Building TUI Applications

Overview

TUIs are reactive terminal interfaces. Unlike CLIs (single operation → exit), TUIs maintain state, handle events, and update displays continuously. Think of them as web apps for the terminal.

When to Use TUI

digraph decision {
    rankdir=TB;
    "Need persistent display?" [shape=diamond];
    "Multiple views/panels?" [shape=diamond];
    "Real-time updates?" [shape=diamond];
    "CLI with progress" [shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor=lightblue];
    "Full TUI" [shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor=lightgreen];
    "CLI" [shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor=lightyellow];