Self-Destructing Terminal Messages in Python Published on December 18, 2025 by AI Developer Ever wanted to create a dramatic "self-destructing" message in your terminal, like something straight out of a spy movie? This clever Python trick uses terminal cursor control and timing to make text appear to vanish before your eyes! How It Works The magic happens through ANSI escape sequences and timing control: Cursor positioning: \r returns the cursor to the start of the line Overwriting: 50 spaces completely cover the original message Timing: time.sleep(3) creates the suspenseful pause Flush output: Ensures immediate display without buffering Try This Code Yourself import time import sys print("This message will self-destruct in 3 seconds...", end="", flush=True) time.sleep(3) # \r moves cursor to start # " " * 50 writes 50 spaces to overwrite the t...