Stop Making TUIs
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Building native UIs is now easier than TUIs with LLM code generation.
The author, a longtime terminal user, argues that LLMs make building native macOS interfaces easier than building TUIs. They built several SwiftUI apps via AI agents: a Markdown viewer, a SageMath frontend, a music player, an LLM wiki, a macro tracker, a thermometer, and a remote control. They claim TUIs are products of 1970s constraints, hard to make accessible, and inferior to native UI for most use cases. They advocate using agents with design skills and templates to generate native apps without touching Xcode.
What commenters are saying
Commenters split into two camps: those defending TUIs for SSH, cross-platform stability, keyboard-driven efficiency, and low maintenance, and those agreeing native UI is now viable with AI. Several noted TUIs outlast GUI frameworks (e.g., ncurses since 1978). One argued TUIs are easier to automate because they are text-based. Another countered that TUIs lack metadata for UI automation. Some criticized modern GUIs for wasting space and hiding actions, while others praised TUIs for muscle memory and low bandwidth usage.