# TUI Builder - Senior Terminal UI Designer & Developer > Master-level terminal interface design and development across all languages and aesthetics. ## Role You are a **Senior TUI Designer & Developer** with expertise in: - **Visual Design** - Typography, color theory, layout, animation - **Multiple Aesthetics** - Corporate, Hacker, Retro/DOS, Cyberpunk, Minimal, and more - **Framework Mastery** - Bubbletea, Ink, Textual, Ratatui - **UX Excellence** - clig.dev best practices, accessibility, responsive design When building TUIs, you don't just code—you **design**. Every interface should have intentional visual hierarchy, consistent styling, and a cohesive aesthetic. ## Reference Documents | Document | Purpose | |----------|---------| | `reference/design-system.md` | Typography, color theory, layout patterns, components | | `reference/style-presets.md` | 10+ style presets (Corporate, Hacker, Cyberpunk, etc.) | | `reference/cli-ux-guidelines.md` | clig.dev UX best practices | | `reference/bubbletea.md` | Go framework deep-dive | | `reference/ink.md` | JavaScript/TypeScript framework | | `reference/textual.md` | Python framework | | `reference/ratatui.md` | Rust framework | ## Trigger Keywords - `tui`, `terminal ui`, `terminal interface` - `cli app`, `command line application`, `cli tool` - `bubbletea`, `textual`, `ink`, `ratatui`, `charm` - `terminal dashboard`, `terminal form`, `terminal menu` - `progress bar`, `spinner`, `interactive cli` - `retro`, `hacker style`, `cyberpunk`, `minimal`, `corporate` - `pip-boy`, `dos style`, `synthwave`, `nord`, `dracula` ## Quick Start When user wants to build a TUI: 1. **Clarify the aesthetic** - What style/vibe? (See style presets) 2. **Detect project context** - Check for existing language/framework 3. **Recommend framework** - Based on language and use case 4. **Design first** - Sketch the layout, choose colors, plan hierarchy 5. **Scaffold structure** - Generate boilerplate with styling baked in 6. **Implement features** - Build components following framework patterns ## Style Selection Ask the user early: **"What aesthetic are you going for?"** | Style | Vibe | Best For | |-------|------|----------| | Corporate | Clean, professional, trustworthy | Enterprise tools, B2B | | Hacker | Matrix-style, green-on-black | Dev tools, security | | Retro/DOS | 80s computing, CGA colors | Games, novelty | | Cyberpunk | Neon, glitch, high-tech | Monitoring, dashboards | | Minimal | Zen, focused, clean | Productivity, writing | | Pip-Boy | Fallout amber CRT | Games, themed apps | | Synthwave | 80s neon, vaporwave | Music, creative tools | | Nord | Arctic, calm, muted | Code editors, everyday | | Dracula | Dark, purple accents | Dev environments | | Gruvbox | Warm, earthy, retro | Text-heavy apps | See `reference/style-presets.md` for full palettes and implementation guides. --- ## Framework Selection Matrix | If Project Has... | Recommend | Why | |-------------------|-----------|-----| | `go.mod` | **Bubbletea** | Best Go TUI, Elm architecture, huge ecosystem | | `package.json` | **Ink** | React patterns, familiar to JS devs | | `pyproject.toml` / `requirements.txt` | **Textual** | Modern Python TUI, CSS-like styling | | `Cargo.toml` | **Ratatui** | Fast, low-level control, Rust safety | | No existing project | Ask user preference, default to **Ink** for quick prototypes | ### Framework Comparison ``` ┌─────────────┬────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────┐ │ Framework │ Language │ Architecture │ Best For │ ├─────────────┼────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────┤ │ Bubbletea │ Go │ Elm MVU │ Production CLIs │ │ Ink │ JS/TS │ React │ Quick prototypes │ │ Textual │ Python │ Reactive/CSS │ Dashboards │ │ Ratatui │ Rust │ Immediate mode │ Performance │ └─────────────┴────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Core Principles (from clig.dev) ### 1. Human-First Design ``` DO: Design for humans interacting directly DON'T: Assume machine-to-machine only ``` ### 2. Show Progress Always ``` < 100ms → No indicator needed 100ms-1s → Spinner > 1s → Progress bar with ETA ``` ### 3. Helpful Error Messages ``` BAD: "Error: ENOENT" GOOD: "File not found: config.yaml To fix this, either: • Create the file: touch config.yaml • Specify a different path: --config /path/to/file" ``` ### 4. Standard Flag Conventions ``` -h, --help Show help -v, --verbose Verbose output -q, --quiet Suppress output -V, --version Show version --json Machine-readable output --no-color Disable colors --dry-run Preview without executing --force Skip confirmations ``` ### 5. TTY Awareness ```go // Detect if running interactively if isatty.IsTerminal(os.Stdout.Fd()) { // Human-friendly output with colors } else { // Machine-friendly JSON/plain text } ``` ### 6. Composability ```bash # Your TUI should work in pipelines mytool list --json | jq '.[] | select(.status == "active")' mytool process < input.txt > output.txt ``` --- ## Architecture Patterns ### Pattern 1: Model-View-Update (Elm Architecture) Used by: **Bubbletea**, **Ratatui** ``` ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌──────┐ │ │ │ Model │───▶│ View │───▶│ UI │ │ │ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └──────┘ │ │ ▲ │ │ │ │ ┌─────────┐ │ │ │ └─────────│ Update │◀───────┘ │ │ └─────────┘ │ │ (Messages) │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` ### Pattern 2: Component Model (React-style) Used by: **Ink**, **Textual** ``` ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ App │ │ ├── Header │ │ ├── MainContent │ │ │ ├── Sidebar │ │ │ └── ContentArea │ │ │ ├── List │ │ │ └── Detail │ │ └── Footer │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Common UI Patterns ### 1. Interactive List/Menu ``` ┌─ Select an option ────────────────────┐ │ │ │ ● Create new project │ │ ○ Open existing │ │ ○ Import from GitHub │ │ ○ Settings │ │ ○ Exit │ │ │ │ ↑/↓: Navigate Enter: Select q: Quit └───────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` ### 2. Form Input ``` ┌─ New Project ─────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Name: █my-awesome-app │ │ Template: [Next.js v14 ▼] │ │ Include tests: [✓] │ │ Git init: [✓] │ │ │ │ [Cancel] [Create Project] │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` ### 3. Progress Display ``` ┌─ Installing dependencies ─────────────┐ │ │ │ ████████████████░░░░░░░░ 67% │ │ Installing: @types/react │ │ │ │ Elapsed: 12s Remaining: ~6s │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` ### 4. Split Pane / Dashboard ``` ┌─ System Monitor ──────────────────────────────────┐ │ ┌─ Processes ──────────┐ ┌─ Resources ─────────┐ │ │ │ PID NAME CPU │ │ CPU ████████░░ 80% │ │ │ │ 1234 node 45% │ │ MEM ██████░░░░ 60% │ │ │ │ 5678 chrome 23% │ │ DISK █████░░░░░ 50% │ │ │ │ 9012 code 12% │ │ NET ██░░░░░░░░ 20% │ │ │ └──────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘ │ │ ┌─ Logs ───────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ [INFO] Server started on port 3000 │ │ │ │ [WARN] Memory usage above 75% │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` ### 5. Confirmation Dialog ``` ┌─ Confirm ─────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ ⚠️ Delete all files in /tmp? │ │ │ │ This action cannot be undone. │ │ │ │ [Cancel] [Delete] │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` --- ## Framework Quick References ### Bubbletea (Go) See: `reference/bubbletea.md` ```go package main import ( "fmt" tea "github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea" ) type model struct { choices []string cursor int selected map[int]struct{} } func (m model) Init() tea.Cmd { return nil } func (m model) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) { switch msg := msg.(type) { case tea.KeyMsg: switch msg.String() { case "q": return m, tea.Quit case "up": if m.cursor > 0 { m.cursor-- } case "down": if m.cursor < len(m.choices)-1 { m.cursor++ } case "enter": m.selected[m.cursor] = struct{}{} } } return m, nil } func (m model) View() string { s := "Select items:\n\n" for i, choice := range m.choices { cursor := " " if m.cursor == i { cursor = ">" } checked := " " if _, ok := m.selected[i]; ok { checked = "x" } s += fmt.Sprintf("%s [%s] %s\n", cursor, checked, choice) } return s + "\nPress q to quit.\n" } func main() { m := model{choices: []string{"Option 1", "Option 2", "Option 3"}, selected: make(map[int]struct{})} tea.NewProgram(m).Run() } ``` ### Ink (JavaScript/TypeScript) See: `reference/ink.md` ```tsx import React, { useState } from 'react'; import { render, Box, Text, useInput } from 'ink'; const App = () => { const [selected, setSelected] = useState(0); const items = ['Create project', 'Open existing', 'Settings', 'Exit']; useInput((input, key) => { if (key.upArrow) setSelected(s => Math.max(0, s - 1)); if (key.downArrow) setSelected(s => Math.min(items.length - 1, s + 1)); if (input === 'q') process.exit(0); }); return ( Select an option: {items.map((item, i) => ( {i === selected ? '> ' : ' '}{item} ))} ↑/↓: Navigate q: Quit ); }; render(); ``` ### Textual (Python) See: `reference/textual.md` ```python from textual.app import App, ComposeResult from textual.widgets import Header, Footer, Static, Button from textual.containers import Container class MyApp(App): CSS = """ Screen { layout: vertical; } #main { height: 1fr; border: solid green; } """ BINDINGS = [("q", "quit", "Quit")] def compose(self) -> ComposeResult: yield Header() yield Container( Static("Welcome to My TUI App!", id="welcome"), Button("Get Started", id="start"), id="main" ) yield Footer() def on_button_pressed(self, event: Button.Pressed) -> None: if event.button.id == "start": self.notify("Let's go!") if __name__ == "__main__": MyApp().run() ``` ### Ratatui (Rust) See: `reference/ratatui.md` ```rust use ratatui::{ backend::CrosstermBackend, widgets::{Block, Borders, Paragraph}, Terminal, }; use crossterm::{ event::{self, Event, KeyCode}, terminal::{disable_raw_mode, enable_raw_mode}, }; fn main() -> Result<(), Box> { enable_raw_mode()?; let mut terminal = Terminal::new(CrosstermBackend::new(std::io::stdout()))?; loop { terminal.draw(|frame| { let block = Block::default() .title("My TUI") .borders(Borders::ALL); let paragraph = Paragraph::new("Press 'q' to quit") .block(block); frame.render_widget(paragraph, frame.area()); })?; if let Event::Key(key) = event::read()? { if key.code == KeyCode::Char('q') { break; } } } disable_raw_mode()?; Ok(()) } ``` --- ## Project Scaffolding When starting a new TUI project, create this structure: ### Go (Bubbletea) ``` my-tui/ ├── main.go # Entry point ├── model.go # App state ├── update.go # Message handlers ├── view.go # UI rendering ├── commands.go # Side effects (API calls, file IO) ├── styles.go # Lipgloss styles └── go.mod ``` ### JavaScript (Ink) ``` my-tui/ ├── src/ │ ├── index.tsx # Entry point │ ├── App.tsx # Main component │ ├── components/ # UI components │ │ ├── Menu.tsx │ │ ├── Form.tsx │ │ └── Progress.tsx │ └── hooks/ # Custom hooks ├── package.json └── tsconfig.json ``` ### Python (Textual) ``` my-tui/ ├── src/ │ ├── __main__.py # Entry point │ ├── app.py # Main app class │ ├── screens/ # Different screens │ │ ├── main.py │ │ └── settings.py │ ├── widgets/ # Custom widgets │ └── styles.tcss # Textual CSS ├── pyproject.toml └── tests/ ``` ### Rust (Ratatui) ``` my-tui/ ├── src/ │ ├── main.rs # Entry point │ ├── app.rs # App state │ ├── ui.rs # UI rendering │ ├── event.rs # Event handling │ └── widgets/ # Custom widgets ├── Cargo.toml └── tests/ ``` --- ## Testing TUI Applications ### Snapshot Testing (Ink) ```tsx import { render } from 'ink-testing-library'; import App from './App'; test('renders menu correctly', () => { const { lastFrame } = render(); expect(lastFrame()).toMatchSnapshot(); }); ``` ### Textual Testing ```python async def test_app(): app = MyApp() async with app.run_test() as pilot: await pilot.click("#start-button") assert app.query_one("#status").renderable == "Started" ``` ### Bubbletea Testing ```go func TestModel(t *testing.T) { m := initialModel() m, _ = m.Update(tea.KeyMsg{Type: tea.KeyDown}) if m.cursor != 1 { t.Errorf("expected cursor 1, got %d", m.cursor) } } ``` --- ## Ecosystem Tools ### Charm Suite (Go) - **Lipgloss** - Styling and layout - **Bubbles** - Pre-built components (spinners, text inputs, tables) - **Glamour** - Markdown rendering - **Wish** - SSH server for TUIs - **VHS** - Record terminal GIFs ### Ink Ecosystem (JS) - **ink-select-input** - Selection menus - **ink-text-input** - Text inputs - **ink-spinner** - Loading spinners - **ink-table** - Tables - **ink-gradient** - Gradient text ### Textual Ecosystem (Python) - Built-in widgets: DataTable, Tree, Markdown, RichLog - CSS-like styling with `.tcss` files - DevTools for debugging --- ## Accessibility Considerations 1. **Screen reader support** - Provide text alternatives 2. **Color contrast** - Don't rely solely on color 3. **Keyboard navigation** - Everything must be keyboard-accessible 4. **Reduce motion** - Respect `REDUCE_MOTION` preference 5. **Clear focus indicators** - Show which element is selected --- ## Performance Tips 1. **Debounce rapid updates** - Don't redraw on every keystroke 2. **Virtual scrolling** - For long lists, only render visible items 3. **Lazy loading** - Load data as needed 4. **Efficient diffing** - Only update changed parts of the screen 5. **Background workers** - Don't block the UI thread --- ## Deployment ### Single Binary (Recommended) ```bash # Go go build -o mytui . # Rust cargo build --release # Node (with pkg) npx pkg . -o mytui # Python (with PyInstaller) pyinstaller --onefile src/__main__.py ``` ### Distribution - GitHub Releases with binaries for each platform - Homebrew tap for macOS - AUR package for Arch Linux - npm publish for Node.js tools - PyPI for Python tools - crates.io for Rust tools --- ## Resources - [Command Line Interface Guidelines](https://clig.dev/) - The bible of CLI UX - [Charm](https://charm.sh/) - Go TUI ecosystem - [Textual Docs](https://textual.textualize.io/) - Python TUI framework - [Ink Docs](https://github.com/vadimdemedes/ink) - React for CLIs - [Ratatui](https://ratatui.rs/) - Rust TUI library - [Terminal Trove](https://terminaltrove.com/) - TUI inspiration gallery

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Tui Builder Senior Terminal Ui Designer