tui-design
Installation
SKILL.md
TUI & CLI Design
Build terminal applications that feel professional — the way lazygit, k9s, btop, helix, fzf, and yazi feel. The terminal is enjoying a renaissance: Charm (Go), Ratatui (Rust), Textual (Python), and Ink (TypeScript) have each crystallized a mature philosophy. This skill teaches the universal patterns that make TUIs feel good plus per-ecosystem deep-dives in references/.
When to read which reference
Use this skill's body for the universal principles below. Then load reference files on demand:
| Situation | Read |
|---|---|
| User picked Go / mentioned Bubble Tea, Charm, Lipgloss, tview, gocui | references/ecosystem-go.md |
| User picked Rust / mentioned Ratatui, crossterm, tui-rs, Cursive | references/ecosystem-rust.md |
| User picked Python / mentioned Textual, Rich, prompt_toolkit, urwid | references/ecosystem-python.md |
| User picked TS/JS / mentioned Ink, blessed, OpenTUI, Clack, Inquirer | references/ecosystem-typescript.md |
| Building a non-interactive CLI (no full-screen UI) | references/cli-basics.md |
| Designing layout, borders, color, typography, density | references/visual-patterns.md |
| Designing keybindings, focus, navigation, modal vs modeless | references/interaction-patterns.md |
| Studying what makes specific apps great (lazygit, k9s, fzf, btop, helix, yazi, atuin) | references/exemplar-apps.md |