tui-development

name	tui-development
description	Build terminal user interfaces across languages using TUI frameworks. Use when building a TUI in Python (Textual/Rich), Rust (Ratatui), or evaluating TUI frameworks for a project. Do not use for Go TUIs (prefer bubbletea-go) or simple CLI flag parsing (prefer cli-development-go or cli-development-python).
license	Apache-2.0
compatibility	{"clients":["openai-codex","gemini-cli","opencode","github-copilot"]}
metadata	{"owner":"codex","domain":"tui-development","maturity":"draft","risk":"low","tags":["tui","terminal","ui"]}

Purpose

Build terminal UIs using Textual (Python), Ratatui (Rust), or other TUI frameworks with proper event loops and rendering.

When to use this skill

• building a TUI app in Python with Textual or Rich
• building a TUI app in Rust with Ratatui or Crossterm
• choosing between TUI frameworks for a new project
• implementing common TUI patterns (lists, tables, forms, split panes)

Do not use this skill when

• building a Go TUI — prefer bubbletea-go
• building a non-interactive CLI — prefer cli-development-go or cli-development-python
• debugging other processes in terminal — prefer terminal-debugging

Procedure

1. Choose framework — Python: Textual (async, CSS styling). Rust: Ratatui (immediate-mode). Go: Bubble Tea.
2. Event loop — Textual: subclass App, define compose() and handlers. Ratatui: loop { draw(); handle_event(); }.
3. Layout — Textual: CSS grid/dock. Ratatui: Layout::default().constraints().
4. Widgets — use library widgets first (DataTable, ListView). Custom: implement Widget trait or render().
5. Input — Textual: BINDINGS class var. Ratatui: match crossterm::event::KeyCode.
6. State — central struct/model. Update in handlers, render from state.
7. Styling — Textual: CSS files. Ratatui: Style::default().fg(Color::Green).
8. Test — Textual: async with app.run_test() as pilot. Ratatui: test state separately.

Framework comparison

Feature	Textual (Python)	Ratatui (Rust)	Bubble Tea (Go)
Architecture	Async reactive	Immediate mode	Elm (MVU)
Styling	CSS-like	Inline Style	Lip Gloss
Widgets	Rich built-in	Basic, composable	Bubbles library
Best for	Dashboards	Performance-critical	Go CLI tools

Textual quick start

from textual.app import App, ComposeResult
from textual.widgets import Header, Footer, DataTable

class MyApp(App):
    BINDINGS = [("q", "quit", "Quit")]

    def compose(self) -> ComposeResult:
        yield Header()
        yield DataTable()
        yield Footer()

    def on_mount(self) -> None:
        table = self.query_one(DataTable)
        table.add_columns("Name", "Status", "Count")
        table.add_rows([("alpha", "ok", "42")])

Decision rules

• Textual for Python dashboards — best widget library and CSS styling.
• Ratatui for Rust apps needing max performance or minimal binary.
• Bubble Tea for Go CLI tools with interactive selection.
• Always implement quit keybinding (q or Ctrl+C).
• Separate state from rendering — test transitions without a terminal.

References

• https://textual.textualize.io/
• https://ratatui.rs/
• https://github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea

Related skills

• bubbletea-go — Go-specific TUI patterns
• cli-development-python — non-interactive Python CLI
• cli-development-go — non-interactive Go CLI