devdash

A terminal-based dashboard for developers built with Rust and Ratatui. devdash provides real-time system monitoring with a flexible layout system and plugin architecture.

Features

• 6 Built-in Widgets: CPU, Memory, Disk, Process, Network, and Git monitoring
• Example Plugin: Interactive counter widget demonstrating plugin capabilities
• Flexible Layout System: Horizontal and vertical layouts with flex constraints
• Plugin Architecture: Extend functionality with custom widgets
• Hot Reload: Live configuration and plugin updates
• Multiple Dashboards: Switch between different widget arrangements

Installation

git clone https://github.com/Cod-e-Codes/devdash
cd devdash
cargo build --release

Usage

Run devdash with the default dashboard:

cargo run

Select a specific dashboard:

cargo run -- --dashboard=dev

Available dashboards: default, minimal, process-focused, dev, balanced

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Q - Quit application
• Tab - Switch focus between widgets
• Ctrl+R - Reload configuration

Configuration

devdash uses devdash.toml for configuration. Define multiple dashboards with different widget layouts:

[[dashboard]]
name = "default"

  [dashboard.layout]
  type = "layout"
  direction = "horizontal"
  
  [[dashboard.layout.items]]
  type = "widget"
  name = "process"
  flex = 2

Layout Constraints

• flex = N - Proportional sizing (higher = more space)
• percentage = N - Percentage of available space (0-100)
• fixed = N - Fixed size in characters

Widgets

CPU Widget

Displays system CPU usage and load averages with real-time updates.

Memory Widget

Shows RAM usage, available memory, and memory pressure metrics.

Controls:

• U - Cycle through display units (Auto/B/KB/MB/GB/TB)
• S - Toggle swap visibility
• R - Force refresh

Disk Widget

Monitors disk usage, I/O rates, and storage statistics across all mounted filesystems.

Controls:

• T - Toggle between I/O stats and usage views
• D - Cycle through disks in usage view
• H - Toggle history length (30/60/120 samples)
• R - Reset I/O history
• ↑/↓ or K/J - Navigate disk list

Process Widget

Interactive process list with sorting capabilities and real-time CPU/memory usage.

Controls:

• C - Sort by CPU usage
• M - Sort by memory usage
• N - Sort by process name
• ↑/↓ or K/J - Navigate process list

Network Widget

Network interface statistics including bytes sent/received and connection status.

Controls:

• T - Toggle between I/O stats and interface usage views
• ↑/↓ or K/J - Navigate interface list (in usage view)
• R - Reset current totals

Git Widget

Repository status display showing current branch, commits ahead/behind, and recent commit history.

Controls:

• G - Open repository in file manager
• R - Force refresh

Layout System

devdash supports nested horizontal and vertical layouts:

• Horizontal: Widgets arranged side-by-side
• Vertical: Widgets stacked top-to-bottom
• Nested: Combine layouts for complex arrangements
• Flex Constraints: Distribute space proportionally between widgets

Example nested layout:

[[dashboard.layout.items]]
type = "layout"
direction = "vertical"
  [[dashboard.layout.items.items]]
  type = "widget"
  name = "cpu"
  flex = 1

Plugin System

Create custom widgets using the devdash Plugin SDK:

use devdash_plugin_sdk::*;

struct MyWidget {
    // Your widget state
}

impl Widget for MyWidget {
    fn render(&mut self, area: Rect, buf: &mut Buffer) {
        // Your rendering logic
    }
    // ... implement other required methods
}

export_plugin!(MyWidget, "my_widget");

Build and install plugins:

cd examples/example_plugin
cargo build --release

# Windows
copy target\release\example_plugin.dll %USERPROFILE%\.devdash\plugins\

# Linux/macOS
cp target/release/libexample_plugin.so ~/.devdash/plugins/  # Linux
cp target/release/libexample_plugin.dylib ~/.devdash/plugins/  # macOS

Plugin directory: ~/.devdash/plugins/

Requirements:

• Plugins must be built with the same Rust version as devdash
• Use the same optimization level (release/debug)

Note: If a plugin widget is configured but the plugin file is missing, devdash will display a warning and continue running with the available widgets.

Hot Reload

• Configuration: Press Ctrl+R to reload devdash.toml without restarting
• Plugins: Automatic detection and reloading when plugin files are updated. Rebuild plugins while devdash is running and they will reload automatically.
• Widgets: Live updates when configuration changes

License

MIT License