TUI Prototypes

A collection of Terminal User Interface (TUI) prototypes demonstrating modern TUI development patterns and best practices across different programming languages and frameworks.

Overview

This repository contains working prototypes of TUI applications built with different technologies, showcasing various approaches to terminal-based user interface development. Each prototype demonstrates:

• Modern TUI design patterns
• Responsive layouts
• Component-based architecture
• Keyboard navigation
• Theming and styling systems
• Cross-platform compatibility

Counting lines of code in: tui-prototypes
==========================================

Language                  Lines      Files
----------------------------------------
Go                          915         11
JavaScript                 2179         15
JSON                         93          1
Rust                       1114          5
YAML                         84          1
----------------------------------------
TOTAL                      4385         33

Statistics:
- Average lines per file: 132
- Total files scanned: 33
- Total non-empty lines: 4385

Prototypes

🐹 Go + Bubble Tea TUI

Location: bubble-tea-tui/

A modern TUI built with Go and the Bubble Tea framework, demonstrating:

• Model-View-Update (MVU) architecture
• Component composition
• Responsive design
• Multiple views with navigation
• Professional styling with Lip Gloss

Features:

• Dashboard, Data Browser, Settings, and Help views
• Keyboard navigation (1-4 keys)
• Styled components and theming
• Comprehensive testing

Quick Start:

cd bubble-tea-tui
make run

🦀 Rust + Ratatui TUI

Location: ratatui-tui/

A high-performance TUI built with Rust and the Ratatui framework, showcasing:

• Memory safety and zero-cost abstractions
• Trait-based widget system
• Type-safe state management
• Async support with Tokio
• Comprehensive error handling

Features:

• Dashboard, Data Browser, Settings, and Help views
• Keyboard navigation (1-4 keys)
• Theme toggle (t key)
• Widget-based architecture
• Extensive testing suite

Quick Start:

cd ratatui-tui
make run

🟨 JavaScript + Blessed TUI

Location: javascript-tui/

A modern TUI built with JavaScript and the Blessed framework, demonstrating:

• Dynamic language flexibility
• Rich ecosystem and npm packages
• Component-based architecture
• Event-driven programming
• Cross-platform compatibility

Features:

• Dashboard, Data Browser, Settings, and Help views
• Keyboard navigation (1-4 keys)
• Theme toggle (t key)
• Interactive data tables with sorting
• Status notifications
• Comprehensive testing with Jest

Quick Start:

cd javascript-tui
make setup
make run

Design Documents

Comprehensive design documents are available in the docs/ directory:

• bubble-tea-tui-design.md - Go Bubble Tea TUI design
• ratatui-tui-design.md - Rust Ratatui TUI design
• javascript-tui-design.md - JavaScript Blessed TUI design

Common Features

All three prototypes share common functionality:

Navigation

• 1-4: Switch between views
• q/Esc: Quit application
• Ctrl+C: Force quit

Views

1. Dashboard - Overview and quick actions
2. Data Browser - Tabular data display
3. Settings - Configuration options
4. Help - Documentation and shortcuts

Design Principles

• Responsive: Adapts to different terminal sizes
• Keyboard-First: Full keyboard navigation
• Component-Based: Reusable UI components
• Themed: Consistent styling systems
• Tested: Comprehensive test coverage

Development

Prerequisites

• Go 1.21+ (for Bubble Tea prototype)
• Rust 1.70+ (for Ratatui prototype)
• Node.js 18+ (for JavaScript prototype)
• Terminal with ANSI color support

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd tui-prototypes

2. Choose a prototype:

   # Go Bubble Tea TUI
   cd bubble-tea-tui
   make setup
   make run
   
   # Rust Ratatui TUI
   cd ratatui-tui
   make setup
   make run
   
   # JavaScript Blessed TUI
   cd javascript-tui
   make setup
   make run

Development Workflow

Each prototype includes comprehensive development tools:

• Build: make build
• Test: make test
• Format: make fmt
• Lint: make lint
• Run: make run

Architecture Comparison

Feature	Go + Bubble Tea	Rust + Ratatui	JavaScript + Blessed
Performance	Good	Excellent (zero-cost abstractions)	Good
Memory Safety	Garbage collected	Compile-time safety	Garbage collected
Type Safety	Good	Excellent (exhaustive pattern matching)	Dynamic (TypeScript optional)
Concurrency	Goroutines	Async/await with Tokio	Event loop + Promises
Error Handling	Standard Go patterns	Explicit Result types	Try-catch + Promises
Learning Curve	Moderate	Steeper (ownership concepts)	Gentle
Ecosystem	Mature	Growing rapidly	Very mature
Development Speed	Good	Good	Excellent

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests and linting
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

• Bubble Tea - Go TUI framework
• Ratatui - Rust TUI framework
• Blessed - Node.js TUI framework
• Lip Gloss - Go styling library
• Crossterm - Cross-platform terminal manipulation

Future Enhancements

• Additional language implementations (Python, C++, etc.)
• More complex UI patterns and interactions
• Real-world application examples
• Performance benchmarking
• Cross-platform testing automation
• TypeScript support for JavaScript prototype
• Plugin systems for extensibility