Installation

Get TermUI running in your project. There are two paths: scaffold a new app with the CLI, or add packages to something you already have.

Prerequisites

• Bun 1.3 or later for development
• Node.js 18+ if you only consume published @termuijs/* packages from npm
• A terminal with 256-color or truecolor support

Create a new project

The scaffolding CLI sets up a ready-to-run project:

$ bunx create-termui-app my-app
$ cd my-app
$ bun install
$ bun run dev

This gives you:

• TypeScript configuration
• Hot-reload dev server (bun run dev)
• Example app with Box, Text, and keyboard handling
• TSS theme setup with the default dark theme
• Vitest config for testing

Add to an existing project

Install the packages you need:

# Core framework (required)
$ bun add @termuijs/core
$ 
# UI building blocks
$ bun add @termuijs/widgets
$ bun add @termuijs/ui
$ bun add @termuijs/jsx
$ 
# Application features
$ bun add @termuijs/tss
$ bun add @termuijs/router
$ bun add @termuijs/motion
$ bun add @termuijs/store
$ bun add @termuijs/data
$ 
# Development tools
$ bun add -D @termuijs/testing
$ bun add -D @termuijs/dev-server

Verify it works

Create an index.ts to check your setup:

import { App, Screen } from '@termuijs/core'
import { Box, Text } from '@termuijs/widgets'
 
// Build a simple widget tree
const root = new Box({ border: 'round', padding: 1 })
root.addChild(new Text('Hello from TermUI!'))
 
// Create and mount the app
const app = new App(root, { fullscreen: true })
await app.mount()

Run it:

$ bun index.ts

You should see a rounded box with your text inside. Press Ctrl+C to exit.

Package overview

Next steps

• Quick start: build a working app in a few minutes
• Architecture: how the packages fit together
• Core overview: the render engine in detail
• Testing guide: write your first component test