TUI Apps¶

Curated Terminal Experiences

A curated list of Terminal User Interface (TUI) applications that bring powerful, visually rich experiences to the terminal. These are tools I find genuinely useful or just plain cool.

Disk Usage¶

ncdu

The classic interactive disk usage analyzer, navigate your filesystem and instantly see what's eating your space. An indispensable du replacement.

Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S ncdu
```
Install on Debian/Ubuntu
```
apt install ncdu
```
Usage:
Analyze current directory
```
ncdu
```
Analyze a specific path
```
ncdu /var
```
Navigate with arrow keys, d to delete, q to quit.

dev.yorhel.nl/ncdu

Editors¶

Helix

A modern modal text editor written in Rust, inspired by Kakoune and Neovim. Built-in LSP and tree-sitter support out of the box, no plugins needed to get a great editing experience.

Features:
- Modal editing (normal/insert/select modes)
- Built-in LSP support (autocompletion, diagnostics, go-to-definition)
- Tree-sitter syntax highlighting for 150+ languages
- Multiple cursors
- No configuration required to get started
Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S helix
```
Install via Homebrew
```
brew install helix
```
Usage:
Open a file
```
hx file.txt
```
Press ? in normal mode for the help menu. Unlike Vim, selections come before actions (select → action).

helix-editor/helix
Vim

The timeless modal text editor, available on virtually every Unix system. Steep learning curve, infinite configurability, and a skill that transfers everywhere.

Features:
- Modal editing (normal/insert/visual/command modes)
- Powerful motions and text objects
- Macro recording
- Ubiquitous, installed by default on most servers
- Massive plugin ecosystem
Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S vim
```
Install on Debian/Ubuntu
```
apt install vim
```
Usage:
Open a file
```
vim file.txt
```
i to enter insert mode, Esc to return to normal mode, :wq to save and quit. Run vimtutor for an interactive introduction.

vim.org

Email¶

mutt

The classic Unix email client, text-based, fast, and infinitely configurable. A staple for reading and sending email directly from the terminal, with strong GPG support for encrypted and signed messages.

Features:
- IMAP, POP3, and SMTP support
- GPG/PGP encryption and signing
- Powerful message threading and sorting
- Vim-style keybindings
- Highly scriptable configuration
Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S mutt
```
Install on Debian/Ubuntu
```
apt install mutt
```
Usage:
Launch mutt
```
mutt
```
Press ? for the full keybindings reference. m to compose, r to reply, d to delete, q to quit.

mutt.org

File Manager¶

yazi

A blazing fast terminal file manager written in Rust, built around async I/O. Features image previews, syntax-highlighted file previews, and a smooth vim-like navigation experience.

Features:
- Image previews in the terminal (Kitty, iTerm2, Sixel…)
- Syntax-highlighted file and code previews
- Vim-style keybindings
- Tabs and multi-panel layouts
- Bulk rename
- Plugin system via Lua
Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S yazi
```
Install via Homebrew
```
brew install yazi
```
Usage:
Launch yazi
```
yazi
```
Use h/l to navigate in and out of directories, Space to select, Enter to open. Press ? for the full keybindings reference.
Shell integration

Add the shell wrapper to your config so yazi changes the current directory on exit:
~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
```
eval "$(yazi --init)"  # (1)!
```
1. For fish: yazi --init | source
sxyazi/yazi

Git¶

lazygit

A terminal UI for git written in Go that makes staging, committing, branching, rebasing, and resolving conflicts intuitive, without leaving the terminal.

Features:
- Stage individual files, hunks, or lines
- Interactive rebase with a visual interface
- Branch and stash management
- Commit history browsing with diffs
- Merge conflict resolution
- Customizable keybindings
Install:
Install via Homebrew
```
brew install lazygit
```
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S lazygit
```
Usage:
Launch lazygit in current repo
```
lazygit
```
Press ? to open the keybindings menu. Space stages files, c commits, P pushes.

jesseduffield/lazygit

Kubernetes¶

k9s

A terminal UI for Kubernetes that lets you interact with your clusters in real time. Navigate resources, view logs, exec into pods, and manage workloads, all without typing kubectl commands manually.

Features:
- Live view of pods, deployments, services, and all other resources
- Log streaming with filtering
- Shell access into containers
- Resource editing in-place
- Port forwarding
- Works with any kubeconfig-configured cluster
Install:
Install via Homebrew
```
brew install derailed/k9s/k9s
```
Install on Arch Linux (AUR)
```
paru -S k9s
```
Usage:
Launch k9s
```
k9s
```
Target a specific namespace
```
k9s -n my-namespace
```
Target a specific context
```
k9s --context my-context
```
Press ? inside k9s to open the keybindings help.

derailed/k9s

Markdown¶

glow

A Markdown reader for the terminal written in Go. Renders Markdown beautifully with styling, colors, and proper formatting, great for reading READMEs or documentation without leaving the terminal.

Install:
Install on Arch Linux (AUR)
```
paru -S glow
```
Install via Homebrew
```
brew install glow
```
Usage:
Render a local file
```
glow README.md
```
Render from a URL
```
glow https://raw.githubusercontent.com/charmbracelet/glow/HEAD/README.md
```
Browse local Markdown files interactively
```
glow
```
Running glow without arguments opens a TUI file browser for .md files in the current directory.

charmbracelet/glow

Network¶

bandwhich

A terminal bandwidth utilization tool written in Rust. Shows real-time network usage broken down by process, connection, and remote address, instantly see what's talking to where.

Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S bandwhich
```
Install via Cargo
```
cargo install bandwhich
```
Usage:
Launch bandwhich (requires root)
```
sudo bandwhich
```
imsnif/bandwhich
iftop

A real-time network bandwidth monitor that shows bandwidth usage per connection, displayed as a live updating table. The network equivalent of top.

Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S iftop
```
Install on Debian/Ubuntu
```
apt install iftop
```
Usage:
Monitor default interface (requires root)
```
sudo iftop
```
Monitor a specific interface
```
sudo iftop -i eth0
```
Press h for help, q to quit.

ex-parrot.com/iftop
iptraf-ng

An IP network traffic monitor that provides detailed statistics on network traffic by interface, protocol, and connection. A classic sysadmin tool.

Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S iptraf-ng
```
Install on Debian/Ubuntu
```
apt install iptraf-ng
```
Usage:
Launch iptraf-ng (requires root)
```
sudo iptraf-ng
```
Navigate with arrow keys and Enter. Choose between general statistics, per-interface stats, or a detailed connection breakdown.

iptraf-ng/iptraf-ng
mtr

A network diagnostic tool that combines traceroute and ping into a single live-updating TUI. Shows every hop along the route to a host with real-time latency and packet loss per hop.

Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S mtr
```
Install on Debian/Ubuntu
```
apt install mtr
```
Usage:
Trace route to a host
```
mtr example.com
```
Report mode (non-interactive)
```
mtr --report example.com
```
Press ? for help, q to quit.

traviscross/mtr
oha

A HTTP load testing tool written in Rust with a real-time TUI. Bombard an endpoint with concurrent requests and get a live view of throughput, latency percentiles, and response codes.

Install:
Install on Arch Linux (AUR)
```
paru -S oha
```
Install via Cargo
```
cargo install oha
```
Usage:
Basic load test
```
oha https://example.com
```
50 concurrent connections, 1000 requests
```
oha -c 50 -n 1000 https://example.com
```
hatoo/oha

System Monitoring¶

btop

A resource monitor written in C++ with a clean, responsive interface. Displays CPU, memory, disk, and network usage at a glance, with process management built in.

Features:
- Real-time CPU, memory, swap, disk, and network graphs
- Process list with sorting, filtering, and kill/nice support
- Mouse support
- Themeable with built-in and custom color schemes
- Low resource footprint
Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S btop
```
Install via Homebrew
```
brew install btop
```
Usage:
Launch btop
```
btop
```
Press ? for the help menu. F2 opens settings, q quits.

aristocratos/btop
htop

The classic interactive process viewer for Unix, a staple on any Linux system. Simple, fast, and universally available.

Features:
- CPU, memory, and swap usage bars
- Process list with sorting and filtering
- Kill, renice, and strace processes
- Tree view for parent/child relationships
- Mouse support
Install:
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S htop
```
Install on Debian/Ubuntu
```
apt install htop
```
Usage:
Launch htop
```
htop
```
Press F1 for help, F6 to sort, F9 to kill a process.

htop-dev/htop

Terminal Multiplexers¶

Zellij

A terminal multiplexer written in Rust, think tmux, but with a more approachable UX, a built-in layout system, and a plugin ecosystem. Keybindings are always visible at the bottom, making it beginner-friendly without sacrificing power.

Features:
- Panes, tabs, and floating windows
- Persistent sessions (survive disconnects)
- Built-in status bar with visible keybindings
- YAML/KDL layout files for reproducible workspaces
- WebAssembly plugin system
- Mouse support
Install:
Install via Cargo
```
cargo install --locked zellij
```
Install on Arch Linux
```
pacman -S zellij
```
Usage:
Start a new session
```
zellij
```
Attach to an existing session
```
zellij attach
```
Start with a predefined layout
```
zellij --layout my-layout.kdl
```
Config and layouts live in ~/.config/zellij/. Press Ctrl+p to open the pane management mode, Ctrl+t for tabs.

zellij-org/zellij

Weather¶

weathr

A terminal weather app written in Rust with animated ASCII visuals, rain, snow, thunderstorms, flying airplanes, and day/night cycles. Weather data comes from Open-Meteo, a free and open-source weather API.

Features:
- Animated weather conditions (rain, snow, thunderstorms…)
- Auto-location detection via IP geolocation
- Day/night cycle rendering
- Configurable units (metric/imperial)
- HUD with current conditions
Install:
Install via Cargo
```
cargo install weathr
```
Install on Arch Linux (AUR)
```
paru -S weathr
```
Usage:
Run weathr
```
weathr
```
Simulate rain (for testing)
```
weathr --simulate rain
```
Config at ~/.config/weathr/config.toml, set your coordinates, preferred units, and toggle HUD or silent mode.

Veirt/weathr
wttr.in

A web-based weather service usable directly from the terminal via curl, no installation required. Returns a nicely formatted ASCII weather report for any location.

Service reliability

The public instance at wttr.in can be unreliable, requests sometimes fail or time out. Retry if you get no response.

Usage:
Weather for a city
```
curl wttr.in/Tokyo
```
Compact one-line output
```
curl "wttr.in/Tokyo?format=3"
```
Weather in your language
```
curl "wttr.in/Tokyo?lang=fr"
```
The location can be a city name, airport code, or geographic coordinates. Append ?format= for machine-readable output, handy for shell prompts or scripts.

chubin/wttr.in