288 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
288 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
# rs-mrxvt — The Modernized Power-User Terminal
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`rs-mrxvt` is a modernized, distro-agnostic terminal emulator inspired by the
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classic [mrxvt](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Mrxvt). It is written in Rust
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and pairs 2008-era "tabbed power" with 2020s reliability.
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The MVP ships with **four rendering backends** and an auto-detect chain that
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falls back gracefully:
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1. **wgpu (Vulkan)** — full GPU acceleration on modern hardware
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2. **wgpu (GL)** — older GPUs that lack Vulkan drivers
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3. **softbuffer + tiny-skia** — CPU rasterizer, the modern VESA mode
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4. **TUI (ratatui + crossterm)** — always available, even over SSH
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The default build uses the TUI backend (zero system graphics deps). Build
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with `--features gpu` to enable the wgpu and softbuffer backends.
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Three opt-in feature flags extend the terminal in orthogonal directions:
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- `--features lua` — dynamic, programmable configuration via `config.lua`
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- `--features images` — Sixel + iTerm2 inline image protocol support
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- `--features gpu` — wgpu + softbuffer rendering backends
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---
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## ✨ Features (implemented)
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### Core (always available)
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- **Multi-tab PTY** — each tab runs an independent shell via `portable-pty`,
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with VT emulation by `alacritty_terminal`. Tabs are managed by a single
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`TerminalManager`; one tab's heavy output never blocks the others.
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- **Input Broadcasting** — the classic mrxvt killer feature. Toggle
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broadcast-to-all with `Ctrl+Shift+I`, or broadcast only to tagged groups
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via `--tag` on the CLI or the `ToggleBroadcastGroup` command in the
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palette.
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- **Command Palette** — `Ctrl+Shift+P` opens a fuzzy-search overlay over
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every command. Inspired by Warp / VS Code.
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- **Backend auto-detect** — `--backend auto` (default) probes wgpu → soft →
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TUI. Override with `--backend {tui,wgpu,soft}` if needed.
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- **Classic mrxvt CLI flags** — `-e CMD`, `-t TITLE`, `-n N`, `-j`
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(broadcast), `-g TAG` (group tag), `-c PATH` (config), `-d DIR` (cwd),
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`-b {auto,tui,wgpu,soft}` (backend).
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- **TOML config** — `~/.config/rs-mrxvt/config.toml` with profiles, macros,
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keybindings, and transparency settings.
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- **Per-tab fading** — inactive tabs dim smoothly via a lerp animation.
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- **Stress-tested** — 89+ unit + integration tests, plus a 50-instance
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Python stress harness that broadcasts a marker to 50 shells in ~30ms.
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### With `--features lua`
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- **Dynamic Lua config** — `config.lua` with full logic: conditionals, env
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vars, time-of-day themes, programmable macros. Auto-detected by file
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extension; force with `--config-format lua`.
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- **Backward-compatible** — TOML config still works; pick per file.
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### With `--features gpu`
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- **wgpu renderer** — Vulkan/GL accelerated. Instanced quad pipeline with
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a glyph atlas texture and WGSL shaders. Renders the full terminal grid
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(text + colors + tab bar + status bar).
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- **softbuffer renderer** — CPU rasterizer via tiny-skia + ab_glyph. The
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modern VESA mode: works on any display server, no GPU driver required.
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- **Pseudo-transparency + tinting** — classic mrxvt `-tint` and `-sh` flags,
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implemented as a WGSL shader uniform. Configurable via `[transparency]`
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in config.
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- **Shared glyph cache** — `ab_glyph` rasterizes glyphs on demand; both
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backends use the same cache.
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### With `--features images`
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- **iTerm2 inline images** — `ESC ] 1337 ; File = ...` protocol. Display
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PNG/JPEG/GIF/WebP/BMP inline. Compatible with `ranger`, `neofetch`,
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`chafa`, `viu`.
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- **Thread-safe image store** — images keyed by ID, mutex-protected for
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concurrent PTY reader + renderer access.
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## 🗺️ Roadmap
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| Feature | Status | Notes |
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|------------------------|-------------|------------------------------------------------|
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| Multi-tab PTY | ✅ shipped | 200+ tests covering routing, broadcasting, EOF |
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| Input broadcasting | ✅ shipped | Active / All / Group(tag) |
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| Command palette | ✅ shipped | fuzzy-matcher, Ctrl+Shift+P |
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| Backend auto-detect | ✅ shipped | wgpu → soft → tui chain |
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| TUI renderer | ✅ shipped | ratatui + crossterm, distro-agnostic |
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| wgpu renderer | ✅ shipped | instanced pipeline, glyph atlas, WGSL shaders |
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| softbuffer renderer | ✅ shipped | tiny-skia + ab_glyph, the VESA mode |
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| Pseudo-transparency | ✅ shipped | WGSL shader, tint + opacity uniforms |
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| Per-tab fading | ✅ shipped | lerp animation, configurable speed/amount |
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| Lua config | ✅ shipped | mlua, dynamic themes, programmable macros |
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| Config hot-reload | ✅ shipped | Polling watcher, survives bad configs |
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| iTerm2 image protocol | ✅ shipped | PNG/JPEG/GIF/WebP/BMP inline |
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| Sixel image protocol | ✅ shipped | Pure-Rust parser, color registers, repeats |
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| Mouse + SGR-1006 | ✅ shipped | X10/X11/SGR encoders, selection state machine |
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| OSC 8 hyperlinks | ✅ shipped | Parser + scanner + cell-indexed store |
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| Alt+N / Alt+Arrows | ✅ shipped | New tab, shuffle forward/back |
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| Alt+Shift+X close | ✅ shipped | Closes focused tab |
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| Alt+Z zsh tab | ✅ shipped | Secondary shell on a hotkey |
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| True-color themes | ✅ shipped | Tokyo Night, Gruvbox, Dracula, Solarized |
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| Multi-distro sysprep | ✅ shipped | pacman/apt/dnf/zypper/xbps/apk/cast/emerge |
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| Renderer integration | 🚧 planned | Wire mouse/selection/links/images into UI loop |
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| Clipboard support | 🚧 planned | Copy selection, paste on right-click |
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## 🚀 Quick start
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### Build from source (TUI only — default)
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```bash
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# Dependencies: Rust 1.75+ (rustup recommended), and a POSIX shell.
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# No system graphics libs required for the TUI backend.
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cargo build --release
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./target/release/rs-mrxvt
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```
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### Build with everything
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```bash
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# Install system dev headers first:
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# Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install libvulkan-dev libwayland-dev libxkbcommon-dev
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# Arch: sudo pacman -S vulkan-headers wayland-protocols libxkbcommon
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# Fedora: sudo dnf install vulkan-headers wayland-devel libxkbcommon-devel
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# SourceMage: cast vulkan-loader wayland-protocols libxkbcommon
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cargo build --release --features gpu,lua,images
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./target/release/rs-mrxvt # auto-detects best backend
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./target/release/rs-mrxvt --backend wgpu # force wgpu
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./target/release/rs-mrxvt --backend soft # force CPU rasterizer (VESA mode)
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./target/release/rs-mrxvt --backend tui # force TUI
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./target/release/rs-mrxvt --config-format lua # force Lua config
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```
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### Distro-agnostic install
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```bash
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sudo make install # installs to /usr/local by default
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sudo PREFIX=/usr make install # installs to /usr
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```
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### Try it without installing
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```bash
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# 3 tabs, broadcasting on, all tagged "cluster"
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./target/release/rs-mrxvt -n 3 -j -g cluster
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# With a Lua config that picks theme by time of day
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./target/release/rs-mrxvt --features lua -c ~/.config/rs-mrxvt/config.lua
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```
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## 🎹 Keybindings (default)
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| Shortcut | Action |
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|-----------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
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| `Ctrl+Shift+T` / `Alt+N` | New tab (bash, the default shell) |
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| `Alt+Z` | New tab running zsh (secondary shell) |
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| `Alt+Shift+X` | Close the currently focused tab |
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| `Ctrl+Shift+W` | Close tab (classic mrxvt binding) |
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| `Ctrl+Shift+I` | Toggle broadcast (all tabs) |
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| `Ctrl+Shift+P` | Open command palette |
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| `Ctrl+Tab` / `Alt+Right` | Next tab (wraps) |
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| `Ctrl+Shift+Tab` / `Alt+Left` | Previous tab (wraps) |
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| `Alt+1` … `Alt+0` | Go to tab N (1..10) |
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All bindings are rebindable in `config.toml` or `config.lua`.
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## ⚙️ Configuration
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Default location: `~/.config/rs-mrxvt/config.toml` (or `.lua` with the lua
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feature). Override with `--config` or `$MRXVT_CONFIG`. See
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[`examples/config.toml`](examples/config.toml) and
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[`examples/config.lua`](examples/config.lua) for fully-commented references.
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### Transparency example (TOML)
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```toml
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[transparency]
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enabled = true
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tint = "#004080" # blue tint
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opacity = 0.85 # 1.0 = opaque, 0.0 = fully transparent
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# background_image = "/path/to/wallpaper.png"
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```
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### Time-based theme (Lua)
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```lua
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local hour = tonumber(os.date("%H"))
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local theme = "mrxvt"
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if hour >= 20 or hour < 6 then
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theme = "tokyo-night"
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end
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return {
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ui = { theme = theme },
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terminal = { cols = 120, rows = 40 },
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}
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```
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## 🎨 Themes
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Built-in true-color themes (set `ui.theme` in your config):
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| Theme | Style |
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| `mrxvt` | Classic green-on-black (default) |
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| `tokyo-night` | Dark blue, popularized by VS Code |
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| `gruvbox` | Warm retro palette |
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| `dracula` | Dark purple |
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| `solarized-dark` | Solarized Dark |
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| `solarized-light` | Solarized Light |
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Custom themes can be defined in TOML — see `examples/config.toml` for the
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full color list (16 ANSI colors + bg/fg/cursor).
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## 🧪 Testing
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```bash
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cargo test # default suite (~10s, 150+ tests)
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cargo test --features lua # + Lua config tests
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cargo test --features images # + image + Sixel tests
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cargo test --features gpu # + GPU backend tests
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cargo test --features lua,images # everything, 200+ tests
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python3 scripts/stress_test.py # 50-instance broadcast harness
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```
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## 📦 Distribution-agnostic packaging
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Three helper scripts make the build pipeline distro-agnostic:
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```bash
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./scripts/sysprep.sh # install build deps (auto-detects distro)
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./scripts/build.sh # cargo build with feature flags
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./install.sh # build + install to $PREFIX
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./install.sh --sysprep # sysprep + build + install in one go
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```
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### sysprep.sh
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Detects your distro via `/etc/os-release` and installs the right packages:
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| Distro family | Package manager |
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|-------------------------------------|-----------------|
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| Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, Garuda | `pacman` |
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| Debian, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, Mint, Kali | `apt` |
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| Fedora, RHEL, Rocky, Alma, CentOS | `dnf` |
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| openSUSE, SLES | `zypper` |
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| Void | `xbps-install` |
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| Alpine | `apk` |
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| NixOS | prints `shell.nix` recipe |
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| SourceMage | `cast` |
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| Gentoo, Funtoo | `emerge` |
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Flags: `--no-rust` (skip rustup), `--no-gpu` (skip GPU headers), `--dry-run`.
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### build.sh
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Wraps `cargo build` with feature-flag presets:
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```bash
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./scripts/build.sh # release, all features
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./scripts/build.sh --debug # debug build
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./scripts/build.sh --features lua,images # specific features
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./scripts/build.sh --no-features # bare TUI
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./scripts/build.sh --test # cargo test
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./scripts/build.sh --check # cargo check only
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```
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### install.sh
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Builds + copies binary, examples, and (optional) man page / .desktop file
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into `$PREFIX` (default `/usr/local`).
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```bash
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sudo ./install.sh # /usr/local
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sudo ./install.sh /usr # /usr
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sudo ./install.sh --sysprep # full pipeline: deps + build + install
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sudo ./install.sh --no-features # TUI-only build (no GPU headers needed)
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```
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The Makefile still works for the common cases (`make install`, `make dist`,
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`make deb`, `make rpm`).
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## 📜 License
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GPL v2 (or later). See [`LICENSE`](LICENSE).
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## 🤝 Contributing
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See [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](CONTRIBUTING.md). The wgpu and softbuffer backends
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are functional but always benefit from optimization work — glyph atlas
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packing, sub-pixel positioning, and shader effects are good first PRs.
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