| 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
- Choose framework — Python: Textual (async, CSS styling). Rust: Ratatui (immediate-mode). Go: Bubble Tea.
- Event loop — Textual: subclass
App, define compose() and handlers. Ratatui: loop { draw(); handle_event(); }.
- Layout — Textual: CSS grid/dock. Ratatui:
Layout::default().constraints().
- Widgets — use library widgets first (DataTable, ListView). Custom: implement
Widget trait or render().
- Input — Textual:
BINDINGS class var. Ratatui: match crossterm::event::KeyCode.
- State — central struct/model. Update in handlers, render from state.
- Styling — Textual: CSS files. Ratatui:
Style::default().fg(Color::Green).
- 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
Related skills
bubbletea-go — Go-specific TUI patternscli-development-python — non-interactive Python CLIcli-development-go — non-interactive Go CLI
