TermUI vs Ink
TermUI and Ink are both TypeScript frameworks for building terminal user interfaces. Both use React-style JSX components. They differ in scope, architecture, and what they include out of the box.
What is Ink?
Ink is a React renderer for the terminal. You write React components and Ink renders them into ANSI output. It gives you components, hooks, and basic layout. It runs on react itself, the same library you use in the browser.
What is TermUI?
TermUI is a dedicated terminal UI framework with its own JSX runtime (@termuijs/jsx), layout engine, style system, router, state manager, animation engine, and testing renderer. It ships as 15 independent packages. You install only what you need.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | TermUI | Ink |
|---|---|---|
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript / JavaScript |
| JSX runtime | Own (@termuijs/jsx) | React |
| Layout engine | Custom flexbox | React/Yoga |
| Theming | Terminal Style Sheets (TSS) | Inline styles |
| Global state | @termuijs/store (Zustand-like) | Third-party (e.g. Zustand, Jotai) |
| Routing | @termuijs/router (file-based) | None built-in |
| Animations | @termuijs/motion (spring + easing) | None built-in |
| Hot reload | @termuijs/dev-server (restart in under 200ms) | None built-in |
| Test renderer | @termuijs/testing | ink-testing-library |
| VirtualList | Yes (1M+ items, same performance) | No |
| System data | @termuijs/data (CPU, memory, disk, network) | No |
| Package count | 15 | 1 |
| Dependencies | Zero C extensions | React (C++ via Node.js bindings) |
Key differences
Theming
Ink uses inline styles passed as props. TermUI uses Terminal Style Sheets (TSS). TSS lets you define reusable style variables, pseudo-classes, and theme tokens in one place.
// TSS — TermUI
const theme = createTheme({
primary: '#00ff88',
background: '#0a0a0f',
danger: '#ff4444',
})With Ink, you pass style objects per-component. At scale this means managing colors and spacing across dozens of files.
Routing
Ink has no built-in router. You manage screen state manually. TermUI includes @termuijs/router, a file-based routing system with typed params, navigation guards, and transition hooks.
Hot reload
TermUI restarts your app in under 200ms on every file save via @termuijs/dev-server. Ink has no built-in hot reload, you restart manually or wire up your own file watcher.
VirtualList
TermUI's VirtualList widget renders only the visible rows in a list, regardless of total size. A list of 1,000,000 items performs the same as a list of 10. Ink has no built-in virtual list.
Animations
TermUI includes @termuijs/motion with spring physics and easing-based transitions. Ink has no built-in animation system.
When to use Ink
- Your team already uses React and wants identical mental models in the terminal
- You want the smallest possible dependency surface
- Your project is a simple CLI output tool with no interactive UI needs
When to use TermUI
- You need theming, routing, or animations without wiring them yourself
- You are building a dashboard or interactive TUI with complex state
- You want hot reload and a test renderer that matches production behavior
- You want a VirtualList for large datasets
Installing TermUI
bunx create-termui-app my-app
cd my-app
bun run devOr install packages directly:
bun add @termuijs/core @termuijs/widgets @termuijs/jsxInstalling Ink
npm install ink reactFrequently asked questions
Does TermUI work with React?
No. TermUI uses its own JSX runtime (@termuijs/jsx). It does not depend on React. This means no React version conflicts and no browser-targeted abstractions in your terminal app.
Is TermUI production-ready?
Yes. TermUI ships as 15 published packages at version 0.1.7, each with its own test suite.
Does TermUI support Node.js 18?
Yes. TermUI requires Node.js 18 or later and any terminal with 256-color or truecolor support.