- name
- opentui
- description
- OpenTUI core development with vanilla TypeScript imperative API — components, layout, input, styling, animations, debugging.
# OpenTUI Core Development
Expert assistance for building terminal user interfaces with OpenTUI's imperative API.
## Quick Start
```bash
# Install dependencies
bun install @opentui/core
# Zig is required for native modules
# Install from: https://ziglang.org/download/
```
## Core Components
| Component | Purpose | Import |
|-----------|---------|--------|
| `TextRenderable` | Text display with styling | `import { TextRenderable } from "@opentui/core"` |
| `BoxRenderable` | Container with borders/backgrounds | `import { BoxRenderable } from "@opentui/core"` |
| `GroupRenderable` | Layout containers | `import { GroupRenderable } from "@opentui/core"` |
| `InputRenderable` | Single-line text input | `import { InputRenderable } from "@opentui/core"` |
| `SelectRenderable` | Dropdown selection | `import { SelectRenderable } from "@opentui/core"` |
| `ScrollBoxRenderable` | Scrollable content areas | `import { ScrollBoxRenderable } from "@opentui/core"` |
| `CodeRenderable` | Syntax-highlighted code | `import { CodeRenderable } from "@opentui/core"` |
## Basic Pattern
```typescript
import { createCliRenderer } from "@opentui/core"
import { BoxRenderable, TextRenderable } from "@opentui/core"
async function main() {
const renderer = await createCliRenderer()
const box = new BoxRenderable()
const text = new TextRenderable("Hello, OpenTUI!")
box.add(text)
renderer.getRoot().add(box)
renderer.start()
// Handle Ctrl+C to exit
renderer.on("key", (key) => {
if (key.name === "c" && key.ctrl) {
renderer.destroy()
process.exit(0)
}
})
}
main()
```
## Layout with Yoga (CSS Flexbox)
```typescript
import { Yoga } from "@opentui/core"
const group = new GroupRenderable()
group.setStyle({
flexDirection: "column",
justifyContent: "center",
alignItems: "center",
width: 80,
height: 24,
})
```
See [LAYOUT.md](references/LAYOUT.md) for all Yoga properties.
## Input Handling
### Keyboard Events
```typescript
renderer.on("key", (key: KeyEvent) => {
if (key.name === "escape") process.exit(0)
if (key.name === "c" && key.ctrl) process.exit(0)
})
```
### Component Input Events
```typescript
const input = new InputRenderable()
input.on("submit", (value: string) => {
console.log("Submitted:", value)
})
input.on("change", (value: string) => {
console.log("Changed:", value)
})
```
See [INPUT.md](references/INPUT.md) for complete event handling patterns.
## Styling & Colors
```typescript
import { Color, parseColor } from "@opentui/core"
// Create colors
const red = new Color(255, 0, 0) // RGB integers
const blue = Color.fromInts(0, 0, 255) // Static method
const green = parseColor("#00FF00") // Parse hex
// Apply styles
box.setStyle({
backgroundColor: red,
foregroundColor: blue,
borderStyle: "double",
paddingLeft: 2,
paddingRight: 2,
})
```
See [STYLING.md](references/STYLING.md) for color system and style properties.
## Animations
```typescript
import { Timeline } from "@opentui/core"
const box = new BoxRenderable()
const timeline = new Timeline({
duration: 1000,
easing: (t) => t * (2 - t), // easeOutQuad
})
timeline.to(box, {
backgroundColor: new Color(255, 0, 0),
}, {
onUpdate: () => renderer.render()
})
timeline.play()
```
See [ANIMATION.md](references/ANIMATION.md) for animation patterns.
## Debugging
```typescript
// Enable console overlay
import { consoleOverlay } from "@opentui/core"
renderer.attach(consoleOverlay())
// Now console.log() appears in terminal overlay
console.log("Debug: initialized")
```
## When to Use This Skill
Use `/opentui` for:
- Building TUIs with vanilla TypeScript/JavaScript
- Creating custom OpenTUI components
- Understanding core OpenTUI architecture
- Performance optimization
- Low-level debugging
For React-specific development, use `/opentui-react`
For SolidJS-specific development, use `/opentui-solid`
For project scaffolding and examples, use `/opentui-projects`
## Common Tasks
- **Create a form**: Use BoxRenderable + InputRenderable components with Yoga layout
- **Handle keyboard shortcuts**: Listen to renderer "key" events
- **Make scrollable lists**: Use ScrollBoxRenderable with dynamic content
- **Display code**: Use CodeRenderable for syntax highlighting
- **Add borders**: Use BoxRenderable with borderStyle property
## Resources
- [Component API](references/COMPONENTS.md) - Complete component reference
- [Layout Guide](references/LAYOUT.md) - Yoga flexbox properties
- [Event Handling](references/INPUT.md) - Keyboard, mouse, clipboard
- [Styling](references/STYLING.md) - Colors, borders, spacing
- [Animations](references/ANIMATION.md) - Timeline and easing
- [Testing](references/TESTING.md) - Testing utilities
## Key Knowledge Sources
- OpenTUI GitHub: https://github.com/sst/opentui
- Context7: `/sst/opentui` (168 code snippets, High reputation)
- Research: `.search-data/research/opentui/`
عرض على GitHub