fix invisible TUI cursor/buttons on serial consoles with broken color pairs

init_colors() now survives a terminal rejecting every init_pair() call
(some serial-console terminfo entries claim start_color()/COLORS support
but can't actually set custom pairs), but that exposed a follow-on bug:
the list cursor and the cert-form Continue/Cancel buttons indicated
selection purely via the COLOR_SELECTED color pair, so once that pair
silently no-ops the current row/button becomes indistinguishable from
an unselected one. Add curses.A_REVERSE alongside the color pair for
the selected state — a plain video attribute that doesn't depend on
custom-pair support, so the cursor stays visible either way.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

openvpncertupdate.py

@@ -541,12 +541,22 @@ def init_colors() -> None:
         # (terminfo has no "op"/"AX" capability); fall back to explicit black.
         bg = curses.COLOR_BLACK
     disabled_fg = 8 if curses.COLORS > 8 else curses.COLOR_WHITE
-    curses.init_pair(COLOR_NORMAL,   curses.COLOR_WHITE, bg)
+    # Some serial-console terminfo entries advertise start_color()/COLORS
-    curses.init_pair(COLOR_SELECTED, curses.COLOR_BLACK, curses.COLOR_CYAN)
+    # support but still can't actually set custom pairs (e.g. COLOR_PAIRS is
-    curses.init_pair(COLOR_DISABLED, disabled_fg, bg)
+    # too small). Set each pair independently so a rejected pair just falls
-    curses.init_pair(COLOR_TITLE,    curses.COLOR_WHITE, bg)
+    # back to the terminal's default rendering instead of crashing the app.
-    curses.init_pair(COLOR_ERROR,    curses.COLOR_RED,   bg)
+    for pair_id, fg, pair_bg in (
-    curses.init_pair(COLOR_SUCCESS,  curses.COLOR_GREEN, bg)
+        (COLOR_NORMAL,   curses.COLOR_WHITE, bg),
+        (COLOR_SELECTED, curses.COLOR_BLACK, curses.COLOR_CYAN),
+        (COLOR_DISABLED, disabled_fg,        bg),
+        (COLOR_TITLE,    curses.COLOR_WHITE, bg),
+        (COLOR_ERROR,    curses.COLOR_RED,   bg),
+        (COLOR_SUCCESS,  curses.COLOR_GREEN, bg),
+    ):
+        try:
+            curses.init_pair(pair_id, fg, pair_bg)
+        except curses.error:
+            pass
 
 
 def draw_box(win, title: str = "") -> None:
@@ -752,9 +762,10 @@ def show_cert_form(
             ("Continue", _BTN_CONTINUE, _btn_x_cont),
             ("Cancel",   _BTN_CANCEL,   _btn_x_canc),
         ):
-            btn_attr = (curses.color_pair(COLOR_SELECTED)
+            if current == btn_id:
-                        if current == btn_id
+                btn_attr = curses.color_pair(COLOR_SELECTED) | curses.A_REVERSE
-                        else curses.color_pair(COLOR_NORMAL))
+            else:
+                btn_attr = curses.color_pair(COLOR_NORMAL)
             try:
                 win.addstr(_BTN_Y, bx, f"[ {btn_label} ]", btn_attr | curses.A_BOLD)
             except curses.error:
@@ -905,6 +916,11 @@ def show_main_screen(
                 break
             is_cur   = (i == cursor)
             sel_attr = curses.color_pair(COLOR_SELECTED if is_cur else COLOR_NORMAL)
+            if is_cur:
+                # A_REVERSE keeps the cursor visible even when the terminal
+                # (e.g. a serial console) silently rejects the COLOR_SELECTED
+                # pair and this color_pair() call is a no-op.
+                sel_attr |= curses.A_REVERSE
 
             if is_cert(i):
                 cert = certs[i]
@@ -922,6 +938,8 @@ def show_main_screen(
                     notice = "  ← clear all checkboxes to use"
                     line   = f"  {item}{notice}"
                     attr   = curses.color_pair(COLOR_SELECTED if is_cur else COLOR_DISABLED)
+                    if is_cur:
+                        attr |= curses.A_REVERSE
                 else:
                     line = f"  {item}"
                     attr = sel_attr

tests/test_main_screen.py

@@ -107,6 +107,20 @@ def test_capital_Q_exits():
     assert result.action == Action.EXIT
 
 
+def test_cursor_row_has_reverse_attribute():
+    # A_REVERSE must mark the cursor row so it's still visible even when a
+    # terminal (e.g. a serial console) silently rejects the COLOR_SELECTED
+    # pair and color_pair() becomes a no-op.
+    stdscr = _make_stdscr()
+    stdscr.getch.side_effect = [ord("q")]
+    with patch("openvpncertupdate.init_colors"):
+        show_main_screen(stdscr, _CERTS)  # cursor defaults to row 0 ("bob")
+    bob_calls   = [c for c in stdscr.addstr.call_args_list if "bob" in str(c.args[2])]
+    alice_calls = [c for c in stdscr.addstr.call_args_list if "alice" in str(c.args[2])]
+    assert bob_calls and bob_calls[0].args[3] & _curses.A_REVERSE
+    assert alice_calls and not (alice_calls[0].args[3] & _curses.A_REVERSE)
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Enter on cert → RENEW_SELECTED
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

tests/test_widgets.py

@@ -82,3 +82,15 @@ def test_init_colors_falls_back_on_serial_console():
     disabled = next(c for c in calls if c[0] == COLOR_DISABLED)
     assert normal[2] == _curses.COLOR_BLACK
     assert disabled[1:] == (_curses.COLOR_WHITE, _curses.COLOR_BLACK)
+
+def test_init_colors_survives_init_pair_rejecting_every_pair():
+    # Some serial-console terminfo entries claim start_color()/COLORS
+    # support but reject every init_pair() call (e.g. COLOR_PAIRS too
+    # small). init_colors() must not raise -- the app should still start,
+    # just without custom colors.
+    with patch.object(_curses, "start_color"), \
+         patch.object(_curses, "use_default_colors"), \
+         patch.object(_curses, "init_pair",
+                       side_effect=_curses.error("init_pair() returned ERR")), \
+         patch.object(_curses, "COLORS", 256, create=True):
+        init_colors()      # must not raise