Why TUIs Are Back
4 hours ago
- #Cross-Platform
- #User Interfaces
- #Software Development
- Terminal User Interfaces (TUIs) are gaining renewed interest, offering immediate feedback and geek appeal, as seen in DHH's Omarchy which combines TUIs, webapps, and native applications.
- Desktop UI frameworks have faced instability: Windows has cycled through many GUI frameworks (e.g., Win32, MFC, WinForms, WPF, MAUI) without coherence, leading to fragmentation and Electron adoption.
- Linux UI inconsistency stems from design diversity, with GTK and Qt as cross-platform toolkits mostly used on Linux; testing complexities often push companies toward Electron or open-source solutions.
- macOS has deviated from its once-strict Human Interface Guidelines, introducing usability issues like poor window resizing and inconsistent keyboard workflows, diminishing its design reputation.
- Electron apps are criticized for high memory use, lack of visual consistency, and poor keyboard integration, despite improvements; many developers still rely on them due to cross-platform convenience.
- Google's Flutter and Zed's Rust-based wgpu represent attempts to create fresh, high-performance UI toolkits, but they struggle with OS integration and market adoption without dominant platform backing.
- TUIs excel in speed, automation, and cross-platform remote use, filling gaps left by fragmented native toolkits, especially for command-line tools and cloud-based workflows.
- Future UI design should prioritize consistency, intuitive interactions (e.g., standardized shortcuts), and grounding in established HCI theory (e.g., Nielsen, Norman) to reduce cognitive load and improve user experience.