Quick Start Protocol
Get
Started.
Install the kernel, write your first model, and breathe life into your terminal in under five minutes.
Deployment
Installation
Add the monster to your Rust project with a single command.
Command Line
$cargo add ftuiManual Stitching
Prefer fine-grained control? You can depend on individual crates to minimize your binary footprint.
ftui-coreftui-renderftui-runtime
Hello Monster
Minimal App
A complete, runnable counter in under 50 lines.
src/main.rs
1use ftui_core::event::Event;2use ftui_core::geometry::Rect;3use ftui_render::frame::Frame;4use ftui_runtime::{App, Cmd, Model, ScreenMode};5use ftui_widgets::paragraph::Paragraph;6 7struct TickApp {8 ticks: u64,9}10 11#[derive(Debug, Clone)]12enum Msg {13 Tick,14 Quit,15}16 17impl From<Event> for Msg {18 fn from(e: Event) -> Self {19 match e {20 Event::Key(k) if k.is_char('q') => Msg::Quit,21 _ => Msg::Tick,22 }23 }24}25 26impl Model for TickApp {27 type Message = Msg;28 29 fn update(&mut self, msg: Msg) -> Cmd<Msg> {30 match msg {31 Msg::Tick => {32 self.ticks += 1;33 Cmd::none()34 }35 Msg::Quit => Cmd::quit(),36 }37 }38 39 fn view(&self, frame: &mut Frame) {40 let text = format!("Ticks: {} (press 'q' to quit)", self.ticks);41 let area = Rect::new(0, 0, frame.width(), 1);42 Paragraph::new(text).render(area, frame);43 }44}45 46fn main() -> std::io::Result<()> {47 App::new(TickApp { ticks: 0 })48 .screen_mode(ScreenMode::Inline { ui_height: 1 })49 .run()50}Architecture
The Three Pillars
The foundational invariants that set FrankenTUI apart.
Elm Model
Pure state transitions. No hidden I/O. Logic stays clean and testable.
Inline First
Preserve terminal history while keeping UI chrome stable.
One-Writer
Zero race conditions. All output flows through a single serialized gate.
Intel
Common Queries
Clarifications on the monster protocol.
Why the name FrankenTUI?
Because it's stitched together from the best parts of modern software engineering (the Elm architecture, flexible layout solvers) but animated by a completely new heart: a deterministic, math-heavy rendering kernel that brings interfaces to life without the flicker or state-corruption of 'natural' TUI frameworks.
Is it really built in 5 days?
Yes. 100 hours of focused engineering. Every algorithm was selected for its correctness and performance under pressure. The result is an 'alien artifact' quality codebase that moves fast without breaking things.
Does it support my terminal?
If your terminal supports ANSI escape sequences, FrankenTUI will animate it. It detects capabilities at startup and downgrades gracefully: from true color to mono, from hyperlinks to plain text, and from synchronized output to safe-buffered writes.
How does it compare to Ratatui?
Ratatui is the established giant, but it's a 'view-only' library that leaves architecture to the user. FrankenTUI is a complete kernel. It provides the runtime, the event loop, and the invariants (like the One-Writer Rule) that prevent bugs before they are even stitched into your code.
What is the 'One-Writer Rule'?
It's the surgical discipline that ensures only one component ever writes to the terminal. By funneling all output through a single serialized gate, we eliminate cursor corruption and race conditions, ensuring the terminal display remains pristine even under heavy stress.