Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why TUIs are back

wiki.alcidesfonseca.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 443 posts

Re: Why TUIs are back

#61

Post by onemoresoop »

gorjusborg wrote: post #18

The real reason TUIs are back is not one reason, but a host of reasons. The biggest current reason is fashion. Tools like Claude Code did it, and while they actually had good reasons to run in the terminal , the tools' popularity and wildly different look, especially to non-terminal-native users became a signal of some positive sort. I don't believe that any of the rationale posed in the article is a popular reason d…

Fashion is a big driver for sure but TUIs do have advantages over GUIs that are real, especially for powerusers.

Re: Why TUIs are back

#62

Post by qudat »

I think if you look purely at the numbers, the real reason TUIs are popular is claude code, everything else is background noise compared to it.

What originally got me excited to build TUIs was the concept of delivering apps over the wire via SSH. SSH apps resemble a browser in that way: no local installs required.

It's a major reason why I enjoy hacking on https://pico.sh -- deploying the TUI requires zero user involvement.

Re: Why TUIs are back

#63

Post by MarsIronPI »

bartread wrote: post #34
schmorptron wrote: post #2

I think part of it is also that we're able to still LARP as full developers of complex systems while vibe coding by seeing an interface that makes us look like l33t h4xx0rs even though we're just pressing continue 15 times

> look like l33t h4xx0rs even though we're just pressing continue 15 times I feel seen. I also think there’s a certain element of reacting against absolutely everything becoming a bloated electron app. I have no doubt - if it hasn’t already happened - that some apps will unironically embrace the most ridiculous option by shipping as electron apps that implement a TUI layer as their front-end.

Just wait till you hear about the wonders of React + Ink! Now you can have JS bloat in your terminal too!

Jokes aside, I don't understand how devs can bring themselves to ship such inefficient apps.

Re: Why TUIs are back

#66

Post by frou_dh »

There's something disgusting about the use of characters for graphs/charts on a bitmapped monitor. Trust nerds to find a way to make stuff ugly!

Re: Why TUIs are back

#67

Post by thayne »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #32

Because nobody is investing in native UI development. Electron is proof that if there were a simple to use GUI stack that companies would adopt it.

I don't think it is lack of investment necessarily, so much as not building the right thing.

What we need is a framework that is easy to use, cross platform, open source, and ideally can be used from your programming language of choice.

Re: Why TUIs are back

#68

Post by beej71 »

fg137 wrote: post #27
beej71 wrote: post #15

The best thing about TUIs is that they're so fast. They launch fast, run fast, and you use them fast. There's a learning curve for the bazillion hotkeys, because all it is is hot keys, but when you have it, you just fly. I've been reverting more and more: mutt (mail), newsboat (RSS), amfora (gemini protocol), gurk (Signal), chawan (web), and even trn (Usenet). My RAM usage is tiny. Everything is quick. GUIs should ta…

Eh... no. Never underestimate people's ability to make software bloated and slow. You haven't spent enough time with Claude Code, Gemini CLI I guess.

Oh, I've definitely seen the results. :) But it's nice when people don't do that.

Re: Why TUIs are back

#69

Post by MarsIronPI »

pilgrim0 wrote: post #51
cassepipe wrote: post #37

> The hardcore, moved to vim or emacs, trading immediate feedback and higher usability for the steepest learning curve I’ve seen The only hard part about vim is to be forced to strecth the finger up to Escape for what is essentially the most essential function in a modal editor: Going back to command mode. The ideal workflow is do a quick edit and go back to command ("normal") mode instantly. The fact that Escape is…

remapping capslock to esc is something nobody whom i've shamed into doing can go back from. it's just night and day. i've been thinking lately that the reason we need hjkl is vim is because the keyboard layout is actually bad for arrows. on typewriters there was no arrows, but on a computer arrows are of primary importance. i think the spacebar doesn't need to be so big, there's no reason for it to be available to bo…

> i think the spacebar doesn't need to be so big, there's no reason for it to be available to both thumbs

This is why I love JIS, even though I don't actually need the Japanese keys. That small spacebar is so much better, and you get three extra keys (Henkan, Muhenkan and Kana) along the bottom row. As an Emacs user, I bind Henkan and Muhenkan to be Control keys. It's very comfortable.

Re: Why TUIs are back

#70

Post by thayne »

mr_mitm wrote: post #46
cassepipe wrote: post #37

> The hardcore, moved to vim or emacs, trading immediate feedback and higher usability for the steepest learning curve I’ve seen The only hard part about vim is to be forced to strecth the finger up to Escape for what is essentially the most essential function in a modal editor: Going back to command mode. The ideal workflow is do a quick edit and go back to command ("normal") mode instantly. The fact that Escape is…

Unfortunately, remapping escape to caps lock can lead to serious friction if you have to work with different laptops a lot, like I do. The muscle memory gets in the way a lot.

If only keyboard makers would just always put escape there.
Post reply on HN