diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
--- a/config.def.h	2026-05-20 12:05:11.699957443 +0200
+++ b/config.def.h	2026-05-20 12:05:11.703957526 +0200
@@ -3,3 +3,8 @@
 /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
 static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
 static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+
+/* default bar style: "" autodetects (unicode if locale is UTF-8, else ascii).
+ * Available: unicode | ascii | hash | dots | line | block | arrow | minimal.
+ */
+static const char *const BAR_STYLE = "";
diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
--- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:05:11.699957443 +0200
+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:06:26.161496315 +0200
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include <ctype.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <locale.h>
 #include <poll.h>
 #include <signal.h>
 #include <stdarg.h>
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@
 typedef struct {
 	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
 	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
+	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
 } Config;
 
 static struct termios oldtios;
@@ -186,7 +188,8 @@
 /* ===== drawing ===== */
 
 static void
-draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw)
+draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw,
+               const char *fill_glyph, const char *empty_glyph, int minimal)
 {
 	if (total <= 0) return;
 	long total_ms = total * 1000L;
@@ -207,8 +210,15 @@
 	const char *status = paused ? "PAUSED " : "       ";
 
 	printf("\r%sT-%s\033[0m \033[2m+%s\033[0m [", color, rem, el);
-	for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputs(BAR_FILL,  stdout);
-	for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputs(BAR_EMPTY, stdout);
+	if (minimal) {
+		fputs("\033[7m", stdout);
+		for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputc(' ', stdout);
+		fputs("\033[27m", stdout);
+		for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputc(' ', stdout);
+	} else {
+		for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputs(fill_glyph,  stdout);
+		for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputs(empty_glyph, stdout);
+	}
 	printf("] %3ld%% %s", pct, status);
 	fflush(stdout);
 }
@@ -226,6 +236,55 @@
 	fflush(stdout);
 }
 
+/* ===== bar styles ===== */
+
+typedef struct { const char *name, *fill, *empty; } BarStyle;
+
+static const BarStyle bar_styles[] = {
+	{ "unicode", "\xe2\x96\x88", "\xe2\x96\x91" },  /* U+2588 U+2591 */
+	{ "ascii",   "=",            "-"            },
+	{ "hash",    "#",            "."            },
+	{ "dots",    "\xe2\x80\xa2", "\xc2\xb7"     },  /* U+2022 U+00B7 */
+	{ "line",    "\xe2\x94\x81", "\xe2\x94\x80" },  /* U+2501 U+2500 */
+	{ "block",   "\xe2\x96\x93", "\xe2\x96\x91" },  /* U+2593 U+2591 */
+	{ "arrow",   "\xe2\x96\xb6", "\xe2\x96\xb7" },  /* U+25B6 U+25B7 */
+	{ "minimal", "",             ""             },
+	{ NULL,      NULL,           NULL           }
+};
+
+static const BarStyle *
+find_bar_style(const char *name)
+{
+	if (!name || !*name) return NULL;
+	for (int i = 0; bar_styles[i].name; i++)
+		if (!strcmp(bar_styles[i].name, name)) return &bar_styles[i];
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+static int
+is_utf8(void)
+{
+	const char *l = setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "");
+	if (!l) return 0;
+	return strstr(l, "UTF-8") || strstr(l, "utf8") || strstr(l, "utf-8");
+}
+
+static void
+resolve_bar(const Config *c, const char **fill, const char **empty, int *minimal)
+{
+	*minimal = 0;
+	const char *name = (c->bar_style[0]) ? c->bar_style : BAR_STYLE;
+	const BarStyle *s = find_bar_style(name);
+	if (!s) s = find_bar_style(is_utf8() ? "unicode" : "ascii");
+	if (s && !strcmp(s->name, "minimal")) {
+		*minimal = 1;
+		*fill = " "; *empty = " ";
+		return;
+	}
+	*fill  = s ? s->fill  : BAR_FILL;
+	*empty = s ? s->empty : BAR_EMPTY;
+}
+
 /* ===== usage =====
  * Patches MUST update this in lockstep with new flags so -h always
  * reflects the build.
@@ -243,6 +302,7 @@
 "FLAGS:\n"
 "  -q              no sound\n"
 "  -s              silent\n"
+"  --bar STYLE     bar style: unicode|ascii|hash|dots|line|block|arrow|minimal\n"
 "  --              end of options\n"
 "  -h              help\n"
 "\n"
@@ -259,6 +319,10 @@
 	int barw = cols - 40;
 	if (barw < 10) barw = 10;
 
+	const char *fill_glyph, *empty_glyph;
+	int minimal = 0;
+	resolve_bar(cfg, &fill_glyph, &empty_glyph, &minimal);
+
 	ttyfd = open("/dev/tty", O_RDONLY);
 	if (ttyfd >= 0 && isatty(ttyfd)) {
 		if (tcgetattr(ttyfd, &oldtios) == 0) {
@@ -300,7 +364,8 @@
 				draw_stopwatch(elapsed_ms, paused);
 		} else {
 			if (out_tty)
-				draw_countdown(total, elapsed_ms, paused, barw);
+				draw_countdown(total, elapsed_ms, paused, barw,
+				               fill_glyph, empty_glyph, minimal);
 			if (!paused && elapsed_ms >= total * 1000L) break;
 		}
 
@@ -399,6 +464,10 @@
 			new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
 			continue;
 		}
+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--bar") && i + 1 < argc) {
+			snprintf(cfg.bar_style, sizeof(cfg.bar_style), "%s", argv[++i]);
+			continue;
+		}
 		new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
 	}
 	new_argv[new_argc] = NULL;