diff --git a/src/Terminal.ts b/src/Terminal.ts
index d13e93c33e..e836629041 100644
--- a/src/Terminal.ts
+++ b/src/Terminal.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
  *   http://linux.die.net/man/7/urxvt
  */
 
-import { IInputHandlingTerminal, IViewport, ICompositionHelper, ITerminalOptions, ITerminal, IBrowser, ILinkifier, ILinkMatcherOptions, CustomKeyEventHandler, LinkMatcherHandler, CharData, LineData } from './Types';
+import { IInputHandlingTerminal, IViewport, ICompositionHelper, ITerminalOptions, ITerminal, IBrowser, ILinkifier, ILinkMatcherOptions, CustomKeyEventHandler, LinkMatcherHandler, CharData, LineData, CharacterJoinerHandler } from './Types';
 import { IMouseZoneManager } from './ui/Types';
 import { IRenderer } from './renderer/Types';
 import { BufferSet } from './BufferSet';
@@ -1374,6 +1374,18 @@ export class Terminal extends EventEmitter implements ITerminal, IDisposable, II
     }
   }
 
+  public registerCharacterJoiner(handler: CharacterJoinerHandler): number {
+    const joinerId = this.renderer.registerCharacterJoiner(handler);
+    this.refresh(0, this.rows - 1);
+    return joinerId;
+  }
+
+  public deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): void {
+    if (this.renderer.deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId)) {
+      this.refresh(0, this.rows - 1);
+    }
+  }
+
   public get markers(): IMarker[] {
     return this.buffer.markers;
   }
diff --git a/src/Types.ts b/src/Types.ts
index f3a8455079..26a8a8618b 100644
--- a/src/Types.ts
+++ b/src/Types.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ export type LineData = CharData[];
 export type LinkMatcherHandler = (event: MouseEvent, uri: string) => void;
 export type LinkMatcherValidationCallback = (uri: string, callback: (isValid: boolean) => void) => void;
 
+export type CharacterJoinerHandler = (text: string) => [number, number][];
+
 export const enum LinkHoverEventTypes {
   HOVER = 'linkhover',
   TOOLTIP = 'linktooltip',
diff --git a/src/public/Terminal.ts b/src/public/Terminal.ts
index a56a270ad0..8ff7cf2b3b 100644
--- a/src/public/Terminal.ts
+++ b/src/public/Terminal.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,12 @@ export class Terminal implements ITerminalApi {
   public deregisterLinkMatcher(matcherId: number): void {
     this._core.deregisterLinkMatcher(matcherId);
   }
+  public registerCharacterJoiner(handler: (text: string) => [number, number][]): number {
+    return this._core.registerCharacterJoiner(handler);
+  }
+  public deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): void {
+    this._core.deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId);
+  }
   public addMarker(cursorYOffset: number): IMarker {
     return this._core.addMarker(cursorYOffset);
   }
diff --git a/src/renderer/BaseRenderLayer.ts b/src/renderer/BaseRenderLayer.ts
index 2e9de38940..111e63ff09 100644
--- a/src/renderer/BaseRenderLayer.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/BaseRenderLayer.ts
@@ -224,12 +224,12 @@ export abstract class BaseRenderLayer implements IRenderLayer {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Draws a character at a cell. If possible this will draw using the character
-   * atlas to reduce draw time.
+   * Draws one or more characters at a cell. If possible this will draw using
+   * the character atlas to reduce draw time.
    * @param terminal The terminal.
-   * @param char The character.
+   * @param chars The character or characters.
    * @param code The character code.
-   * @param width The width of the character.
+   * @param width The width of the characters.
    * @param x The column to draw at.
    * @param y The row to draw at.
    * @param fg The foreground color, in the format stored within the attributes.
@@ -237,33 +237,33 @@ export abstract class BaseRenderLayer implements IRenderLayer {
    * This is used to validate whether a cached image can be used.
    * @param bold Whether the text is bold.
    */
-  protected drawChar(terminal: ITerminal, char: string, code: number, width: number, x: number, y: number, fg: number, bg: number, bold: boolean, dim: boolean, italic: boolean): void {
+  protected drawChars(terminal: ITerminal, chars: string, code: number, width: number, x: number, y: number, fg: number, bg: number, bold: boolean, dim: boolean, italic: boolean): void {
     const drawInBrightColor = terminal.options.drawBoldTextInBrightColors && bold && fg < 8;
     fg += drawInBrightColor ? 8 : 0;
     const atlasDidDraw = this._charAtlas && this._charAtlas.draw(
       this._ctx,
-      {char, code, bg, fg, bold: bold && terminal.options.enableBold, dim, italic},
+      {chars, code, bg, fg, bold: bold && terminal.options.enableBold, dim, italic},
       x * this._scaledCellWidth + this._scaledCharLeft,
       y * this._scaledCellHeight + this._scaledCharTop
     );
 
     if (!atlasDidDraw) {
-      this._drawUncachedChar(terminal, char, width, fg, x, y, bold && terminal.options.enableBold, dim, italic);
+      this._drawUncachedChars(terminal, chars, width, fg, x, y, bold && terminal.options.enableBold, dim, italic);
     }
   }
 
   /**
-   * Draws a character at a cell. The character will be clipped to
-   * ensure that it fits with the cell, including the cell to the right if it's
-   * a wide character.
+   * Draws one or more characters at one or more cells. The character(s) will be
+   * clipped to ensure that they fit with the cell(s), including the cell to the
+   * right if the last character is a wide character.
    * @param terminal The terminal.
-   * @param char The character.
+   * @param chars The character.
    * @param width The width of the character.
    * @param fg The foreground color, in the format stored within the attributes.
    * @param x The column to draw at.
    * @param y The row to draw at.
    */
-  private _drawUncachedChar(terminal: ITerminal, char: string, width: number, fg: number, x: number, y: number, bold: boolean, dim: boolean, italic: boolean): void {
+  private _drawUncachedChars(terminal: ITerminal, chars: string, width: number, fg: number, x: number, y: number, bold: boolean, dim: boolean, italic: boolean): void {
     this._ctx.save();
     this._ctx.font = this._getFont(terminal, bold, italic);
     this._ctx.textBaseline = 'top';
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ export abstract class BaseRenderLayer implements IRenderLayer {
     }
     // Draw the character
     this._ctx.fillText(
-        char,
+        chars,
         x * this._scaledCellWidth + this._scaledCharLeft,
         y * this._scaledCellHeight + this._scaledCharTop);
     this._ctx.restore();
diff --git a/src/renderer/CharacterJoinerRegistry.test.ts b/src/renderer/CharacterJoinerRegistry.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..85d946018f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/CharacterJoinerRegistry.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,278 @@
+import { assert } from 'chai';
+
+import { LineData, CharData } from '../Types';
+import { MockTerminal, MockBuffer } from '../utils/TestUtils.test';
+import { CircularList } from '../common/CircularList';
+
+import { ICharacterJoinerRegistry } from './Types';
+import { CharacterJoinerRegistry } from './CharacterJoinerRegistry';
+
+describe('CharacterJoinerRegistry', () => {
+  let registry: ICharacterJoinerRegistry;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    const terminal = new MockTerminal();
+    terminal.cols = 16;
+    terminal.buffer = new MockBuffer();
+    const lines = new CircularList<LineData>(7);
+    lines.set(0, lineData('a -> b -> c -> d'));
+    lines.set(1, lineData('a -> b => c -> d'));
+    lines.set(2, [...lineData('a -> b -', 0xFFFFFFFF), ...lineData('> c -> d', 0)]);
+    lines.set(3, lineData('no joined ranges'));
+    lines.set(4, []);
+    lines.set(5, [...lineData('a', 0x11111111), ...lineData(' -> b -> c -> '), ...lineData('d', 0x22222222)]);
+    lines.set(6, [
+      ...lineData('wi'),
+      [0, '￥', 2, '￥'.charCodeAt(0)],
+      [0, '', 0, null],
+      ...lineData('deemo'),
+      [0, '\xf0\x9f\x98\x81', 1, 128513],
+      [0, ' ', 1, ' '.charCodeAt(0)],
+      ...lineData('jiabc')
+    ]);
+    (<MockBuffer>terminal.buffer).setLines(lines);
+    terminal.buffer.ydisp = 0;
+    registry = new CharacterJoinerRegistry(terminal);
+  });
+
+  it('has no joiners upon creation', () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(registry.getJoinedCharacters(0), []);
+  });
+
+  it('returns ranges matched by the registered joiners', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('->'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+      [[2, 4], [7, 9], [12, 14]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('processes the input using all provided joiners', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('->'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(1),
+      [[2, 4], [12, 14]]
+    );
+
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('=>'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(1),
+      [[2, 4], [7, 9], [12, 14]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('removes deregistered joiners from future calls', () => {
+    const joiner1 = registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('->'));
+    const joiner2 = registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('=>'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(1),
+      [[2, 4], [7, 9], [12, 14]]
+    );
+
+    registry.deregisterCharacterJoiner(joiner1);
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(1),
+      [[7, 9]]
+    );
+
+    registry.deregisterCharacterJoiner(joiner2);
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(1),
+      []
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('doesn\'t process joins on differently-styled characters', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('->'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(2),
+      [[2, 4], [12, 14]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('returns an empty list of ranges if there is nothing to be joined', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('->'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(3),
+      []
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('returns an empty list of ranges if the line is empty', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('->'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(4),
+      []
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('returns false when trying to deregister a joiner that does not exist', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('->'));
+    assert.deepEqual(registry.deregisterCharacterJoiner(123), false);
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+      [[2, 4], [7, 9], [12, 14]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('doesn\'t process same-styled ranges that only have one character', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('a'));
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('b'));
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('d'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(5),
+      [[5, 6]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('handles ranges that extend all the way to the end of the line', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('-> d'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(2),
+      [[12, 16]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('handles adjacent ranges', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('->'));
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('> c '));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(2),
+      [[2, 4], [8, 12], [12, 14]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('handles fullwidth characters in the middle of ranges', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('wi￥de'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(6),
+      [[0, 6]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('handles fullwidth characters at the end of ranges', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('wi￥'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(6),
+      [[0, 4]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('handles emojis in the middle of ranges', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('emo\xf0\x9f\x98\x81 ji'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(6),
+      [[6, 13]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('handles emojis at the end of ranges', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('emo\xf0\x9f\x98\x81 '));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(6),
+      [[6, 11]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('handles ranges after wide and emoji characters', () => {
+    registry.registerCharacterJoiner(substringJoiner('abc'));
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      registry.getJoinedCharacters(6),
+      [[13, 16]]
+    );
+  });
+
+  describe('range merging', () => {
+    it('inserts a new range before the existing ones', () => {
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[1, 2], [2, 3]]);
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[0, 1]]);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+        [[0, 1], [1, 2], [2, 3]]
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('inserts in between two ranges', () => {
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[0, 2], [4, 6]]);
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[2, 4]]);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+        [[0, 2], [2, 4], [4, 6]]
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('inserts after the last range', () => {
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[0, 2], [4, 6]]);
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[6, 8]]);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+        [[0, 2], [4, 6], [6, 8]]
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('extends the beginning of a range', () => {
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[0, 2], [4, 6]]);
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[3, 5]]);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+        [[0, 2], [3, 6]]
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('extends the end of a range', () => {
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[0, 2], [4, 6]]);
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[1, 4]]);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+        [[0, 4], [4, 6]]
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('extends the last range', () => {
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[0, 2], [4, 6]]);
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[5, 7]]);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+        [[0, 2], [4, 7]]
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('connects two ranges', () => {
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[0, 2], [4, 6]]);
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[1, 5]]);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+        [[0, 6]]
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('connects more than two ranges', () => {
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[0, 2], [4, 6], [8, 10], [12, 14]]);
+      registry.registerCharacterJoiner(() => [[1, 10]]);
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        registry.getJoinedCharacters(0),
+        [[0, 10], [12, 14]]
+      );
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+function lineData(line: string, attr: number = 0): LineData {
+  return line.split('').map<CharData>(char => [attr, char, 1, char.charCodeAt(0)]);
+}
+
+function substringJoiner(substring: string): (sequence: string) => [number, number][] {
+  return (sequence: string): [number, number][] => {
+    const ranges: [number, number][] = [];
+    let searchIndex = 0;
+    let matchIndex = -1;
+
+    while ((matchIndex = sequence.indexOf(substring, searchIndex)) !== -1) {
+      const matchEndIndex = matchIndex + substring.length;
+      searchIndex = matchEndIndex;
+      ranges.push([matchIndex, matchEndIndex]);
+    }
+
+    return ranges;
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/CharacterJoinerRegistry.ts b/src/renderer/CharacterJoinerRegistry.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..723b6f388c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/CharacterJoinerRegistry.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,276 @@
+import { CHAR_DATA_ATTR_INDEX, CHAR_DATA_WIDTH_INDEX, CHAR_DATA_CHAR_INDEX } from '../Buffer';
+import { ITerminal, LineData } from '../Types';
+import { ICharacterJoinerRegistry, ICharacterJoiner } from './Types';
+
+export class CharacterJoinerRegistry implements ICharacterJoinerRegistry {
+
+  private _characterJoiners: ICharacterJoiner[] = [];
+  private _nextCharacterJoinerId: number = 0;
+
+  constructor(private _terminal: ITerminal) {
+  }
+
+  public registerCharacterJoiner(handler: (text: string) => [number, number][]): number {
+    const joiner: ICharacterJoiner = {
+      id: this._nextCharacterJoinerId++,
+      handler
+    };
+
+    this._characterJoiners.push(joiner);
+    return joiner.id;
+  }
+
+  public deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): boolean {
+    for (let i = 0; i < this._characterJoiners.length; i++) {
+      if (this._characterJoiners[i].id === joinerId) {
+        this._characterJoiners.splice(i, 1);
+        return true;
+      }
+    }
+
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  public getJoinedCharacters(row: number): [number, number][] {
+    if (this._characterJoiners.length === 0) {
+      return [];
+    }
+
+    const line = this._terminal.buffer.lines.get(row);
+    if (line.length === 0) {
+      return [];
+    }
+
+    const ranges: [number, number][] = [];
+    const lineStr = this._terminal.buffer.translateBufferLineToString(row, true);
+
+    // Because some cells can be represented by multiple javascript characters,
+    // we track the cell and the string indexes separately. This allows us to
+    // translate the string ranges we get from the joiners back into cell ranges
+    // for use when rendering
+    let rangeStartColumn = 0;
+    let currentStringIndex = 0;
+    let rangeStartStringIndex = 0;
+    let rangeAttr = line[0][CHAR_DATA_ATTR_INDEX] >> 9;
+
+    for (let x = 0; x < this._terminal.cols; x++) {
+      const charData = line[x];
+      const chars = charData[CHAR_DATA_CHAR_INDEX];
+      const width = charData[CHAR_DATA_WIDTH_INDEX];
+      const attr = charData[CHAR_DATA_ATTR_INDEX] >> 9;
+
+      if (width === 0) {
+        // If this character is of width 0, skip it.
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      // End of range
+      if (attr !== rangeAttr) {
+        // If we ended up with a sequence of more than one character,
+        // look for ranges to join.
+        if (x - rangeStartColumn > 1) {
+          const joinedRanges = this._getJoinedRanges(
+            lineStr,
+            rangeStartStringIndex,
+            currentStringIndex,
+            line,
+            rangeStartColumn
+          );
+          for (let i = 0; i < joinedRanges.length; i++) {
+            ranges.push(joinedRanges[i]);
+          }
+        }
+
+        // Reset our markers for a new range.
+        rangeStartColumn = x;
+        rangeStartStringIndex = currentStringIndex;
+        rangeAttr = attr;
+      }
+
+      currentStringIndex += chars.length;
+    }
+
+    // Process any trailing ranges.
+    if (this._terminal.cols - rangeStartColumn > 1) {
+      const joinedRanges = this._getJoinedRanges(
+        lineStr,
+        rangeStartStringIndex,
+        currentStringIndex,
+        line,
+        rangeStartColumn
+      );
+      for (let i = 0; i < joinedRanges.length; i++) {
+        ranges.push(joinedRanges[i]);
+      }
+    }
+
+    return ranges;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Given a segment of a line of text, find all ranges of text that should be
+   * joined in a single rendering unit. Ranges are internally converted to
+   * column ranges, rather than string ranges.
+   * @param line String representation of the full line of text
+   * @param startIndex Start position of the range to search in the string (inclusive)
+   * @param endIndex End position of the range to search in the string (exclusive)
+   */
+  private _getJoinedRanges(line: string, startIndex: number, endIndex: number, lineData: LineData, startCol: number): [number, number][] {
+    const text = line.substring(startIndex, endIndex);
+    // At this point we already know that there is at least one joiner so
+    // we can just pull its value and assign it directly rather than
+    // merging it into an empty array, which incurs unnecessary writes.
+    const joinedRanges: [number, number][] = this._characterJoiners[0].handler(text);
+    for (let i = 1; i < this._characterJoiners.length; i++) {
+      // We merge any overlapping ranges across the different joiners
+      const joinerRanges = this._characterJoiners[i].handler(text);
+      for (let j = 0; j < joinerRanges.length; j++) {
+        CharacterJoinerRegistry._mergeRanges(joinedRanges, joinerRanges[j]);
+      }
+    }
+    this._stringRangesToCellRanges(joinedRanges, lineData, startCol);
+    return joinedRanges;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Modifies the provided ranges in-place to adjust for variations between
+   * string length and cell width so that the range represents a cell range,
+   * rather than the string range the joiner provides.
+   * @param ranges String ranges containing start (inclusive) and end (exclusive) index
+   * @param line Cell data for the relevant line in the terminal
+   * @param startCol Offset within the line to start from
+   */
+  private _stringRangesToCellRanges(ranges: [number, number][], line: LineData, startCol: number): void {
+    let currentRangeIndex = 0;
+    let currentRangeStarted = false;
+    let currentStringIndex = 0;
+    let currentRange = ranges[currentRangeIndex];
+
+    // If we got through all of the ranges, stop searching
+    if (!currentRange) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    for (let x = startCol; x < this._terminal.cols; x++) {
+      const charData = line[x];
+      const width = charData[CHAR_DATA_WIDTH_INDEX];
+      const length = charData[CHAR_DATA_CHAR_INDEX].length;
+
+      // We skip zero-width characters when creating the string to join the text
+      // so we do the same here
+      if (width === 0) {
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      // Adjust the start of the range
+      if (!currentRangeStarted && currentRange[0] <= currentStringIndex) {
+        currentRange[0] = x;
+        currentRangeStarted = true;
+      }
+
+      // Adjust the end of the range
+      if (currentRange[1] <= currentStringIndex) {
+        currentRange[1] = x;
+
+        // We're finished with this range, so we move to the next one
+        currentRange = ranges[++currentRangeIndex];
+
+        // If there are no more ranges left, stop searching
+        if (!currentRange) {
+          break;
+        }
+
+        // Ranges can be on adjacent characters. Because the end index of the
+        // ranges are exclusive, this means that the index for the start of a
+        // range can be the same as the end index of the previous range. To
+        // account for the start of the next range, we check here just in case.
+        if (currentRange[0] <= currentStringIndex) {
+          currentRange[0] = x;
+          currentRangeStarted = true;
+        } else {
+          currentRangeStarted = false;
+        }
+      }
+
+      // Adjust the string index based on the character length to line up with
+      // the column adjustment
+      currentStringIndex += length;
+    }
+
+    // If there is still a range left at the end, it must extend all the way to
+    // the end of the line.
+    if (currentRange) {
+      currentRange[1] = this._terminal.cols;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Merges the range defined by the provided start and end into the list of
+   * existing ranges. The merge is done in place on the existing range for
+   * performance and is also returned.
+   * @param ranges Existing range list
+   * @param newRange Tuple of two numbers representing the new range to merge in.
+   * @returns The ranges input with the new range merged in place
+   */
+  private static _mergeRanges(ranges: [number, number][], newRange: [number, number]): [number, number][] {
+    let inRange = false;
+    for (let i = 0; i < ranges.length; i++) {
+      const range = ranges[i];
+      if (!inRange) {
+        if (newRange[1] <= range[0]) {
+          // Case 1: New range is before the search range
+          ranges.splice(i, 0, newRange);
+          return ranges;
+        }
+
+        if (newRange[1] <= range[1]) {
+          // Case 2: New range is either wholly contained within the
+          // search range or overlaps with the front of it
+          range[0] = Math.min(newRange[0], range[0]);
+          return ranges;
+        }
+
+        if (newRange[0] < range[1]) {
+          // Case 3: New range either wholly contains the search range
+          // or overlaps with the end of it
+          range[0] = Math.min(newRange[0], range[0]);
+          inRange = true;
+        }
+
+        // Case 4: New range starts after the search range
+        continue;
+      } else {
+        if (newRange[1] <= range[0]) {
+          // Case 5: New range extends from previous range but doesn't
+          // reach the current one
+          ranges[i - 1][1] = newRange[1];
+          return ranges;
+        }
+
+        if (newRange[1] <= range[1]) {
+          // Case 6: New range extends from prvious range into the
+          // current range
+          ranges[i - 1][1] = Math.max(newRange[1], range[1]);
+          ranges.splice(i, 1);
+          inRange = false;
+          return ranges;
+        }
+
+        // Case 7: New range extends from previous range past the
+        // end of the current range
+        ranges.splice(i, 1);
+        i--;
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (inRange) {
+      // Case 8: New range extends past the last existing range
+      ranges[ranges.length - 1][1] = newRange[1];
+    } else {
+      // Case 9: New range starts after the last existing range
+      ranges.push(newRange);
+    }
+
+    return ranges;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/Renderer.ts b/src/renderer/Renderer.ts
index 6a3821042b..406717b557 100644
--- a/src/renderer/Renderer.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/Renderer.ts
@@ -7,13 +7,14 @@ import { TextRenderLayer } from './TextRenderLayer';
 import { SelectionRenderLayer } from './SelectionRenderLayer';
 import { CursorRenderLayer } from './CursorRenderLayer';
 import { ColorManager } from './ColorManager';
-import { IRenderLayer, IColorSet, IRenderer, IRenderDimensions } from './Types';
-import { ITerminal } from '../Types';
+import { IRenderLayer, IColorSet, IRenderer, IRenderDimensions, ICharacterJoinerRegistry } from './Types';
+import { ITerminal, CharacterJoinerHandler } from '../Types';
 import { LinkRenderLayer } from './LinkRenderLayer';
 import { EventEmitter } from '../EventEmitter';
 import { RenderDebouncer } from '../ui/RenderDebouncer';
 import { ScreenDprMonitor } from '../ui/ScreenDprMonitor';
 import { ITheme } from 'xterm';
+import { CharacterJoinerRegistry } from '../renderer/CharacterJoinerRegistry';
 
 export class Renderer extends EventEmitter implements IRenderer {
   private _renderDebouncer: RenderDebouncer;
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ export class Renderer extends EventEmitter implements IRenderer {
   private _screenDprMonitor: ScreenDprMonitor;
   private _isPaused: boolean = false;
   private _needsFullRefresh: boolean = false;
+  private _characterJoinerRegistry: ICharacterJoinerRegistry;
 
   public colorManager: ColorManager;
   public dimensions: IRenderDimensions;
@@ -31,12 +33,13 @@ export class Renderer extends EventEmitter implements IRenderer {
     super();
     const allowTransparency = this._terminal.options.allowTransparency;
     this.colorManager = new ColorManager(document, allowTransparency);
+    this._characterJoinerRegistry = new CharacterJoinerRegistry(_terminal);
     if (theme) {
       this.colorManager.setTheme(theme);
     }
 
     this._renderLayers = [
-      new TextRenderLayer(this._terminal.screenElement, 0, this.colorManager.colors, allowTransparency),
+      new TextRenderLayer(this._terminal.screenElement, 0, this.colorManager.colors, this._characterJoinerRegistry, allowTransparency),
       new SelectionRenderLayer(this._terminal.screenElement, 1, this.colorManager.colors),
       new LinkRenderLayer(this._terminal.screenElement, 2, this.colorManager.colors, this._terminal),
       new CursorRenderLayer(this._terminal.screenElement, 3, this.colorManager.colors)
@@ -67,7 +70,7 @@ export class Renderer extends EventEmitter implements IRenderer {
     // Detect whether IntersectionObserver is detected and enable renderer pause
     // and resume based on terminal visibility if so
     if ('IntersectionObserver' in window) {
-      const observer = new IntersectionObserver(e => this.onIntersectionChange(e[0]), {threshold: 0});
+      const observer = new IntersectionObserver(e => this.onIntersectionChange(e[0]), { threshold: 0 });
       observer.observe(this._terminal.element);
       this.register({ dispose: () => observer.disconnect() });
     }
@@ -188,7 +191,7 @@ export class Renderer extends EventEmitter implements IRenderer {
    */
   private _renderRows(start: number, end: number): void {
     this._renderLayers.forEach(l => l.onGridChanged(this._terminal, start, end));
-    this._terminal.emit('refresh', {start, end});
+    this._terminal.emit('refresh', { start, end });
   }
 
   /**
@@ -250,4 +253,12 @@ export class Renderer extends EventEmitter implements IRenderer {
     this.dimensions.actualCellHeight = this.dimensions.canvasHeight / this._terminal.rows;
     this.dimensions.actualCellWidth = this.dimensions.canvasWidth / this._terminal.cols;
   }
+
+  public registerCharacterJoiner(handler: CharacterJoinerHandler): number {
+    return this._characterJoinerRegistry.registerCharacterJoiner(handler);
+  }
+
+  public deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): boolean {
+    return this._characterJoinerRegistry.deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId);
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/renderer/TextRenderLayer.ts b/src/renderer/TextRenderLayer.ts
index f48c256140..e57276d7e0 100644
--- a/src/renderer/TextRenderLayer.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/TextRenderLayer.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  */
 
 import { CHAR_DATA_ATTR_INDEX, CHAR_DATA_CODE_INDEX, CHAR_DATA_CHAR_INDEX, CHAR_DATA_WIDTH_INDEX } from '../Buffer';
-import { FLAGS, IColorSet, IRenderDimensions } from './Types';
+import { FLAGS, IColorSet, IRenderDimensions, ICharacterJoinerRegistry } from './Types';
 import { CharData, ITerminal } from '../Types';
 import { INVERTED_DEFAULT_COLOR } from './atlas/Types';
 import { GridCache } from './GridCache';
@@ -22,10 +22,12 @@ export class TextRenderLayer extends BaseRenderLayer {
   private _characterWidth: number;
   private _characterFont: string;
   private _characterOverlapCache: { [key: string]: boolean } = {};
+  private _characterJoinerRegistry: ICharacterJoinerRegistry;
 
-  constructor(container: HTMLElement, zIndex: number, colors: IColorSet, alpha: boolean) {
+  constructor(container: HTMLElement, zIndex: number, colors: IColorSet, characterJoinerRegistry: ICharacterJoinerRegistry, alpha: boolean) {
     super(container, 'text', zIndex, alpha, colors);
     this._state = new GridCache<CharData>();
+    this._characterJoinerRegistry = characterJoinerRegistry;
   }
 
   public resize(terminal: ITerminal, dim: IRenderDimensions): void {
@@ -52,9 +54,10 @@ export class TextRenderLayer extends BaseRenderLayer {
     terminal: ITerminal,
     firstRow: number,
     lastRow: number,
+    joinerRegistry: ICharacterJoinerRegistry | null,
     callback: (
       code: number,
-      char: string,
+      chars: string,
       width: number,
       x: number,
       y: number,
@@ -66,22 +69,54 @@ export class TextRenderLayer extends BaseRenderLayer {
     for (let y = firstRow; y <= lastRow; y++) {
       const row = y + terminal.buffer.ydisp;
       const line = terminal.buffer.lines.get(row);
+      const joinedRanges = joinerRegistry ? joinerRegistry.getJoinedCharacters(row) : [];
       for (let x = 0; x < terminal.cols; x++) {
         const charData = line[x];
-        const code: number = <number>charData[CHAR_DATA_CODE_INDEX];
-        const char: string = charData[CHAR_DATA_CHAR_INDEX];
+        let code: number = <number>charData[CHAR_DATA_CODE_INDEX];
+
+        // Can either represent character(s) for a single cell or multiple cells
+        // if indicated by a character joiner.
+        let chars: string = charData[CHAR_DATA_CHAR_INDEX];
         const attr: number = charData[CHAR_DATA_ATTR_INDEX];
         let width: number = charData[CHAR_DATA_WIDTH_INDEX];
 
+        // If true, indicates that the current character(s) to draw were joined.
+        let isJoined = false;
+        let lastCharX = x;
+
         // The character to the left is a wide character, drawing is owned by
         // the char at x-1
         if (width === 0) {
           continue;
         }
 
-        // If the character is an overlapping char and the character to the right is a
-        // space, take ownership of the cell to the right.
-        if (this._isOverlapping(charData)) {
+        // Process any joined character ranges as needed. Because of how the
+        // ranges are produced, we know that they are valid for the characters
+        // and attributes of our input.
+        if (joinedRanges.length > 0 && x === joinedRanges[0][0]) {
+          isJoined = true;
+          const range = joinedRanges.shift();
+
+          // We already know the exact start and end column of the joined range,
+          // so we get the string and width representing it directly
+          chars = terminal.buffer.translateBufferLineToString(
+            row,
+            true,
+            range[0],
+            range[1]
+          );
+          width = range[1] - range[0];
+          code = Infinity;
+
+          // Skip over the cells occupied by this range in the loop
+          lastCharX = range[1] - 1;
+        }
+
+        // If the character is an overlapping char and the character to the
+        // right is a space, take ownership of the cell to the right. We skip
+        // this check for joined characters because their rendering likely won't
+        // yield the same result as rendering the last character individually.
+        if (!isJoined && this._isOverlapping(charData)) {
           // If the character is overlapping, we want to force a re-render on every
           // frame. This is specifically to work around the case where two
           // overlaping chars `a` and `b` are adjacent, the cursor is moved to b and a
@@ -89,7 +124,7 @@ export class TextRenderLayer extends BaseRenderLayer {
           // get removed, and `a` would not re-render because it thinks it's
           // already in the correct state.
           // this._state.cache[x][y] = OVERLAP_OWNED_CHAR_DATA;
-          if (x < line.length - 1 && line[x + 1][CHAR_DATA_CODE_INDEX] === 32 /*' '*/) {
+          if (lastCharX < line.length - 1 && line[lastCharX + 1][CHAR_DATA_CODE_INDEX] === 32 /*' '*/) {
             width = 2;
             // this._clearChar(x + 1, y);
             // The overlapping char's char data will force a clear and render when the
@@ -116,7 +151,18 @@ export class TextRenderLayer extends BaseRenderLayer {
           }
         }
 
-        callback(code, char, width, x, y, fg, bg, flags);
+        callback(
+          code,
+          chars,
+          width,
+          x,
+          y,
+          fg,
+          bg,
+          flags
+        );
+
+        x = lastCharX;
       }
     }
   }
@@ -134,7 +180,7 @@ export class TextRenderLayer extends BaseRenderLayer {
 
     ctx.save();
 
-    this._forEachCell(terminal, firstRow, lastRow, (code, char, width, x, y, fg, bg, flags) => {
+    this._forEachCell(terminal, firstRow, lastRow, null, (code, chars, width, x, y, fg, bg, flags) => {
       // libvte and xterm both draw the background (but not foreground) of invisible characters,
       // so we should too.
       let nextFillStyle = null; // null represents default background color
@@ -176,7 +222,7 @@ export class TextRenderLayer extends BaseRenderLayer {
   }
 
   private _drawForeground(terminal: ITerminal, firstRow: number, lastRow: number): void {
-    this._forEachCell(terminal, firstRow, lastRow, (code, char, width, x, y, fg, bg, flags) => {
+    this._forEachCell(terminal, firstRow, lastRow, this._characterJoinerRegistry, (code, chars, width, x, y, fg, bg, flags) => {
       if (flags & FLAGS.INVISIBLE) {
         return;
       }
@@ -190,11 +236,11 @@ export class TextRenderLayer extends BaseRenderLayer {
         } else {
           this._ctx.fillStyle = this._colors.foreground.css;
         }
-        this.fillBottomLineAtCells(x, y);
+        this.fillBottomLineAtCells(x, y, width);
         this._ctx.restore();
       }
-      this.drawChar(
-        terminal, char, code,
+      this.drawChars(
+        terminal, chars, code,
         width, x, y,
         fg, bg,
         !!(flags & FLAGS.BOLD), !!(flags & FLAGS.DIM), !!(flags & FLAGS.ITALIC)
diff --git a/src/renderer/Types.ts b/src/renderer/Types.ts
index 56cfa2fc45..4006f28c36 100644
--- a/src/renderer/Types.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/Types.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  * @license MIT
  */
 
-import { ITerminal } from '../Types';
+import { ITerminal, CharacterJoinerHandler } from '../Types';
 import { IEventEmitter, ITheme, IDisposable } from 'xterm';
 import { IColorSet } from '../shared/Types';
 
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ export interface IRenderer extends IEventEmitter, IDisposable {
   onOptionsChanged(): void;
   clear(): void;
   refreshRows(start: number, end: number): void;
+  registerCharacterJoiner(handler: CharacterJoinerHandler): number;
+  deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): boolean;
 }
 
 export interface IColorManager {
@@ -101,6 +103,16 @@ export interface IRenderLayer {
    */
   onSelectionChanged(terminal: ITerminal, start: [number, number], end: [number, number], columnSelectMode: boolean): void;
 
+  /**
+   * Registers a handler to join characters to render as a group
+   */
+  registerCharacterJoiner?(joiner: ICharacterJoiner): void;
+
+  /**
+   * Deregisters the specified character joiner handler
+   */
+  deregisterCharacterJoiner?(joinerId: number): void;
+
   /**
    * Resize the render layer.
    */
@@ -111,3 +123,14 @@ export interface IRenderLayer {
    */
   reset(terminal: ITerminal): void;
 }
+
+export interface ICharacterJoiner {
+  id: number;
+  handler: CharacterJoinerHandler;
+}
+
+export interface ICharacterJoinerRegistry {
+  registerCharacterJoiner(handler: (text: string) => [number, number][]): number;
+  deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): boolean;
+  getJoinedCharacters(row: number): [number, number][];
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/atlas/DynamicCharAtlas.ts b/src/renderer/atlas/DynamicCharAtlas.ts
index bf2d6f90f4..e919e362b7 100644
--- a/src/renderer/atlas/DynamicCharAtlas.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/atlas/DynamicCharAtlas.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ interface IGlyphCacheValue {
 
 function getGlyphCacheKey(glyph: IGlyphIdentifier): string {
   const styleFlags = (glyph.bold ? 0 : 4) + (glyph.dim ? 0 : 2) + (glyph.italic ? 0 : 1);
-  return `${glyph.bg}_${glyph.fg}_${styleFlags}${glyph.char}`;
+  return `${glyph.bg}_${glyph.fg}_${styleFlags}${glyph.chars}`;
 }
 
 export default class DynamicCharAtlas extends BaseCharAtlas {
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ export default class DynamicCharAtlas extends BaseCharAtlas {
       this._tmpCtx.globalAlpha = DIM_OPACITY;
     }
     // Draw the character
-    this._tmpCtx.fillText(glyph.char, 0, 0);
+    this._tmpCtx.fillText(glyph.chars, 0, 0);
     this._tmpCtx.restore();
 
     // clear the background from the character to avoid issues with drawing over the previous
diff --git a/src/renderer/atlas/Types.ts b/src/renderer/atlas/Types.ts
index 46e4c9aa80..6fb3c5d16c 100644
--- a/src/renderer/atlas/Types.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/atlas/Types.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ export const INVERTED_DEFAULT_COLOR = -1;
 export const DIM_OPACITY = 0.5;
 
 export interface IGlyphIdentifier {
-  char: string;
+  chars: string;
   code: number;
   bg: number;
   fg: number;
diff --git a/src/renderer/dom/DomRenderer.ts b/src/renderer/dom/DomRenderer.ts
index 026381ff39..c32d663444 100644
--- a/src/renderer/dom/DomRenderer.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/dom/DomRenderer.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  */
 
 import { IRenderer, IRenderDimensions, IColorSet } from '../Types';
-import { ITerminal } from '../../Types';
+import { ITerminal, CharacterJoinerHandler } from '../../Types';
 import { ITheme } from 'xterm';
 import { EventEmitter } from '../../EventEmitter';
 import { ColorManager } from '../ColorManager';
@@ -319,4 +319,7 @@ export class DomRenderer extends EventEmitter implements IRenderer {
   private get _terminalSelector(): string {
     return `.${TERMINAL_CLASS_PREFIX}${this._terminalClass}`;
   }
+
+  public registerCharacterJoiner(handler: CharacterJoinerHandler): number { return -1; }
+  public deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): boolean { return false; }
 }
diff --git a/src/utils/TestUtils.test.ts b/src/utils/TestUtils.test.ts
index 59b55cf32d..78a1942b07 100644
--- a/src/utils/TestUtils.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/TestUtils.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  */
 
 import { IColorSet, IRenderer, IRenderDimensions, IColorManager } from '../renderer/Types';
-import { LineData, IInputHandlingTerminal, IViewport, ICompositionHelper, ITerminal, IBuffer, IBufferSet, IBrowser, ICharMeasure, ISelectionManager, ITerminalOptions, ICircularList, ILinkifier, IMouseHelper, ILinkMatcherOptions, XtermListener } from '../Types';
+import { LineData, IInputHandlingTerminal, IViewport, ICompositionHelper, ITerminal, IBuffer, IBufferSet, IBrowser, ICharMeasure, ISelectionManager, ITerminalOptions, ICircularList, ILinkifier, IMouseHelper, ILinkMatcherOptions, XtermListener, CharacterJoinerHandler } from '../Types';
 import { Buffer } from '../Buffer';
 import * as Browser from '../shared/utils/Browser';
 import { ITheme, IDisposable, IMarker } from 'xterm';
@@ -156,6 +156,8 @@ export class MockTerminal implements ITerminal {
     }
     return line;
   }
+  registerCharacterJoiner(handler: CharacterJoinerHandler): number { return 0; }
+  deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): void { }
 }
 
 export class MockCharMeasure implements ICharMeasure {
@@ -344,6 +346,8 @@ export class MockRenderer implements IRenderer {
   onWindowResize(devicePixelRatio: number): void {}
   clear(): void {}
   refreshRows(start: number, end: number): void {}
+  registerCharacterJoiner(handler: CharacterJoinerHandler): number { return 0; }
+  deregisterCharacterJoiner(): boolean { return true; }
 }
 
 export class MockViewport implements IViewport {
diff --git a/typings/xterm.d.ts b/typings/xterm.d.ts
index 2bb70815c4..b4df921032 100644
--- a/typings/xterm.d.ts
+++ b/typings/xterm.d.ts
@@ -470,6 +470,44 @@ declare module 'xterm' {
      */
     deregisterLinkMatcher(matcherId: number): void;
 
+    /**
+     * (EXPERIMENTAL) Registers a character joiner, allowing custom sequences of
+     * characters to be rendered as a single unit. This is useful in particular
+     * for rendering ligatures and graphemes, among other things.
+     * 
+     * Each registered character joiner is called with a string of text
+     * representing a portion of a line in the terminal that can be rendered as
+     * a single unit. The joiner must return a sorted array, where each entry is
+     * itself an array of length two, containing the start (inclusive) and end
+     * (exclusive) index of a substring of the input that should be rendered as
+     * a single unit. When multiple joiners are provided, the results of each
+     * are collected. If there are any overlapping substrings between them, they
+     * are combined into one larger unit that is drawn together.
+     * 
+     * All character joiners that are registered get called every time a line is
+     * rendered in the terminal, so it is essential for the handler function to
+     * run as quickly as possible to avoid slowdowns when rendering. Similarly,
+     * joiners should strive to return the smallest possible substrings to
+     * render together, since they aren't drawn as optimally as individual
+     * characters.
+     * 
+     * NOTE: character joiners are only used by the canvas renderer.
+     * 
+     * @param handler The function that determines character joins. It is called
+     * with a string of text that is eligible for joining and returns an array
+     * where each entry is an array containing the start (inclusive) and end
+     * (exclusive) indexes of ranges that should be rendered as a single unit.
+     * @return The ID of the new joiner, this can be used to deregister
+     */
+    registerCharacterJoiner(handler: (text: string) => [number, number][]): number;
+
+    /**
+     * (EXPERIMENTAL) Deregisters the character joiner if one was registered.
+     * NOTE: character joiners are only used by the canvas renderer.
+     * @param joinerId The character joiner's ID (returned after register)
+     */
+    deregisterCharacterJoiner(joinerId: number): void;
+
     /**
      * (EXPERIMENTAL) Adds a marker to the normal buffer and returns it. If the
      * alt buffer is active, undefined is returned.