Jatui - A Java Text User Interface Library

Jatui is a library for making Text User Interface applications that don't require per-keystroke input handling. Since it targets a cooked (canonical) terminal, it allows for a much simpler overall system. If you do need functionality like per-keystroke input, then a library like Ratatui (or for java, TamboUI), might be a better fit.

Jatui is specifically aimed at easing several pain-points that you might find when building TUIs in native Java; primarily the fact that as the scope of the application grows, the amount of boilerplate increases dramatically (you can find a concrete comparison here). Jatui provides a system that lets you define specific pieces of your TUI as reusable modules and put them together in a parameterizable structure. It's great for things like:

• CLI Wizards (e.g., config tools)
• REPLs (e.g., programming language interpreters)
• Logic Prototyping (e.g., testing a highly parameterizable algorithm)
• Choice-based Games (e.g., text adventures)
• And more!

Here's a simple example of the sort of control flow you can achieve with Jatui:

See the implementation here.

Installation and Getting Started

Prerequisites: Java 21 or higher.

This library is on Maven Central! Add the following dependencies to your pom.xml:

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>io.github.calebleavell</groupId>
        <artifactId>jatui</artifactId>
        <version>1.0.2</version>
    </dependency>

    <dependency>
        <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
        <artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
        <version>1.5.20</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Jatui brings in slf4j and Jansi. You'll also need an slf4j-compatible logging implementation (the above brings in logbback-classic; feel free to change it!).

Here's a simple "Hello, World!" app to get started:

import com.calebleavell.jatui.modules.ApplicationModule;
import com.calebleavell.jatui.modules.TextModule;

public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        ApplicationModule app = ApplicationModule.builder("app").build();

        TextModule.Builder helloWorld =
                TextModule.builder("hello-world", "Hello, World!");

        app.setHome(helloWorld);
        app.start();
    }
}

Other demo apps can be viewed here. Additionally, the javadoc can be viewed here.

Logging

The library uses slf4j to log various information and errors. This means you will need an slf4j-compatible logback library (see above). If using logback-classic, you will need a logback.xml file in the resources directory. Here's an example logback.xml:

<configuration>
    <appender name="FILE" class="ch.qos.logback.core.FileAppender">
        <file>test.log</file>
        <append>false</append>
        <encoder>
            <pattern>%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} %-5level %logger{36} - %msg%n</pattern>
        </encoder>
    </appender>

    <root level="info">
        <appender-ref ref="FILE" />
    </root>
</configuration>

The logger will trace various actions performed by the library, as well as give warnings/errors for things like duplicate/nonexistent names.