Writing command-line interfaces (CLIs) with React. Wait, what? Yeah!
summary
Claim: React components render to the terminal using Ink and the new framework Pastel, so familiar React state/hooks drive interactive CLIs. Demo builds a JSON-backed to‑do app (add/list/complete/remove) that runs live and prints colored, styled output. Tooling uses Node (ESM import.meta), simple filesystem JSON storage, and tests run with Node’s built‑in test runner as component tests. The approach proves practical: commands, help, and verbose output work with almost no imperative cursor logic.
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chapters (18)
- 0:00CLIs with React
- 2:51Traditional CLIs limitations
- 4:17Guidelines for great CLIs
- 5:20Simple CLI with Node.js
- 8:56Low-level terminal challenges
- 9:41Ink for terminal React
- 12:27Ink components demo
- 14:57Styling CLIs with Ink CSS
- 16:23React for CLIs advantages
- 17:06Tools using Ink and React
- 17:27Pastel framework
- 18:51Pastel to-do app demo
- 19:56Pastel app code structure
- 22:04Pastel commands and options
- 24:13Pastel list command
- 25:19Testing CLIs like web apps
- 26:01Testing a Pastel CLI
- 27:50Conclusion try Pastel
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