Terminal UI (TUI) Overview

What is the TUI?

The Rexec TUI is an interactive terminal-based dashboard built with Charm Bubble Tea. It provides a rich, colorful interface for managing terminals, snippets, and infrastructure without leaving your terminal.

Features

Dashboard View

Real-time stats, terminal status, and quick actions

Terminal List

Browse and filter all your terminals

Snippet Browser

Access your snippets and marketplace

Quick Connect

Connect to terminals with a single keystroke

Installation

The TUI is included in the CLI installation:

# Install CLI (includes TUI)
curl -fsSL https://rexec.pipeops.io/install-cli.sh | bash

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/brimblehq/rexec.git
cd rexec

# Build TUI
make tui

# Binary at bin/rexec-tui
./bin/rexec-tui

Build for All Platforms

make tui-all-platforms

Creates binaries in downloads/:

rexec-tui-linux-amd64
rexec-tui-linux-arm64
rexec-tui-darwin-amd64
rexec-tui-darwin-arm64

Launching the TUI

Multiple commands launch the TUI:

# Launch TUI
rexec -i
rexec tui
rexec dashboard
rexec ui

# Or run directly (if installed separately)
rexec-tui

The TUI requires authentication. Run rexec login first.

Dashboard View

The main dashboard shows:

  ██████╗ ███████╗██╗  ██╗███████╗ ██████╗
  ██╔══██╗██╔════╝╚██╗██╔╝██╔════╝██╔════╝
  ██████╔╝█████╗   ╚███╔╝ █████╗  ██║
  ██╔══██╗██╔══╝   ██╔██╗ ██╔══╝  ██║
  ██║  ██║███████╗██╔╝ ██╗███████╗╚██████╗
  ╚═╝  ╚═╝╚══════╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚══════╝ ╚═════╝

  johndoe • pro

    3           2           1           5
  Total      Running     Stopped     Snippets

  Recent Terminals

  ● 1. dev-environment       ubuntu:22.04    [abc123de]
  ● 2. python-sandbox         python:3.11     [xyz789gh]
  ○ 3. test-container         debian:bookworm [jkl345mn]

  1-9 connect  •  t terminals  •  s snippets  •  c create  •  r refresh  •  q quit

Views

Dashboard (Main View)

Statistics Cards:

Total terminals
Running count (green)
Stopped count (yellow)
Available snippets (purple)

Recent Terminals:

Shows up to 5 most recent terminals
Green ● = running
Yellow ○ = stopped
Quick connect with number keys (1-9)

Terminals View

Full list of all terminals with filtering:

  Terminals

  > dev-environment
    🔒 ubuntu:22.04 • running • devops

    python-sandbox
    python:3.11 • running • developer

    test-container
    debian:bookworm • stopped • default

  ↑↓ navigate  •  enter select  •  / filter  •  esc back  •  q quit

Features:

Searchable with / key
MFA-locked terminals show 🔒 icon
Color-coded status indicators
Arrow keys or vim keys (j/k) for navigation

Snippets View

Browse your saved snippets:

  Snippets

  > docker-install
    Install Docker on Ubuntu

    setup-node
    Install Node.js LTS

    update-system
    Update system packages

  ↑↓ navigate  •  enter select  •  / filter  •  esc back  •  q quit

MFA Prompt

For MFA-protected terminals:

  🔒 MFA Required

  This terminal is protected with MFA.
  Enter your 6-digit authenticator code:

  1 2 3 4 _ _

  Press Enter to verify • Esc to cancel

Features:

Real-time input display
Auto-validation on 6 digits
Error messages for invalid codes
Backspace to correct

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global Keys

Key	Action
`q`	Quit TUI (from dashboard)
`Ctrl+C`	Force quit
`Esc`	Back to dashboard
`r`	Refresh data

Dashboard Keys

Key	Action
`1-9`	Quick connect to terminal 1-9
`t`	Open terminals view
`s`	Open snippets view
`c`	Create new terminal
`r`	Refresh data
`q`	Quit

Key	Action
`↑` / `k`	Move up
`↓` / `j`	Move down
`Enter`	Select item
`/`	Filter/search
`Esc`	Clear filter or go back
`q`	Quit

MFA Input Keys

Key	Action
`0-9`	Enter digit
`Backspace`	Delete digit
`Enter`	Verify code
`Esc`	Cancel

Connecting to Terminals

When you select a terminal:

TUI exits to native terminal
CLI connects via WebSocket
Full interactive shell session
Disconnect returns to shell (not TUI)

# From TUI: press '1' to connect to first terminal

Connecting to terminal abc123def456...
Tip: press Ctrl+] or double Ctrl+C to disconnect.

root@abc123def456:~# echo "Hello!"
Hello!
root@abc123def456:~# exit

Disconnected.
$

To reopen TUI:

rexec -i

Color Scheme

The TUI uses a modern, dark color palette:

Element	Color	Hex
Primary	Cyan	`#00D4FF`
Secondary	Purple	`#7C3AED`
Success	Green	`#10B981`
Warning	Yellow	`#F59E0B`
Error	Red	`#EF4444`
Dim	Gray	`#6B7280`
Background	Dark Blue	`#0F172A`
Card BG	Slate	`#1E293B`

Automatic Refresh

The TUI automatically refreshes:

On startup
When pressing r
After creating terminals
After MFA verification

No background polling - data is fetched on-demand.

Status Indicators

Terminal Status

Icon	Color	Status
●	Green	Running
○	Yellow	Stopped
○	Red	Error
○	Gray	Exited

Special Indicators

Icon	Meaning
🔒	MFA-protected terminal

Error Handling

The TUI gracefully handles errors:

  Error loading terminals: unauthorized
  
  Please run 'rexec login' to authenticate.

Common errors:

Not logged in: Exit and run rexec login
Network error: Check internet connection
Invalid MFA: Re-enter code

Configuration

The TUI uses the same config as the CLI:

# Config location
~/.rexec/config.json

# Environment variables
export REXEC_HOST="https://rexec.pipeops.io"
export REXEC_TOKEN="your_token"

Performance

The TUI is lightweight and fast:

Startup time: < 100ms
Memory usage: ~10-20MB
Network: Only API calls, no polling
Terminal rendering: 60 FPS capable

Accessibility

Screen Readers

The TUI uses standard terminal output, but may not be fully accessible with screen readers. For better accessibility, use the CLI commands:

rexec ls        # List terminals
rexec whoami    # User info
rexec connect   # Connect to terminal

Color Blindness

Status indicators use both color and symbols:

Running: ● (filled circle) + green
Stopped: ○ (empty circle) + yellow

This provides redundancy for color vision deficiencies.

Keyboard-Only Navigation

Troubleshooting

TUI Doesn’t Launch

Dashboard requires an interactive terminal

Cause: Not running in a TTY (e.g., piped output, CI/CD) Solution: Run in an interactive terminal, not in scripts

Terminal Too Small

If your terminal is too small, the TUI may display incorrectly. Minimum size: 80 columns × 24 rows

# Check terminal size
tput cols  # Should be ≥ 80
tput lines # Should be ≥ 24

Colors Not Showing

# Check terminal color support
echo $COLORTERM
tput colors  # Should output 256 or more

If colors aren’t working:

export TERM=xterm-256color
rexec -i

TUI Binary Not Found

If rexec -i shows:

rexec-tui not found. Install with:
make tui

The TUI binary needs to be in PATH or in a standard location:

~/.rexec/rexec-tui
/usr/local/bin/rexec-tui
Set REXEC_TUI_PATH environment variable

Advanced Usage

Custom TUI Path

Use a custom TUI binary:

export REXEC_TUI_PATH="/path/to/rexec-tui"
rexec -i

ASCII Fallback

If the Bubble Tea TUI isn’t available, the CLI shows a simple ASCII dashboard:

  ██████╗ ███████╗██╗  ██╗███████╗ ██████╗  Dashboard
  ...
  
  Logged in as: johndoe (pro)
  
  Terminals (3)
  ───────────────────────────────────────────
  ● 1. dev-environment      running    [abc123de]
  ○ 2. test-container       stopped    [xyz789gh]
  
  Controls
  ───────────────────────────────────────────
  1-9  Connect to terminal    c  Create new    r  Refresh
  s    Snippets               q  Quit
  
  Press a key to continue...

Command Line

TUI

​What is the TUI?

​Features

Dashboard View

Terminal List

Snippet Browser

Quick Connect

​Installation

​Build from Source

​Build for All Platforms

​Launching the TUI

​Dashboard View

​Views

​Dashboard (Main View)

​Terminals View

​Snippets View

​MFA Prompt

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​Global Keys

​Dashboard Keys

​List Navigation Keys

​MFA Input Keys

​Connecting to Terminals

​Color Scheme

​Automatic Refresh

​Status Indicators

​Terminal Status

​Special Indicators

​Error Handling

​Configuration

​Performance

​Accessibility

​Troubleshooting

​TUI Doesn’t Launch

​Terminal Too Small

​Colors Not Showing

​TUI Binary Not Found

​Advanced Usage

​Custom TUI Path

​ASCII Fallback

​Next Steps

CLI Commands

Authentication

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

What is the TUI?

Features

Installation

Build from Source

Build for All Platforms

Launching the TUI

Dashboard View

Views

Dashboard (Main View)

Terminals View

Snippets View

MFA Prompt

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global Keys

Dashboard Keys

List Navigation Keys

MFA Input Keys

Connecting to Terminals

Color Scheme

Automatic Refresh

Status Indicators

Terminal Status

Special Indicators

Error Handling

Configuration

Performance

Accessibility

Troubleshooting

TUI Doesn’t Launch

Terminal Too Small

Colors Not Showing

TUI Binary Not Found

Advanced Usage

Custom TUI Path

ASCII Fallback

Next Steps