Textual Builder

Overview

This skill helps you build sophisticated Text User Interfaces (TUIs) using Textual, a Python framework for creating terminal and browser-based applications with a modern web-inspired API. It includes reference documentation, a card game template, and best practices for Textual development.

Quick Start

Basic Textual App

from textual.app import App, ComposeResult
from textual.widgets import Header, Footer, Label

class MyApp(App):
    def compose(self) -> ComposeResult:
        yield Header()
        yield Label("Hello, Textual!")
        yield Footer()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = MyApp()
    app.run()

Card Game Template

For card game prototyping, copy the template:

cp -r assets/card-game-template/* ./my-game/
cd my-game
python app.py

The template includes:

• Interactive Card widget with face-up/down states
• Hand containers for player cards
• Play area with turn management
• Key bindings for card selection and playing
• Customizable styling

See assets/card-game-template/README.md for customization guide.

When to Read Reference Documentation

This skill includes comprehensive reference files. Load them based on your task:

references/basics.md

Read when: Setting up app structure, using reactive attributes, handling mounting, querying widgets, or working with messages/events.

Covers:

• App structure and compose method
• Reactive attributes and watchers
• Mounting and dynamic widget creation
• Widget querying
• Messages, events, and custom messages

references/widgets.md

Read when: Adding UI elements like buttons, inputs, labels, data tables, or creating custom widgets.

Covers:

• Display widgets (Label, Static, Placeholder)
• Input widgets (Button, Input, TextArea, Switch)
• DataTable for tabular data
• Layout containers (Container, Grid, Horizontal, Vertical)
• Custom widget creation
• Header/Footer

references/layout.md

Read when: Designing layouts, positioning widgets, using grid systems, or handling responsive sizing.

Covers:

• Layout types (vertical, horizontal, grid)
• Grid configuration (cell spanning, row/column sizing)
• Alignment and content positioning
• Docking widgets to screen edges
• Sizing (fixed, relative, fractional, auto)
• Spacing (margin, padding)
• Scrolling

references/styling.md

Read when: Applying CSS styles, theming, adding borders, or customizing widget appearance.

Covers:

• CSS files and selectors
• Colors (named, hex, RGB, theme variables)
• Borders and border styling
• Text styling and alignment
• Opacity and tinting
• Rich markup for styled text
• Pseudo-classes (:hover, :focus, etc.)

references/interactivity.md

Read when: Implementing keyboard shortcuts, handling mouse events, responding to user actions, or creating interactive behaviors.

Covers:

• Key bindings and actions
• Dynamic binding updates
• Mouse events (click, hover, enter, leave)
• Keyboard events
• Focus management
• Widget-specific messages
• Custom messages
• Notifications and timers

Common Workflows

Creating a New TUI App

1. Start with basic app structure (see Quick Start)
2. Design layout (read references/layout.md)
3. Add widgets (read references/widgets.md)
4. Style with CSS (read references/styling.md)
5. Add interactivity (read references/interactivity.md)

Prototyping a Card Game

1. Copy the card game template
2. Customize the Card widget for your game's card properties
3. Modify game logic in action methods
4. Add game-specific rules in message handlers
5. Style cards and layout in app.tcss

Adding Interactive Features

1. Define key bindings in BINDINGS
2. Implement action methods (action_*)
3. Handle widget messages (on_button_pressed, etc.)
4. Use reactive attributes for state management
5. Update UI in watchers

Best Practices

• Progressive Development: Start simple, add complexity incrementally
• Reactive State: Use reactive() for state that affects UI
• CSS Separation: Keep styling in .tcss files, not inline
• Widget Reuse: Create custom widgets for repeated components
• Message Bubbling: Use event.stop() to control message propagation
• Type Hints: Use proper type hints for better IDE support
• IDs and Classes: Use semantic IDs/classes for querying and styling

Installation

pip install textual
# or
uv pip install textual

Current version: v0.86.0+ (as of November 2025, latest is v6.6.0)

Resources

references/

Comprehensive documentation loaded on-demand:

• basics.md - Core concepts and app structure
• widgets.md - Widget catalog and usage
• layout.md - Layout systems and positioning
• styling.md - CSS and theming
• interactivity.md - Events, bindings, and actions

assets/

• card-game-template/ - Complete starter template for card games with interactive cards, hands, and turn management

Official Documentation

For topics not covered in this skill, consult:

• https://textual.textualize.io/ (official docs)
• https://github.com/Textualize/textual (GitHub repo)