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Show HN: Gridland: make terminal apps that also run in the browser

gridland.io

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Show HN: Gridland: make terminal apps that also run in the browser

#1
Hi everyone,

Gridland is a runtime + ShadCN UI registry that makes it possible to build terminal apps that run in the browser as well as the native terminal. This is useful for demoing TUIs so that users know what they're getting before they are invested enough to install them. And, tbh, it's also just super fun!

Gridland is the successor to Ink Web (ink-web.dev) which is the same concept, but using Ink + xterm.js. After building Ink Web, we continued experimenting and found that using OpenTUI and a canvas renderer performed better with less flickering and nearly instant load times.

We're excited to continue iterating on this. I expect a lot of criticism from the "why does this need to exist" angle, and tbh, it probably doesn't - it's really mostly just for fun, but we still think the demo use case mentioned previously has potential.

- Chris + Jess

Show HN: Gridland: make terminal apps that also run in the browser
gridland.io

Re: Show HN: Gridland: make terminal apps that also run in the browser

#6
post #5

Can I replace xterm.js with this?

Yes (if you're also down to use React)

Cool I’ll try it out. I recently replaced xterm with Ghostty-web for my terminal in the browser app, but this looks even better. I’m using Next.js and I see you have an example.

Re: Show HN: Gridland: make terminal apps that also run in the browser

#7
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes (if you're also down to use React)

Cool I’ll try it out. I recently replaced xterm with Ghostty-web for my terminal in the browser app, but this looks even better. I’m using Next.js and I see you have an example.

Nice! I made a proof-of-concept of using Ink + Ghostty Web a few months back - we didn't end up merging it, but it's still an interesting thing that's possible. I think Ghostty Web is also has tons of potential.

https://github.com/cjroth/ink-web/pull/1

Re: Show HN: Gridland: make terminal apps that also run in the browser

#9
post #8

Very nice Could I use OpenTUI Core with this? I'd like to replace the hero at https://blisswriter.app with the actual app

You should be able to. We forked OpenTUI in order to avoid having to shim a bunch of native stuff. I'd like to make it compatible - email me at hi@cjroth.com if you find a way or want any help making it work

Re: Show HN: Gridland: make terminal apps that also run in the browser

#10
post #9
post #8

Very nice Could I use OpenTUI Core with this? I'd like to replace the hero at https://blisswriter.app with the actual app

You should be able to. We forked OpenTUI in order to avoid having to shim a bunch of native stuff. I'd like to make it compatible - email me at hi@cjroth.com if you find a way or want any help making it work

Thanks. Will be a while before I could give this a shot...
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