
+                                        }
+                                    },
+                                );
+                                shape
+                            }),
+                    );
+                }
                 _ => {
                     painter.rect_stroke(
                         cursor_rect,
-                        0,
-                        Stroke::new(if active { 1.5_f32 } else { 0.75_f32 }, c),
+                        theme::CURSOR_CORNER_RADIUS,
+                        Stroke::new(theme::BORDER_WIDTH, c),
                         egui::StrokeKind::Inside,
                     );
                 }
diff --git a/src/tests.rs b/src/tests.rs
index a0d1e3b..6155263 100644
--- a/src/tests.rs
+++ b/src/tests.rs
@@ -28,6 +28,29 @@ fn key(key: Key, modifiers: Modifiers) -> Event {
     }
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn cursor_defaults_to_hollow_and_respects_application_styles() {
+    use libghostty_vt::{RenderState, render::CursorVisualStyle};
+
+    let mut term = pane::terminal(&Config::default(), &theme::DEFAULT).unwrap();
+    let mut state = RenderState::new().unwrap();
+    let snapshot = state.update(&term).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        snapshot.cursor_visual_style().unwrap(),
+        CursorVisualStyle::BlockHollow
+    );
+    for (sequence, expected) in [
+        (b"\x1b[2 q", CursorVisualStyle::Block),
+        (b"\x1b[4 q", CursorVisualStyle::Underline),
+        (b"\x1b[6 q", CursorVisualStyle::Bar),
+        (b"\x1b[0 q", CursorVisualStyle::BlockHollow),
+    ] {
+        term.vt_write(sequence);
+        let snapshot = state.update(&term).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(snapshot.cursor_visual_style().unwrap(), expected);
+    }
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn terminal_preserves_unicode_colors_and_application_input_modes() {
     let mut term = pane::terminal(&Config::default(), &theme::DEFAULT).unwrap();
diff --git a/src/theme.rs b/src/theme.rs
index 520a0dd..b4bd81c 100644
--- a/src/theme.rs
+++ b/src/theme.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@ use libghostty_vt::style::{Palette, PaletteIndex, RgbColor};
 /// integers rather than anything that needs allocating or parsing at startup.
 pub type Rgb = u32;
 
+/// Shared stroke width for pane borders and the default hollow cursor.
+pub const BORDER_WIDTH: f32 = 1.0;
+pub const CORNER_RADIUS: u8 = 5;
+pub const CURSOR_CORNER_RADIUS: u8 = 2;
+
 /// Every color slerm draws with. A theme covers the terminal grid, the sixteen
 /// ANSI colors programs address by index, and the chrome around them, so that
 /// picking a light theme does not leave a dark tab bar behind.