Nocterm: Build Terminal UIs the Flutter Way

If you’ve ever wanted to build beautiful terminal applications but found traditional approaches cumbersome, Nocterm might be exactly what you need. This Flutter-inspired TUI (Terminal User Interface) framework brings modern UI development patterns to the command line.

What is Nocterm?

Nocterm is a powerful, Flutter-inspired Terminal User Interface framework for building beautiful command-line applications in Dart. It allows developers to create rich, interactive terminal applications using familiar Flutter patterns like StatefulComponent, setState(), Column, Row, and more.

Key Features

• Declarative UI: Build terminal interfaces using the same component-based design you know from Flutter
• 45+ Built-in Components: Row, Column, ListView, TextField, and many more
• 6 Themes: Nord, Dracula, Gruvbox, and others out of the box
• Hot Reload: See your changes instantly without restarting
• Testing: Built-in testing utilities to test your TUI components
• Animations: Support for animations and mouse interaction
• Differential Rendering: Efficient updates for optimal performance

Getting Started

Getting started with Nocterm is incredibly simple. Just add it to your Dart project:

dependencies:
  nocterm: ^0.6.0

Then create your first component:

class Counter extends StatefulComponent {
  int count = 0;

  Component build(BuildContext ctx) {
    return Column(
      children: [
        Text('Count: $count'),
        Button(
          onPressed: () => setState(() => count++),
          child: Text('+'),
        ),
      ],
    );
  }
}

What Can You Build?

Nocterm is versatile enough to build various applications:

• Dashboards: System monitors, server dashboards, DevOps tools
• Chat Apps: IRC clients, messaging tools
• Productivity Apps: Todo apps, note takers, project managers
• Dev Tools: Code generators, API testers, database CLIs
• Smart Home: Home automation dashboards
• Games: Roguelikes, text adventures, puzzle games

Comparison with Other TUI Frameworks

*Zero learning curve for Flutter/Dart developers **Low if you know React

Community and Ecosystem

Nocterm has a growing ecosystem:

• nocterm_bloc: Bloc state management for Nocterm
• nocterm_lints: IDE assists — wrap with, swap, move, convert to stateful/stateless

Built projects include:

• vide_cli - Multi-agent coding IDE
• nocterm_3d - Experimental 3D renderer
• cow - Local LLM chat client
• snake - Classic Snake game
• minesweeper - Minesweeper game

Conclusion

If you’re a Flutter developer looking to build terminal applications, Nocterm offers a seamless transition with almost zero learning curve. With 302 GitHub stars, active development (330+ commits), and a growing community, it’s quickly becoming the go-to choice for building modern TUI applications in Dart.

Get Started Documentation