Documentation
SwiftTUI documentation
Organized by what you're doing: getting started, building your interface, charting data, and running the same app on every host. The module-by-module API reference is at the end.
Start here
Choosing modules and platformsOne dependency and one import for most apps — plus the product matrix when you need a narrower build.Coming from SwiftUIWhat transfers unchanged, which reflexes need retraining, and what is not here yet.Add it to your appPick a toolchain, add the package, and write your first App declaration.
Build your interface
The authoring surface is SwiftUI-shaped: views, state, focus, and layout guides from the SwiftTUIViews catalog.
Authoring ViewsCompose containers, local state, focused controls, and modifiers around a body-driven tree.State, Environment, and FocusState, observation, environment, and focus share one runtime invalidation path.Understanding FocusThe runtime focus model for input routing, state control, and context export.Lists and TablesCollections with authored row content, selection, and viewport-backed data sources.Geometry and PreferencesAnchor preferences let a subtree publish geometry that other views resolve after layout.ShapesFill, stroke, and inset built-in and custom Path shapes, rasterized to Braille subpixels.Aspect-correct shapesCell pixel metrics keep circles circular across terminal fonts and hosts.Pointer and CanvasOne continuous cell coordinate space for gestures, hover, and drawing.AccessibilitySemantic metadata for terminal screen readers, browser ARIA trees, VoiceOver, and TalkBack.Custom Dynamic PropertiesBuild your own property wrappers on the DynamicProperty extension point.State KeyingHow @State storage is keyed across evaluations, and where owners survive lazy seams.Dormant Tab StateWhat happens to a tab's persistent state while the tab is not selected.Dismissal Is DataPresentations are driven by Boolean bindings and identifiable items, not hidden stacks.
Charts
Sparklines, bar and line charts, heatmaps, meters, and calendar views ship separately as swift-tui-charts, composed on the same view surface.
Run it everywhere
One authored app; hosts for the terminal, the browser, Android, and native SwiftUI. Guides from the SwiftTUIRuntime catalog.
Running AppsRuntime entry points from the @main convenience down to hosted scene sessions.Hosts and PlatformsThe host and distribution matrix: terminal, browser, Android, and native SwiftUI embedding.Runner and Host IntegrationHow apps launch through runner products or live inside host products.Terminal EmbeddingHost external terminal programs inside SwiftTUI layout with SwiftTUITerminal.Terminal HandoffsTemporarily hand the interactive terminal back to the user's shell mid-run.Environment VariablesEvery SWIFTTUI_* environment variable the framework reads, grouped by subsystem.
Concepts and background
Differences from SwiftUIThe primer: what transfers, and the deliberate terminal-native rereadings.How rendering worksAn interactive walkthrough of the frame pipeline, from body to terminal cells.Runtime Render PipelineThe developer-level reference for the same pipeline: phases, products, and commit policy.About SwiftTUIWhy the framework exists and what it optimizes for.Divergences and gapsThe public register of API departures from SwiftUI and known gaps at HEAD.
API reference by module
The combined DocC archive documents each module. Most app code touches only the first row.
What you import
- SwiftTUI — the batteries-included app product
- SwiftTUIViews — views, controls, layout, state, focus
- SwiftTUIRuntime — scenes, run loop, host integration
- SwiftTUICharts — charts and compact metrics
Hosts and opt-in products
- SwiftTUICLI — terminal-only runner
- SwiftTUIWebHostCLI — terminal runner with --web
- SwiftTUIWebHost — localhost browser host
- SwiftTUIWASI — WASI and browser builds
- SwiftTUIAndroidHost — Android embedding
- SwiftTUITerminal — embedded terminal panes
- SwiftTUIAnimatedImage — animated GIF and image views
- SwiftTUIProfiling — opt-in profiling and diagnostics
- SwiftUIHost — native SwiftUI embedding (separate package)
Vocabulary you use, modules you don't import
- SwiftTUIPrimitives — geometry, color, style, animation math
- SwiftTUIGraph — reconciliation engine; PreferenceKey, DynamicProperty
- SwiftTUICore — the render engine's frame pipeline
- SwiftTUIArguments — SwiftTUIOptions and command parsing
The last group declares types that reach app code through re-export — CellSize, Alignment,PreferenceKey, SwiftTUIOptions — so their pages document symbols you use, behind imports you never write.