stui-terminal 0.7.0

A tiny Streamlit-inspired terminal UI experiment.

stui

stui v0.7.0 is a tiny Streamlit-inspired framework for building terminal-native Python apps. Write a short script, run it in your terminal, and get a Textual UI with stateful controls.

It is built for local tools, demos, data scripts, model debug panels, SSH sessions, and headless environments where opening a browser, binding a port, or running a dashboard server is unnecessary ceremony. The public API is deliberately small and readable.

stui is not official Streamlit, is not affiliated with Streamlit, and is not a Streamlit compatibility layer. The API intentionally feels familiar, but this project keeps its own smaller surface area.

Preview

┌─ stui ───────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ stui demo                                        │
│                                                  │
│ x                                                │
│ [██░░░░░░░░░░░░] 10                              │
│                                                  │
│ [ Increment ]                                    │
│                                                  │
│ x = 10                                           │
│ count = 0                                        │
│                                                  │
│ q Quit   r Rerun   tab Focus next                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Install

Use Python 3.11 or newer.

Install the PyPI distribution named stui-terminal. The import package and CLI are both still named stui:

python -m pip install stui-terminal

import stui as st

Check the installed version and terminal environment before filing terminal or keyboard issues:

python -m stui --version
python -m stui doctor

For local development from a checkout, use an editable install with the dev extra:

python3.11 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"

For runtime-only local use, install without the dev extra:

python -m pip install -e .

60-Second Quickstart

Create a file named app.py:

import stui as st

st.title("Hello from the terminal")

name = st.text_input("Name", "MarMar")
level = st.slider("Level", 1, 10, 5)

if st.button("Greet"):
    st.success(f"Hi {name}. Level {level} selected.")

Install and run it:

python -m pip install stui-terminal
stui run app.py

If the stui command is not on your PATH, use the module entry point:

python -m stui run app.py

Check your install and terminal details:

stui --version
stui doctor

Build Your First App

stui scripts rerun when users interact with widgets. Use st.session_state for values that should survive reruns:

import stui as st

st.title("Counter")

if "count" not in st.session_state:
    st.session_state.count = 0

step = st.slider("Step", 1, 10, 1)

if st.button("Add"):
    st.session_state.count += step

if st.button("Reset"):
    st.session_state.count = 0

st.write("count =", st.session_state.count)

Run it with:

stui run app.py

Start from the repository examples when you want a larger reference:

stui run examples/counter.py
stui run examples/inputs.py
stui run examples/data_display.py
stui run examples/dashboard.py
stui run examples/forms.py
stui run examples/layouts.py
stui run examples/charts.py
stui run examples/kitchen_sink.py

Those examples/... paths are repository files. Installed packages also expose bundled examples that can be listed or copied:

stui examples
stui example list
stui example copy counter ./counter.py
stui run ./counter.py
stui init ./new_app.py
stui init ./dashboard.py --template dashboard

stui init currently supports the basic, dashboard, and forms templates. Use python -m stui ... for the same commands when the stui script directory is not on PATH.

Copied examples and generated starter files are plain Python scripts. They do not require a checkout after they are copied:

stui example copy forms ./forms_app.py
python -m stui run ./forms_app.py

stui init ./ops_dashboard.py --template dashboard
python -m stui run ./ops_dashboard.py

Copy-Paste Examples

Slider and Button

import stui as st

st.title("Slider and Button")

if "runs" not in st.session_state:
    st.session_state.runs = 0

threshold = st.slider("Threshold", 0.0, 1.0, 0.5, step=0.1)

if st.button("Run"):
    st.session_state.runs += 1
    st.success(f"Run {st.session_state.runs} at threshold {threshold}")

Inputs

import stui as st

st.title("Inputs")

name = st.text_input("Name", "MarMar")
batch = st.number_input("Batch size", min_value=1, max_value=128, value=16)
model = st.selectbox("Model", ["tiny", "base", "large"], index=1)
mode = st.radio("Mode", ["fast", "balanced", "careful"], index=1)
dry_run = st.checkbox("Dry run", value=True)

st.write("name =", name)
st.write("batch =", batch)
st.write("model =", model)
st.write("mode =", mode)
st.write("dry run =", dry_run)

Table and Dataframe

import stui as st

st.title("Runs")

rows = [
    {"name": "baseline", "accuracy": 0.81, "latency_ms": 42},
    {"name": "quantized", "accuracy": 0.79, "latency_ms": 24},
    {"name": "distilled", "accuracy": 0.77, "latency_ms": 18},
]

st.table(rows)
st.dataframe({"setting": ["device", "batch"], "value": ["cpu", 16]})

Progress and Status

import stui as st

st.title("Job Status")

complete = st.slider("Complete", 0, 100, 35)
st.progress(complete, text="current job")

if complete == 100:
    st.success("Done")
elif complete >= 75:
    st.warning("Almost there")
else:
    st.info("Running")

Why terminal-native?

Some useful Python apps do not need a browser runtime. stui keeps the interface inside the terminal so it can fit naturally into:

• SSH sessions, remote machines, and headless boxes.
• Internal tools where opening ports or managing local server URLs is friction.
• Offline or locked-down environments where browser access is limited.
• Model, data, and DevOps workflows that already start from a shell.

That also keeps the boundary simple: stui does not start a web server, use websockets, require port-forwarding, or depend on Streamlit at runtime.

Commands

# Install the package from PyPI.
python -m pip install stui-terminal

# Run an app.
stui run app.py
python -m stui run app.py

# List, copy, or create starter examples.
stui examples
stui example list
stui example copy counter ./counter.py
stui init ./new_app.py
stui init ./dashboard.py --template dashboard

# Print version and install/terminal diagnostics.
stui --version
stui doctor

# Install the project for local development from a checkout.
python3.11 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run the smoke-size example app.
stui run examples/basic.py

# Run the stateful counter example.
stui run examples/counter.py

# Run the deterministic model-parameter demo.
stui run examples/model_demo.py

# Run the test suite.
python3.11 -m pytest

Keyboard Shortcuts

• q: quit the app
• r: rerun the script
• tab: focus the next widget
• shift+tab: focus the previous widget
• enter: press the focused button
• space: toggle the focused checkbox
• enter in text and number inputs: submit the edited value
• enter, right, or down: move a selectbox to the next choice
• left or up: move a selectbox to the previous choice
• arrow keys in radio groups: choose another option
• enter or space: toggle a focused expander
• left or h: decrease the focused slider
• right or l: increase the focused slider
• home: set the focused slider to its minimum value
• end: set the focused slider to its maximum value

Some lower-level editing and focus behavior comes from Textual and can vary by terminal. See Terminal Compatibility and the v1 compatibility gate for the current checklist.

API

Import the API as:

import stui as st

The public API is intentionally compact and Streamlit-inspired, not Streamlit-compatible.

For the working API reference, see docs/api-reference.md. The current API contract and v1 stability checklist are tracked in docs/v1-readiness.md#api-contract-status and docs/v1-readiness.md#stable-api-candidate. The terminal support checklist lives in docs/terminal-compatibility.md.

Area	APIs	Status in v0.7.0
Text	st.title, st.header, st.subheader, st.caption, st.text, st.markdown, st.write, st.divider	Stable candidate
Status	st.info, st.success, st.warning, st.error, st.exception	Stable candidate
Status/help primitives	st.status, st.spinner, st.help	Pre-v1 experimental while terminal grouping/help formatting gathers feedback
Display	st.code, st.json, st.progress, st.table, st.dataframe	Stable candidate; tables/dataframes are static
Inputs	st.button, st.slider, st.text_input, st.checkbox, st.number_input, st.selectbox, st.radio	Stable candidate with keys, disabled state, and callbacks
Forms	st.form, st.form_submit_button	Deferred commit to session_state until submit
Layout/grouping	st.container, st.columns, st.expander	Terminal grouping primitives; columns are pre-v1 experimental and stack on narrow terminals
Metrics and charts	st.metric, st.bar_chart, st.line_chart	Experimental terminal summaries, not plotting replacements
State and flow	st.session_state, st.rerun, st.stop	Stable candidate with explicit rerun/stop semantics
CLI and examples	stui run, stui examples, stui example list, stui example copy, stui init, stui doctor, stui --version	Stable candidate for v1 docs

Inputs support stable key values and optional callbacks where the function signature documents them. Tables and charts are simple static displays and do not require pandas or plotting dependencies.

APIs not shown in this table should be treated as private implementation details. New display/layout experiments may still change before v1 unless they are promoted in the v1 readiness checklist and covered by release notes.

Compatibility

stui is Streamlit-inspired, not Streamlit-compatible. Existing Streamlit apps usually need small edits before they run in stui; unsupported calls should be removed or replaced with the compact API above.

Runtime expectations:

• Python 3.11 or newer.
• Terminal UI powered by Textual and Rich.
• No Streamlit runtime dependency.
• No browser tab, local web server, websocket, or port-forwarding flow.
• Static table/dataframe display without dataframe editing or sorting.
• Common modern terminals should work best with UTF-8, color support, and a normal interactive TERM such as xterm-256color.

See Terminal Compatibility for the current evidence matrix and report format. v0.7.0 still treats terminal support as evidence-driven, so unknown terminals are labeled as test-needed instead of claimed as supported.

Common Mistakes

• Installing stui instead of stui-terminal. The PyPI package is stui-terminal; the import and CLI are stui.
• Running stui run from a different Python environment than the one where the package was installed. Try python -m stui run app.py.
• Expecting a browser dashboard. stui renders inside your terminal.
• Reusing Streamlit-only APIs such as sidebars, file upload, caching decorators, or arbitrary components. They are not part of this small API.
• Assuming newer APIs are present in an older install. Check python -c "import stui; print(stui.__version__)" before using forms, grouping primitives, metrics, charts, or packaged examples.
• Doing slow network or model work at top level. Scripts rerun after interactions, so keep top-level work light and cache expensive work yourself.
• Forgetting stable key values when creating similar widgets in loops.

Troubleshooting

stui: command not found

Make sure you installed into the same Python environment that your shell is using:

python -m pip install stui-terminal
python -m stui --version

If python -m stui --version works but stui --version does not, your environment's script directory is not on PATH. Running through python -m stui ... is a reliable workaround.

Python Version

stui requires Python 3.11 or newer:

python --version

If that prints an older version, create a 3.11+ environment first:

python3.11 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install stui-terminal

Terminal Rendering

stui renders a Textual app inside your terminal. For the best results, use a modern terminal with UTF-8 and color support. If borders, focus rings, or block characters look wrong, try another terminal app, make the window wider, and check that TERM is set to a normal interactive terminal value such as xterm-256color.

macOS Editable Install Quirk

If a local editable install appears to succeed but import stui or stui --version cannot find the package on macOS, check whether the virtual environment or editable-install .pth file was marked hidden:

chflags -R nohidden .venv
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
python -m stui --version

Examples

Counter

examples/counter.py shows a minimal stateful app with increment, decrement, and reset controls.

stui run examples/counter.py

Model Demo

examples/model_demo.py shows a small model-parameter playground using text input, checkbox, sliders, status messages, session state, and deterministic scoring. It is intentionally local and fake: there are no network calls or model dependencies.

stui run examples/model_demo.py

Inputs

examples/inputs.py shows text, numeric, selectbox, radio, checkbox, and button controls together.

stui run examples/inputs.py

Data Display

examples/data_display.py shows tables, JSON, and code output.

stui run examples/data_display.py

Dashboard

examples/dashboard.py combines controls, progress, status messages, and a small table into a compact terminal control panel.

stui run examples/dashboard.py

Forms

examples/forms.py shows the v0.4 form flow: form widget display values can change during reruns, but keyed values commit to session_state on submit.

stui run examples/forms.py

Layouts

examples/layouts.py shows responsive columns, container, and keyboard-toggleable expander patterns. The design notes are in docs/layouts.md.

stui run examples/layouts.py

Charts

examples/charts.py shows metric, bar_chart, and line_chart helpers with source data shown in a table.

stui run examples/charts.py

Kitchen Sink

examples/kitchen_sink.py exercises the stable API surface, including the terminal-app primitives added in the 0.3 and 0.4 release lines.

stui run examples/kitchen_sink.py

Limitations

• No browser, web server, websocket, or port-forwarding runtime.
• No Streamlit dependency and no promise of Streamlit compatibility.
• Forms still rerun the Textual app when a form widget changes, but v0.4 keeps pending form values out of session_state until submit.
• Expanders are keyboard-toggleable with Enter/Space and persist their state; this is still a modest terminal grouping primitive, not a full layout system.
• Columns accept only an integer count, stack when the terminal is narrow, and do not support custom ratios, sidebars, tabs, browser grids, or horizontal scrolling.
• Charts are compact terminal summaries, not plotting-library replacements. st.bar_chart supports signed values and zero-only data; st.line_chart is a simple static sparkline for numeric lists or dictionaries of numeric series.
• No sidebars, file upload, browser components, or caching decorators yet.
• Tables are static display only; there is no full dataframe editing or sorting.
• Slider input supports numeric values only.
• Layout remains terminal-first and intentionally modest.
• The app reruns the script as interactions change state, so examples should keep top-level work lightweight.
• Error handling is still early and meant for development feedback.
• The package is an MVP and has not stabilized a long-term compatibility policy.
• Public announcement pushes are saved for v1.0.0, after PyPI install, docs, examples, CI, and terminal compatibility are verified together.

Non-Goals

stui is deliberately not trying to become:

• A Streamlit compatibility layer or migration tool.
• A browser dashboard framework.
• A hosted/cloud product with auth, sync, collaboration, or deployment management.
• A plotting library or dataframe editor.
• A large component marketplace before the terminal API is stable.
• A wrapper around GPL slider/widget code or textual-slider.

Roadmap

• v0.7: API contract readiness: final public signatures and return values are documented, layout primitives are scoped as terminal grouping helpers, examples/init/copy docs are aligned, and release notes/changelog are prepared.
• v0.8: release hardening: terminal matrix evidence, narrow-width fixes, installed-package smoke tests, and package verification.
• v0.9: release-candidate closeout: freeze docs against the built artifact, resolve or document remaining blockers, and prepare the v1 checklist.
• v1: a small stable API with no known state/rerun bugs, verified PyPI install, supported Python versions aligned with CI, and honest non-goals. Public launch announcements wait for v1.0.0.

See ROADMAP.md and docs/v1-readiness.md for the full path to v1.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the local development workflow and project boundaries.