Skilllibrary tui-development

Name: tui-development
Author: merceralex397-collab

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/merceralex397-collab/skilllibrary

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/merceralex397-collab/skilllibrary "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/10-cli-systems-and-ops/tui-development" ~/.claude/skills/merceralex397-collab-skilllibrary-tui-development && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: 10-cli-systems-and-ops/tui-development/SKILL.md

source content

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 patterns
```
cli-development-python
```
— non-interactive Python CLI
```
cli-development-go
```
— non-interactive Go CLI