diff --git a/kitty/data-types.h b/kitty/data-types.h
index 154f32917..a6c17e11b 100644
--- a/kitty/data-types.h
+++ b/kitty/data-types.h
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ void log_error(const char *fmt, ...) __attribute__ ((format (printf, 1, 2)));
 typedef unsigned long long id_type;
 typedef uint32_t char_type;
 typedef uint32_t color_type;
+typedef uint32_t hyperlink_id_type;
 typedef uint16_t combining_type;
 typedef uint32_t pixel;
 typedef unsigned int index_type;
@@ -160,6 +161,7 @@ typedef struct {
 typedef struct {
     char_type ch;
     combining_type cc_idx[2];
+    hyperlink_id_type hyperlink_id;
 } CPUCell;
 
 
diff --git a/kitty/hyperlink.c b/kitty/hyperlink.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..98e30fff5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kitty/hyperlink.c
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/*
+ * hyperlink.c
+ * Copyright (C) 2020 Kovid Goyal <kovid at kovidgoyal.net>
+ *
+ * Distributed under terms of the GPL3 license.
+ */
+
+#define _POSIX_C_SOURCE 200809L
+#include <string.h>
+#include "screen.h"
+
+bool
+parse_osc_8(char *buf, char **id, char **url) {
+    char *boundary = strstr(buf, ";");
+    if (boundary == NULL) return false;
+    *boundary = 0;
+    if (*(boundary + 1)) *url = boundary + 1;
+    char *save, *token = strtok_r(buf, ":", &save);
+    while (token != NULL) {
+        size_t len = strlen(token);
+        if (len > 3 && token[0] == 'i' && token[1] == 'd' && token[2] == '=' && token[3]) {
+            *id = token + 3;
+            break;
+        }
+        token = strtok_r(NULL, ":", &save);
+    }
+    return true;
+}
diff --git a/kitty/line.c b/kitty/line.c
index b7e69edef..a85c33413 100644
--- a/kitty/line.c
+++ b/kitty/line.c
@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ line_get_char(Line *self, index_type at) {
 }
 
 void
-line_set_char(Line *self, unsigned int at, uint32_t ch, unsigned int width, Cursor *cursor, bool UNUSED is_second) {
+line_set_char(Line *self, unsigned int at, uint32_t ch, unsigned int width, Cursor *cursor, hyperlink_id_type hyperlink_id) {
     GPUCell *g = self->gpu_cells + at;
     if (cursor == NULL) {
         g->attrs = (self->gpu_cells[at].attrs & ATTRS_MASK_WITHOUT_WIDTH) | width;
@@ -569,22 +569,24 @@ line_set_char(Line *self, unsigned int at, uint32_t ch, unsigned int width, Curs
         g->decoration_fg = cursor->decoration_fg & COL_MASK;
     }
     self->cpu_cells[at].ch = ch;
+    self->cpu_cells[at].hyperlink_id = hyperlink_id;
     memset(self->cpu_cells[at].cc_idx, 0, sizeof(self->cpu_cells[at].cc_idx));
 }
 
 static PyObject*
 set_char(Line *self, PyObject *args) {
-#define set_char_doc "set_char(at, ch, width=1, cursor=None) -> Set the character at the specified cell. If cursor is not None, also set attributes from that cursor."
+#define set_char_doc "set_char(at, ch, width=1, cursor=None, hyperlink_id=0) -> Set the character at the specified cell. If cursor is not None, also set attributes from that cursor."
     unsigned int at, width=1;
     int ch;
     Cursor *cursor = NULL;
+    unsigned int hyperlink_id = 0;
 
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "IC|IO!", &at, &ch, &width, &Cursor_Type, &cursor)) return NULL;
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "IC|IO!I", &at, &ch, &width, &Cursor_Type, &cursor, &hyperlink_id)) return NULL;
     if (at >= self->xnum) {
         PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "Out of bounds");
         return NULL;
     }
-    line_set_char(self, at, ch, width, cursor, false);
+    line_set_char(self, at, ch, width, cursor, hyperlink_id);
     Py_RETURN_NONE;
 }
 
diff --git a/kitty/lineops.h b/kitty/lineops.h
index daeaa219b..618c0051f 100644
--- a/kitty/lineops.h
+++ b/kitty/lineops.h
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ typedef Line*(get_line_func)(void *, int);
 void line_clear_text(Line *self, unsigned int at, unsigned int num, char_type ch);
 void line_apply_cursor(Line *self, Cursor *cursor, unsigned int at, unsigned int num, bool clear_char);
 char_type line_get_char(Line *self, index_type at);
-void line_set_char(Line *, unsigned int , uint32_t , unsigned int , Cursor *, bool);
+void line_set_char(Line *, unsigned int , uint32_t , unsigned int , Cursor *, hyperlink_id_type);
 void line_right_shift(Line *, unsigned int , unsigned int );
 void line_add_combining_char(Line *, uint32_t , unsigned int );
 index_type line_url_start_at(Line *self, index_type x);
diff --git a/kitty/parser.c b/kitty/parser.c
index ce49d3471..8b4ed6fb8 100644
--- a/kitty/parser.c
+++ b/kitty/parser.c
@@ -121,6 +121,9 @@ _report_params(PyObject *dump_callback, const char *name, unsigned int *params,
 #define REPORT_OSC2(name, code, string) \
     Py_XDECREF(PyObject_CallFunction(dump_callback, "sIO", #name, code, string)); PyErr_Clear();
 
+#define REPORT_HYPERLINK(id, url) \
+    Py_XDECREF(PyObject_CallFunction(dump_callback, "szz", "set_active_hyperlink", id, url)); PyErr_Clear();
+
 #else
 
 #define DUMP_UNUSED UNUSED
@@ -134,6 +137,7 @@ _report_params(PyObject *dump_callback, const char *name, unsigned int *params,
 #define FLUSH_DRAW
 #define REPORT_OSC(name, string)
 #define REPORT_OSC2(name, code, string)
+#define REPORT_HYPERLINK(id, url)
 
 #endif
 
@@ -302,6 +306,30 @@ handle_esc_mode_char(Screen *screen, uint32_t ch, PyObject DUMP_UNUSED *dump_cal
 
 // OSC mode {{{
 
+static inline void
+dispatch_hyperlink(Screen *screen, size_t pos, size_t size, PyObject DUMP_UNUSED *dump_callback) {
+    // since the spec says only ASCII printable chars are allowed in OSC 8, we
+    // can just convert to char* directly
+    if (!size) return;  // ignore empty OSC 8 since it must have two semi-colons to be valid, which means one semi-colon here
+    char *id = NULL, *url = NULL;
+    char *data = malloc(size + 1);
+    if (!data) fatal("Out of memory");
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+        data[i] = screen->parser_buf[i + pos] & 0x7f;
+        if (data[i] < 32 || data[i] > 126) data[i] = '_';
+    }
+    data[size] = 0;
+
+    if (parse_osc_8(data, &id, &url)) {
+        REPORT_HYPERLINK(id, url);
+        set_active_hyperlink(screen, id, url);
+    } else {
+        REPORT_ERROR("Ignoring malformed OSC 8 code");
+    }
+
+    free(data);
+}
+
 static inline void
 dispatch_osc(Screen *screen, PyObject DUMP_UNUSED *dump_callback) {
 #define DISPATCH_OSC_WITH_CODE(name) REPORT_OSC2(name, code, string); name(screen, code, string);
@@ -339,6 +367,9 @@ dispatch_osc(Screen *screen, PyObject DUMP_UNUSED *dump_callback) {
             START_DISPATCH
             DISPATCH_OSC_WITH_CODE(set_color_table_color);
             END_DISPATCH
+        case 8:
+            dispatch_hyperlink(screen, i, limit-i, dump_callback);
+            break;
         case 9:
         case 99:
             START_DISPATCH
diff --git a/kitty/screen.c b/kitty/screen.c
index 06951230a..b05d259e3 100644
--- a/kitty/screen.c
+++ b/kitty/screen.c
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *args, PyObject UNUSED *kwds) {
         self->historybuf = alloc_historybuf(MAX(scrollback, lines), columns, OPT(scrollback_pager_history_size));
         self->main_grman = grman_alloc();
         self->alt_grman = grman_alloc();
+        self->active_hyperlink_id = 0;
 
         self->grman = self->main_grman;
         self->pending_mode.wait_time = s_double_to_monotonic_t(2.0);
@@ -143,6 +144,7 @@ screen_reset(Screen *self) {
     historybuf_clear(self->historybuf);
     grman_clear(self->grman, false, self->cell_size);
     self->modes = empty_modes;
+    self->active_hyperlink_id = 0;
 #define R(name) self->color_profile->overridden.name = 0
     R(default_fg); R(default_bg); R(cursor_color); R(highlight_fg); R(highlight_bg);
 #undef R
@@ -359,6 +361,15 @@ selection_has_screen_line(Selection *s, int y) {
     return top <= y && y <= bottom;
 }
 
+void
+set_active_hyperlink(Screen *self, char *id, char *url) {
+    (void)id;
+    if (!url || !url[0]) {
+        self->active_hyperlink_id = 0;
+        return;
+    }
+}
+
 static inline bool is_flag_pair(char_type a, char_type b) {
     return is_flag_codepoint(a) && is_flag_codepoint(b);
 }
@@ -419,7 +430,7 @@ draw_combining_char(Screen *self, char_type ch) {
             CPUCell *cpu_cell = self->linebuf->line->cpu_cells + xpos;
             GPUCell *gpu_cell = self->linebuf->line->gpu_cells + xpos;
             if ((gpu_cell->attrs & WIDTH_MASK) != 2 && cpu_cell->cc_idx[0] == VS16 && is_emoji_presentation_base(cpu_cell->ch)) {
-                if (self->cursor->x <= self->columns - 1) line_set_char(self->linebuf->line, self->cursor->x, 0, 0, self->cursor, true);
+                if (self->cursor->x <= self->columns - 1) line_set_char(self->linebuf->line, self->cursor->x, 0, 0, self->cursor, self->active_hyperlink_id);
                 gpu_cell->attrs = (gpu_cell->attrs & !WIDTH_MASK) | 2;
                 if (xpos == self->columns - 1) move_widened_char(self, cpu_cell, gpu_cell, xpos, ypos);
                 else self->cursor->x++;
@@ -476,10 +487,10 @@ screen_draw(Screen *self, uint32_t och) {
     if (self->modes.mIRM) {
         line_right_shift(self->linebuf->line, self->cursor->x, char_width);
     }
-    line_set_char(self->linebuf->line, self->cursor->x, ch, char_width, self->cursor, false);
+    line_set_char(self->linebuf->line, self->cursor->x, ch, char_width, self->cursor, self->active_hyperlink_id);
     self->cursor->x++;
     if (char_width == 2) {
-        line_set_char(self->linebuf->line, self->cursor->x, 0, 0, self->cursor, true);
+        line_set_char(self->linebuf->line, self->cursor->x, 0, 0, self->cursor, self->active_hyperlink_id);
         self->cursor->x++;
     }
     self->is_dirty = true;
@@ -646,6 +657,7 @@ screen_handle_graphics_command(Screen *self, const GraphicsCommand *cmd, const u
 void
 screen_toggle_screen_buffer(Screen *self, bool save_cursor, bool clear_alt_screen) {
     bool to_alt = self->linebuf == self->main_linebuf;
+    self->active_hyperlink_id = 0;
     grman_clear(self->alt_grman, true, self->cell_size);  // always clear the alt buffer graphics to free up resources, since it has to be cleared when switching back to it anyway
     if (to_alt) {
         if (clear_alt_screen) linebuf_clear(self->alt_linebuf, BLANK_CHAR);
diff --git a/kitty/screen.h b/kitty/screen.h
index 8488ada3e..f0b0d589c 100644
--- a/kitty/screen.h
+++ b/kitty/screen.h
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ typedef struct {
     PyObject *marker;
     bool has_focus;
     bool has_activity_since_last_focus;
+    hyperlink_id_type active_hyperlink_id;
 } Screen;
 
 
@@ -206,6 +207,8 @@ bool screen_history_scroll(Screen *self, int amt, bool upwards);
 Line* screen_visual_line(Screen *self, index_type y);
 unsigned long screen_current_char_width(Screen *self);
 void screen_mark_url(Screen *self, index_type start_x, index_type start_y, index_type end_x, index_type end_y);
+bool parse_osc_8(char *buf, char **id, char **url);
+void set_active_hyperlink(Screen*, char*, char*);
 void screen_handle_graphics_command(Screen *self, const GraphicsCommand *cmd, const uint8_t *payload);
 bool screen_open_url(Screen*);
 void screen_dirty_sprite_positions(Screen *self);
diff --git a/kitty_tests/parser.py b/kitty_tests/parser.py
index 8e54a2d78..6de47904c 100644
--- a/kitty_tests/parser.py
+++ b/kitty_tests/parser.py
@@ -227,6 +227,12 @@ class TestParser(BaseTest):
         pb('\033]9;test it\x07', ('desktop_notify', 9, 'test it'))
         pb('\033]99;moo=foo;test it\x07', ('desktop_notify', 99, 'moo=foo;test it'))
         self.ae(c.notifications, [(9, ''), (9, 'test it'), (99, 'moo=foo;test it')])
+        c.clear()
+        pb('\033]8;;\x07', ('set_active_hyperlink', None, None))
+        pb('\033]8moo\x07', ('Ignoring malformed OSC 8 code',))
+        pb('\033]8;moo\x07', ('Ignoring malformed OSC 8 code',))
+        pb('\033]8;id=xyz;\x07', ('set_active_hyperlink', 'xyz', None))
+        pb('\033]8;moo:x=z:id=xyz:id=abc;http://yay;.com\x07', ('set_active_hyperlink', 'xyz', 'http://yay;.com'))
 
     def test_desktop_notify(self):
         reset_registry()