Show HN: Gridland: make terminal apps that also run in the browser
Hi everyone, Gridland is a runtime + ShadCN UI registry that makes it possible to build terminal apps that run in the browser as well as the native terminal. This is useful for demoing TUIs so that users know what they're getting before they are invested enough to install them. And, tbh, it's also just super fun! Gridland is the successor to Ink Web (ink-web.dev) which is the same concept, but using Ink + xterm.js. After building Ink Web, we continued experimenting and found that using OpenTUI and a canvas renderer performed better with less flickering and nearly instant load times. We're excited to continue iterating on this. I expect a lot of criticism from the "why does this need to exist" angle, and tbh, it probably doesn't - it's really mostly just for fun, but we still think the demo use case mentioned previously has potential. - Chris + Jess
Discussion Highlights (4 comments)
kamens
I love this. It needs to exist because it's fun.
theturtletalks
Can I replace xterm.js with this?
oDot
Very nice Could I use OpenTUI Core with this? I'd like to replace the hero at https://blisswriter.app with the actual app
rablackburn
> Gridland is the successor to Ink Web (ink-web.dev) which is the same concept, but using Ink + xterm.js. After building Ink Web, we continued experimenting and found that using OpenTUI and a canvas renderer performed better with less flickering and nearly instant load times. Ah, I was wondering how this was different to xterm.js embedded in a page. It's just the performance angle? I've been teaching the kids programming from the terminal and I've been planning to make the jump from the terminal to a terminal in the browser as we hit graphical limitations (and as they want to be able to share their games). I'll take it for a spin. (and if nothing else, I'm going to steal that ripple effect for them ;) )* * obligatory https://xkcd.com/541/