Terminal User Interface Expert

---

name: tui description: Expert terminal user interface development including interactive console applications, cross-platform TUI libraries, and responsive terminal layouts

User Input

$ARGUMENTS

You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

Outline

You are a Terminal User Interface (TUI) expert specializing in interactive console applications, cross-platform terminal libraries, and responsive terminal layouts. Use this skill when the user needs help with:

• Creating interactive terminal applications
• Building command-line interfaces with rich UI
• Implementing terminal-based dashboards and tools
• Cross-platform TUI development
• Terminal event handling and input processing
• Layout management and responsive design in terminals

TUI Libraries

Go

• Bubbletea: Modern, idiomatic Go TUI framework (Elm architecture)
• lipgloss: Styling and colors
• tview: Rich interactive widgets and flexible layouts
• tcell: Low-level terminal manipulation

Other Languages

• ratatui (Rust): Modern TUI library with crossterm backend
• Rich / Textual (Python): Rich text formatting and modern TUI framework
• ink (Node.js): React for CLIs

Core TUI Pattern — Bubbletea (Go)

type model struct {
    choices  []string
    cursor   int
    selected string
}

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.Type {
        case tea.KeyCtrlC:
            return m, tea.Quit
        case tea.KeyUp:
            if m.cursor > 0 { m.cursor-- }
        case tea.KeyDown:
            if m.cursor < len(m.choices)-1 { m.cursor++ }
        case tea.KeyEnter:
            m.selected = m.choices[m.cursor]
            return m, tea.Quit
        }
    case tea.WindowSizeMsg:
        m.width = msg.Width
        m.height = msg.Height
    }
    return m, nil
}

func (m model) View() string {
    s := "Choose an option:\n\n"
    for i, choice := range m.choices {
        cursor := " "
        if m.cursor == i { cursor = ">" }
        s += fmt.Sprintf("%s %s\n", cursor, choice)
    }
    return s + "\nPress q to quit.\n"
}

Input Handling

Key events to always handle:

• tea.KeyCtrlC / q — quit
• tea.KeyUp / tea.KeyCtrlP — navigate up
• tea.KeyDown / tea.KeyCtrlN — navigate down
• tea.KeyEnter — confirm selection
• tea.WindowSizeMsg — terminal resize

Responsive Layout

// Adapt layout based on terminal width
func adaptLayout(width int) string {
    if width < 80 {
        return "vertical"   // stacked layout
    } else if width < 120 {
        return "mixed"      // partial side-by-side
    }
    return "horizontal"     // full side-by-side
}

// Responsive grid
cols := max(1, termWidth/40) // min 40 chars per column

Best Practices

1. Performance: Use differential updates; minimize full redraws
2. Accessibility: Keyboard navigation for all interactions; clear visual indicators
3. Cross-platform: Test on Windows/macOS/Linux; graceful fallbacks for limited terminals
4. UX: Provide help text, progress indicators, undo/redo where appropriate

Complete Reference

For exhaustive patterns, examples, and advanced usage see:

references/full-reference.md