TUI in a GUI

webtui_readme.mp4

What It Is WebTUI

• TypeScript library for running local coding agents inside Xterm.
• Browser UI talks to a PTY backend.
• Included backend uses node-pty.
• Included React component mounts the terminal.
• Included example app launches agents, accepts prompts, and supports file drag/drop into the terminal.

Run The Example

cd ~/oss/webtui
pnpm run build
pnpm run example:build
pnpm run example:start

Open:

http://localhost:8730

Ports:

• App: 8730
• PTY websocket: 8731

Example App

• Select an agent.
• Optional working directory.
• Enter a prompt.
• Click Launch.
• Use the left file tree after the session starts.
• Drag files from the tree into the terminal.
• Use Inject to send another message to the running agent.
• Use Cmd/Ctrl +, Cmd/Ctrl -, and Cmd/Ctrl 0 for terminal font zoom.

Imports

import { buildAgentLaunchPlan, listBuiltInAgents } from 'webtui'
import { WebSocketPtyBackend } from 'webtui/browser'
import { WebTuiTerminal } from 'webtui/react'
import { NodePtyBackend, createNodePtyWebSocketServer } from 'webtui/server'
import 'webtui/styles.css'

React Usage

import { WebSocketPtyBackend } from 'webtui/browser'
import { WebTuiTerminal } from 'webtui/react'
import 'webtui/styles.css'

const backend = new WebSocketPtyBackend('ws://localhost:8731/pty')

export function AgentPane() {
  return (
    <WebTuiTerminal
      backend={backend}
      agent="codex"
      cwd="/path/to/project"
      prompt={{ text: 'Fix the failing tests' }}
      fontZoom
    />
  )
}

Browser Controller

import { createAgentTerminalSession, WebSocketPtyBackend } from 'webtui/browser'

const session = await createAgentTerminalSession({
  container,
  backend: new WebSocketPtyBackend('ws://localhost:8731/pty'),
  agent: 'claude',
  cwd: '/path/to/project',
  prompt: { text: 'Summarize this repo' }
})

session.sendAgentMessage({ text: 'Now inspect the tests' })

Backend

import { createNodePtyWebSocketServer, NodePtyBackend } from 'webtui/server'

createNodePtyWebSocketServer({
  port: 8731,
  backend: new NodePtyBackend({ agentTrustPreflight: true })
})

Useful Scripts

pnpm run typecheck
pnpm run lint
pnpm run test
pnpm run build
pnpm run smoke
pnpm run example:build
pnpm run example:start