# Bubbletea — Functional TUI Framework for Go

> A Go framework based on The Elm Architecture for building rich terminal user interfaces with components, commands, and subscriptions.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Bubbletea — Functional TUI Framework for Go

## Quick Use
```bash
go get github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea
```

Create a minimal program with a Model, Update, and View function, then run `tea.NewProgram(model).Run()` to launch your TUI.

## Introduction

Bubbletea is a Go framework for building terminal applications using a functional, Elm-inspired architecture. It separates state management from rendering, making even complex TUIs predictable and testable.

## What Bubbletea Does

- Provides an Elm Architecture (Model-Update-View) loop for terminal apps
- Handles keyboard, mouse, and window-resize events out of the box
- Supports asynchronous I/O through commands and subscriptions
- Integrates with Lip Gloss for styling and Bubbles for reusable components
- Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows terminals without platform-specific code

## Architecture Overview

A Bubbletea program revolves around a single Model struct that holds application state. The runtime sends messages (events) to an Update function that returns a new model and optional commands. The View function renders the model to a string. Commands are side-effect functions that return messages asynchronously, keeping the main loop pure and deterministic.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration

- Install via `go get github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea`
- Requires Go 1.18 or later
- No external dependencies beyond the Go standard library and Charm ecosystem packages
- Configure alternate input/output with `tea.WithInput()` and `tea.WithOutput()` options
- Enable mouse support via `tea.WithMouseCellMotion()` or `tea.WithMouseAllMotion()`

## Key Features

- Pure functional update loop makes state transitions explicit and easy to test
- Built-in support for full-screen, alternate-screen, and inline rendering modes
- First-class concurrency through commands (one-off) and subscriptions (streams)
- Works with the Bubbles component library (text inputs, spinners, tables, viewports)
- Minimal binary size and fast startup due to zero CGO dependencies

## Comparison with Similar Tools

- **tview** — imperative widget API; Bubbletea is functional and composable
- **Textual (Python)** — similar Elm-style approach but for Python; Bubbletea targets Go
- **Ratatui (Rust)** — lower-level immediate-mode rendering; Bubbletea is higher-level with managed state
- **Ink (JS)** — React-like TUI for Node; Bubbletea avoids a virtual DOM in favor of plain strings
- **ncurses** — C library for cursor control; Bubbletea abstracts away raw terminal escape codes

## FAQ

**Q: Can I use Bubbletea for non-interactive CLI tools?**
A: Yes. You can run a program in non-interactive mode or use it purely for styled output alongside Lip Gloss.

**Q: How do I test a Bubbletea program?**
A: Call your Update function directly with synthetic messages and assert on the returned model. No terminal required.

**Q: Does it support Windows Terminal?**
A: Yes. Bubbletea works on Windows Terminal, PowerShell, and cmd.exe with full color and mouse support.

**Q: Can multiple Bubbletea programs run concurrently?**
A: Each program manages its own goroutine and I/O; you can embed one inside another using the Bubbles viewport pattern.

## Sources

- https://github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea
- https://charm.sh/libs/bubbletea/

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Author: Script Depot