@opentui/react

@opentui/react

A React renderer for building terminal user interfaces using OpenTUI core. Create rich, interactive console applications with familiar React patterns and components.

Installation

Quick start with bun and create-tui:

bun create tui --template react

Manual installation:

bun install @opentui/react @opentui/core react

Quick Start

import { createCliRenderer } from "@opentui/core"
import { createRoot } from "@opentui/react"

function App() {
  return <text>Hello, world!</text>
}

const renderer = await createCliRenderer()
createRoot(renderer).render(<App />)

TypeScript Configuration

For optimal TypeScript support, configure your tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "lib": ["ESNext", "DOM"],
    "target": "ESNext",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "jsx": "react-jsx",
    "jsxImportSource": "@opentui/react",
    "strict": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true
  }
}

Core Concepts

Components

OpenTUI React provides several built-in components that map to OpenTUI core renderables:

• <text> - Display text with styling
• <box> - Container with borders and layout
• <input> - Text input field
• <textarea> - Multi-line text input field
• <code> - Code block with syntax highlighting
• <select> - Selection dropdown
• <scrollbox> - A scrollable box
• <tab-select> - Tab-based selection
• <ascii-font> - Display ASCII art text with different font styles

Helpers:

• <span>, <strong>, <em>, <u>, <b>, <i>, <br> - Text modifiers (must be used inside of the text component)

Styling

Components can be styled using props or the style prop:

// Direct props
<box backgroundColor="blue" padding={2}>
  <text>Hello, world!</text>
</box>

// Style prop
<box style={{ backgroundColor: "blue", padding: 2 }}>
  <text>Hello, world!</text>
</box>

API Reference

createRoot(renderer)

Creates a root for rendering a React tree with the given CLI renderer.

import { createCliRenderer } from "@opentui/core"
import { createRoot } from "@opentui/react"

const renderer = await createCliRenderer({
  // Optional renderer configuration
  exitOnCtrlC: false,
})
createRoot(renderer).render(<App />)

Parameters:

• renderer: A CliRenderer instance (typically created with createCliRenderer())

Returns: An object with a render method that accepts a React element.

render(element, config?) (Deprecated)

Deprecated: Use createRoot(renderer).render(node) instead.

Renders a React element to the terminal. This function is deprecated in favor of createRoot.

Hooks

useRenderer()

Access the OpenTUI renderer instance.

import { useRenderer } from "@opentui/react"

function App() {
  const renderer = useRenderer()

  useEffect(() => {
    renderer.console.show()
    console.log("Hello, from the console!")
  }, [])

  return <box />
}

useKeyboard(handler)

Handle keyboard events.

import { useKeyboard } from "@opentui/react"

function App() {
  useKeyboard((key) => {
    if (key.name === "escape") {
      process.exit(0)
    }
  })

  return <text>Press ESC to exit</text>
}

useOnResize(callback)

Handle terminal resize events.

import { useOnResize, useRenderer } from "@opentui/react"
import { useEffect } from "react"

function App() {
  const renderer = useRenderer()

  useEffect(() => {
    renderer.console.show()
  }, [renderer])

  useOnResize((width, height) => {
    console.log(`Terminal resized to ${width}x${height}`)
  })

  return <text>Resize-aware component</text>
}

useTerminalDimensions()

Get current terminal dimensions and automatically update when the terminal is resized.

import { useTerminalDimensions } from "@opentui/react"

function App() {
  const { width, height } = useTerminalDimensions()

  return (
    <box>
      <text>
        Terminal dimensions: {width}x{height}
      </text>
      <box style={{ width: Math.floor(width / 2), height: Math.floor(height / 3) }}>
        <text>Half-width, third-height box</text>
      </box>
    </box>
  )
}

Returns: An object with width and height properties representing the current terminal dimensions.

useTimeline(options?)

Create and manage animations using OpenTUI's timeline system. This hook automatically registers and unregisters the timeline with the animation engine.

import { useTimeline } from "@opentui/react"
import { useEffect, useState } from "react"

function App() {
  const [width, setWidth] = useState(0)

  const timeline = useTimeline({
    duration: 2000,
    loop: false,
  })

  useEffect(() => {
    timeline.add(
      {
        width,
      },
      {
        width: 50,
        duration: 2000,
        ease: "linear",
        onUpdate: (animation) => {
          setWidth(animation.targets[0].width)
        },
      },
    )
  }, [])

  return <box style={{ width, backgroundColor: "#6a5acd" }} />
}

Parameters:

• options?: Optional TimelineOptions object with properties:
  • duration?: Animation duration in milliseconds (default: 1000)
  • loop?: Whether the timeline should loop (default: false)
  • autoplay?: Whether to automatically start the timeline (default: true)
  • onComplete?: Callback when timeline completes
  • onPause?: Callback when timeline is paused

Returns: A Timeline instance with methods:

• add(target, properties, startTime): Add animation to timeline
• play(): Start the timeline
• pause(): Pause the timeline
• restart(): Restart the timeline from beginning

Components

Text Component

Display text with rich formatting.

function App() {
  return (
    <box>
      {/* Simple text */}
      <text>Hello World</text>

      {/* Rich text with children */}
      <text>
        <span fg="red">Red Text</span>
      </text>

      {/* Text modifiers */}
      <text>
        <strong>Bold</strong>, <em>Italic</em>, and <u>Underlined</u>
      </text>
    </box>
  )
}

Box Component

Container with borders and layout capabilities.

function App() {
  return (
    <box flexDirection="column">
      {/* Basic box */}
      <box border>
        <text>Simple box</text>
      </box>

      {/* Box with title and styling */}
      <box title="Settings" border borderStyle="double" padding={2} backgroundColor="blue">
        <text>Box content</text>
      </box>

      {/* Styled box */}
      <box
        style={{
          border: true,
          width: 40,
          height: 10,
          margin: 1,
          alignItems: "center",
          justifyContent: "center",
        }}
      >
        <text>Centered content</text>
      </box>
    </box>
  )
}

Input Component

Text input field with event handling.

import { useState } from "react"

function App() {
  const [value, setValue] = useState("")

  return (
    <box title="Enter your name" style={{ border: true, height: 3 }}>
      <input
        placeholder="Type here..."
        focused
        onInput={setValue}
        onSubmit={(value) => console.log("Submitted:", value)}
      />
    </box>
  )
}

Textarea Component

import type { TextareaRenderable } from "@opentui/core"
import { useKeyboard, useRenderer } from "@opentui/react"
import { useEffect, useRef } from "react"

function App() {
  const renderer = useRenderer()
  const textareaRef = useRef<TextareaRenderable>(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    renderer.console.show()
  }, [renderer])

  useKeyboard((key) => {
    if (key.name === "return") {
      console.log(textareaRef.current?.plainText)
    }
  })

  return (
    <box title="Interactive Editor" style={{ border: true, flexGrow: 1 }}>
      <textarea ref={textareaRef} placeholder="Type here..." focused />
    </box>
  )
}

Code Component

import { RGBA, SyntaxStyle } from "@opentui/core"

const syntaxStyle = SyntaxStyle.fromStyles({
  keyword: { fg: RGBA.fromHex("#ff6b6b"), bold: true }, // red, bold
  string: { fg: RGBA.fromHex("#51cf66") }, // green
  comment: { fg: RGBA.fromHex("#868e96"), italic: true }, // gray, italic
  number: { fg: RGBA.fromHex("#ffd43b") }, // yellow
  default: { fg: RGBA.fromHex("#ffffff") }, // white
})

const codeExample = `function hello() {
  // This is a comment

  const message = "Hello, world!"
  const count = 42

  return message + " " + count
}`

function App() {
  return (
    <box style={{ border: true, flexGrow: 1 }}>
      <code content={codeExample} filetype="javascript" syntaxStyle={syntaxStyle} />
    </box>
  )
}

Select Component

Dropdown selection component.

import type { SelectOption } from "@opentui/core"
import { useState } from "react"

function App() {
  const [selectedIndex, setSelectedIndex] = useState(0)

  const options: SelectOption[] = [
    { name: "Option 1", description: "Option 1 description", value: "opt1" },
    { name: "Option 2", description: "Option 2 description", value: "opt2" },
    { name: "Option 3", description: "Option 3 description", value: "opt3" },
  ]

  return (
    <box style={{ border: true, height: 24 }}>
      <select
        style={{ height: 22 }}
        options={options}
        focused={true}
        onChange={(index, option) => {
          setSelectedIndex(index)
          console.log("Selected:", option)
        }}
      />
    </box>
  )
}

Scrollbox Component

A scrollable box.

function App() {
  return (
    <scrollbox
      style={{
        rootOptions: {
          backgroundColor: "#24283b",
        },
        wrapperOptions: {
          backgroundColor: "#1f2335",
        },
        viewportOptions: {
          backgroundColor: "#1a1b26",
        },
        contentOptions: {
          backgroundColor: "#16161e",
        },
        scrollbarOptions: {
          showArrows: true,
          trackOptions: {
            foregroundColor: "#7aa2f7",
            backgroundColor: "#414868",
          },
        },
      }}
      focused
    >
      {Array.from({ length: 1000 }).map((_, i) => (
        <box
          key={i}
          style={{ width: "100%", padding: 1, marginBottom: 1, backgroundColor: i % 2 === 0 ? "#292e42" : "#2f3449" }}
        >
          <text content={`Box ${i}`} />
        </box>
      ))}
    </scrollbox>
  )
}

ASCII Font Component

Display ASCII art text with different font styles.

import { useState } from "react"

function App() {
  const text = "ASCII"
  const [font, setFont] = useState<"block" | "shade" | "slick" | "tiny">("tiny")

  return (
    <box style={{ border: true, paddingLeft: 1, paddingRight: 1 }}>
      <box
        style={{
          height: 8,
          border: true,
          marginBottom: 1,
        }}
      >
        <select
          focused
          onChange={(_, option) => setFont(option?.value)}
          showScrollIndicator
          options={[
            {
              name: "Tiny",
              description: "Tiny font",
              value: "tiny",
            },
            {
              name: "Block",
              description: "Block font",
              value: "block",
            },
            {
              name: "Slick",
              description: "Slick font",
              value: "slick",
            },
            {
              name: "Shade",
              description: "Shade font",
              value: "shade",
            },
          ]}
          style={{ flexGrow: 1 }}
        />
      </box>

      <ascii-font text={text} font={font} />
    </box>
  )
}

Examples

Login Form

import { createCliRenderer } from "@opentui/core"
import { createRoot, useKeyboard } from "@opentui/react"
import { useCallback, useState } from "react"

function App() {
  const [username, setUsername] = useState("")
  const [password, setPassword] = useState("")
  const [focused, setFocused] = useState<"username" | "password">("username")
  const [status, setStatus] = useState("idle")

  useKeyboard((key) => {
    if (key.name === "tab") {
      setFocused((prev) => (prev === "username" ? "password" : "username"))
    }
  })

  const handleSubmit = useCallback(() => {
    if (username === "admin" && password === "secret") {
      setStatus("success")
    } else {
      setStatus("error")
    }
  }, [username, password])

  return (
    <box style={{ border: true, padding: 2, flexDirection: "column", gap: 1 }}>
      <text fg="#FFFF00">Login Form</text>

      <box title="Username" style={{ border: true, width: 40, height: 3 }}>
        <input
          placeholder="Enter username..."
          onInput={setUsername}
          onSubmit={handleSubmit}
          focused={focused === "username"}
        />
      </box>

      <box title="Password" style={{ border: true, width: 40, height: 3 }}>
        <input
          placeholder="Enter password..."
          onInput={setPassword}
          onSubmit={handleSubmit}
          focused={focused === "password"}
        />
      </box>

      <text
        style={{
          fg: status === "success" ? "green" : status === "error" ? "red" : "#999",
        }}
      >
        {status.toUpperCase()}
      </text>
    </box>
  )
}

const renderer = await createCliRenderer()
createRoot(renderer).render(<App />)

Counter with Timer

import { createCliRenderer } from "@opentui/core"
import { createRoot } from "@opentui/react"
import { useEffect, useState } from "react"

function App() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0)

  useEffect(() => {
    const interval = setInterval(() => {
      setCount((prev) => prev + 1)
    }, 1000)

    return () => clearInterval(interval)
  }, [])

  return (
    <box title="Counter" style={{ padding: 2 }}>
      <text fg="#00FF00">{`Count: ${count}`}</text>
    </box>
  )
}

const renderer = await createCliRenderer()
createRoot(renderer).render(<App />)

System Monitor Animation

import { createCliRenderer, TextAttributes } from "@opentui/core"
import { createRoot, useTimeline } from "@opentui/react"
import { useEffect, useState } from "react"

type Stats = {
  cpu: number
  memory: number
  network: number
  disk: number
}

export const App = () => {
  const [stats, setAnimatedStats] = useState<Stats>({
    cpu: 0,
    memory: 0,
    network: 0,
    disk: 0,
  })

  const timeline = useTimeline({
    duration: 3000,
    loop: false,
  })

  useEffect(() => {
    timeline.add(
      stats,
      {
        cpu: 85,
        memory: 70,
        network: 95,
        disk: 60,
        duration: 3000,
        ease: "linear",
        onUpdate: (values) => {
          setAnimatedStats({ ...values.targets[0] })
        },
      },
      0,
    )
  }, [])

  const statsMap = [
    { name: "CPU", key: "cpu", color: "#6a5acd" },
    { name: "Memory", key: "memory", color: "#4682b4" },
    { name: "Network", key: "network", color: "#20b2aa" },
    { name: "Disk", key: "disk", color: "#daa520" },
  ]

  return (
    <box
      title="System Monitor"
      style={{
        margin: 1,
        padding: 1,
        border: true,
        marginLeft: 2,
        marginRight: 2,
        borderStyle: "single",
        borderColor: "#4a4a4a",
      }}
    >
      {statsMap.map((stat) => (
        <box key={stat.key}>
          <box flexDirection="row" justifyContent="space-between">
            <text>{stat.name}</text>
            <text attributes={TextAttributes.DIM}>{Math.round(stats[stat.key as keyof Stats])}%</text>
          </box>
          <box style={{ backgroundColor: "#333333" }}>
            <box style={{ width: `${stats[stat.key as keyof Stats]}%`, height: 1, backgroundColor: stat.color }} />
          </box>
        </box>
      ))}
    </box>
  )
}

const renderer = await createCliRenderer()
createRoot(renderer).render(<App />)

Styled Text Showcase

import { createCliRenderer } from "@opentui/core"
import { createRoot } from "@opentui/react"

function App() {
  return (
    <>
      <text>Simple text</text>
      <text>
        <strong>Bold text</strong>
      </text>
      <text>
        <u>Underlined text</u>
      </text>
      <text>
        <span fg="red">Red text</span>
      </text>
      <text>
        <span fg="blue">Blue text</span>
      </text>
      <text>
        <strong fg="red">Bold red text</strong>
      </text>
      <text>
        <strong>Bold</strong> and <span fg="blue">blue</span> combined
      </text>
    </>
  )
}

const renderer = await createCliRenderer()
createRoot(renderer).render(<App />)

Component Extension

You can create custom components by extending OpenTUIs base renderables:

import {
  BoxRenderable,
  createCliRenderer,
  OptimizedBuffer,
  RGBA,
  type BoxOptions,
  type RenderContext,
} from "@opentui/core"
import { createRoot, extend } from "@opentui/react"

// Create custom component class
class ButtonRenderable extends BoxRenderable {
  private _label: string = "Button"

  constructor(ctx: RenderContext, options: BoxOptions & { label?: string }) {
    super(ctx, {
      border: true,
      borderStyle: "single",
      minHeight: 3,
      ...options,
    })

    if (options.label) {
      this._label = options.label
    }
  }

  protected renderSelf(buffer: OptimizedBuffer): void {
    super.renderSelf(buffer)

    const centerX = this.x + Math.floor(this.width / 2 - this._label.length / 2)
    const centerY = this.y + Math.floor(this.height / 2)

    buffer.drawText(this._label, centerX, centerY, RGBA.fromInts(255, 255, 255, 255))
  }

  set label(value: string) {
    this._label = value
    this.requestRender()
  }
}

// Add TypeScript support
declare module "@opentui/react" {
  interface OpenTUIComponents {
    consoleButton: typeof ButtonRenderable
  }
}

// Register the component
extend({ consoleButton: ButtonRenderable })

// Use in JSX
function App() {
  return (
    <box>
      <consoleButton label="Click me!" style={{ backgroundColor: "blue" }} />
      <consoleButton label="Another button" style={{ backgroundColor: "green" }} />
    </box>
  )
}

const renderer = await createCliRenderer()
createRoot(renderer).render(<App />)