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Installation

Install Rezi packages from npm to start building terminal applications.

Requirements

  • Node.js: 18.18.0 or later
  • Operating System: Linux, macOS, or Windows
  • Terminal: Any terminal emulator with 256-color or true-color support

Install via npm

If you want a ready-to-run starter, use the scaffolding tool:

npm create rezi my-app

Install the core and node backend packages:

npm install @rezi-ui/core @rezi-ui/node

Or with other package managers:

npm install @rezi-ui/core @rezi-ui/node

pnpm add @rezi-ui/core @rezi-ui/node

yarn add @rezi-ui/core @rezi-ui/node

bun add @rezi-ui/core @rezi-ui/node

Prebuilt Binaries

The @rezi-ui/node package includes prebuilt native binaries for common platforms:

Platform Architecture Status
Linux x64 Included
Linux arm64 Included
macOS x64 (Intel) Included
macOS arm64 (Apple Silicon) Included
Windows x64 Included

If a prebuilt binary is not available for your platform, the package will attempt to compile from source (requires a C toolchain).

Package Overview

Package Description Required
@rezi-ui/core Widgets, layout, themes, forms, keybindings Yes
@rezi-ui/node Node.js backend with native rendering Yes
@rezi-ui/testkit Testing utilities and fixtures Optional

Optional packages

Package When to use
@rezi-ui/ink-compat Migrating from Ink — drop-in replacement for ink imports
@rezi-ui/jsx Prefer JSX syntax over ui.* function calls
@rezi-ui/testkit Testing Rezi applications

@rezi-ui/core

The core package is runtime-agnostic and contains:

  • All widget constructors (ui.text, ui.button, ui.table, etc.)
  • Layout engine with flexbox-like semantics
  • Theme system with built-in presets
  • Form management and validation
  • Keybinding parser and matcher
  • Focus management utilities
  • Binary protocol builders and parsers

@rezi-ui/node

The Node.js backend provides:

  • Worker thread runtime for async rendering
  • Native addon binding to the Zireael C engine
  • Terminal capability detection
  • Event loop integration
  • Debug tracing and performance instrumentation

@rezi-ui/testkit

Testing utilities for Rezi applications:

  • Test fixtures for protocol testing
  • Golden file comparison utilities
  • Mock backends for unit testing

Install for development:

npm install --save-dev @rezi-ui/testkit

TypeScript Setup

Rezi is written in TypeScript and ships with full type definitions. No additional @types/* packages are needed.

Recommended tsconfig.json settings:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true
  }
}

For maximum type safety, enable these additional options:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": true,
    "exactOptionalPropertyTypes": true
  }
}

Verify Installation

Create a test file to verify your installation:

// test.ts
import { createApp, ui } from "@rezi-ui/core";
import { createNodeBackend } from "@rezi-ui/node";

const app = createApp({
  backend: createNodeBackend(),
  initialState: {},
});

app.view(() => ui.text("Rezi is working!"));

await app.start();

Run with:

npx tsx test.ts

You should see "Rezi is working!" displayed in your terminal.

Building from Source

For contributors or custom platform builds, see the Build Guide.

Next Steps