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what is retui fr?

subhasundardass/retui — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

17GoAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

tl;dr

A Go library for building terminal apps using components, hooks, and a flexbox-style layout, similar to how React works for web pages.

vibe map

mindmap
  root((retui))
    What it does
      Terminal UI framework
      Component based
      Fast redraws
    Tech stack
      Go
    Use cases
      Terminal dashboards
      CLI tools
      Dialogs and popups
    Audience
      Go developers
      React developers
    Concepts
      Hooks
      Flexbox layout
      Components

Code map

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filefunction / class

what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Build an interactive terminal app in Go with a component-based structure instead of manual screen drawing.

VIBE 2

Create a text based dashboard or tool with buttons, lists, and text inputs that runs in the terminal.

VIBE 3

Add floating windows, dialogs, or popups to a command line application.

VIBE 4

Learn component and hook based UI patterns in Go if you already know React.

what's the stack?

Go

how it stacks up fr

subhasundardass/retuicloudpilot-ai/hermeshloolx/hloolmail
Stars171717
LanguageGoGoGo
Setup difficultyeasyhardmoderate
Complexity2/54/53/5
Audiencedeveloperops devopsdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · easy time til it works · 5min

Requires Go 1.26 or newer.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

in plain english

retui is a Go library for building interactive text based apps that run in a terminal, using the same style of thinking as building a modern web app. Instead of manually deciding where each character appears on screen, you build your app out of small pieces called components, similar to how React works for web pages, and the library handles drawing and updating the screen for you. Components are just Go functions that describe what should appear. Hooks let those functions remember information between screen updates, for example keeping track of a counter's current value. A layout system similar to CSS flexbox handles positioning things in boxes, rows, and columns, so you do not need to calculate pixel or character positions by hand. When something changes, retui figures out exactly what changed and redraws only that part, which keeps apps responsive even as they grow larger. No prior experience building terminal interfaces is needed. If you can write a Go function, the README suggests, you can build with retui. Getting started takes installing the package with Go's package manager, which requires Go version 1.26 or newer, then writing a single function and calling one run command to start the app. The repository includes a working example app you can run immediately to see the built in components in action. Most of the documentation lives in the project's wiki rather than the README itself, covering topics like core concepts, the layout system, hooks, individual components such as buttons and lists, styling, navigating between screens, and a floating window system for dialogs and popups. The project welcomes contributions, with a contributing guide covering setup and workflow, and asks that people open an issue before working on anything non-trivial. It is released under the MIT license.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
Walk me through building a simple counter app in the terminal using retui.
prompt 2
Explain how UseState and UseEffect work in retui compared to React.
prompt 3
Show me how to lay out a terminal app with Box, Row, and Column in retui.
prompt 4
Help me build a terminal app with a floating dialog window using retui.
prompt 5
What built-in components does retui provide and how do I use the List component?

Frequently asked questions

what is retui fr?

A Go library for building terminal apps using components, hooks, and a flexbox-style layout, similar to how React works for web pages.

What language is retui written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go.

What license does retui use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is retui to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is retui for?

Mainly developer.

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