Files

T

retoor 29c489e27a Standalone tai.py: native TUI framework, grouped classes, full suite green

- In-tai.py TUI framework (panels, compositor, z-layers, mouse, focus,
  VT screen, pty sub-terminals, widgets, animation) plus /demo, --demo,
  --demo-shot, tui.md docs, and research/tui-framework-design archive
- Focus safety: Tab/Shift+Tab always cycle, auto-focus prefers
  non-terminals, dialogs restore previous focus on close
- Native Consts/Install/Sandbox/Opencode/SysInfo classes in tai.py;
  module functions delegate so live patches apply; fixes 19 failures
- Retargeted 4 test patches to the real tai.* seams (assertions unchanged)
- Deleted tai_pkg/; tai.py is standalone stdlib-only (bare copy imports)
- AGENTS.md/README.md updated to the standalone architecture
- test_tai.py 320/320 OK, test_seal.py 16/16 OK

2026-10-10 23:45:12 +02:00

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selectel/pyte repository (README)

Metadata

Field	Value
Institute	Molodetz Institute — Research & Retrieval Division
Subject	tui-framework-design
Document type	Source Dossier
Tier	1
Source title	selectel/pyte: Simple VTXXX-compatible linux terminal emulator
Source URL	https://github.com/selectel/pyte
Source publisher / author	selectel (Sergei Lebedev et al.)
Source type	repository
Source date (published)	Unknown — not stated
Date researched	2026-10-10
Researched by	tai (agent), model: Muse Spark, on behalf of retoor
Research method	direct page fetch
Confidence	High
Status	Active

Summary

pyte is a pure-Python in-memory VT100/VTXXX terminal emulator: a Screen keeps a buffer of text plus attributes, a Stream/ByteStream consumes raw output bytes into it. Its stated uses are screen-scraping terminal apps (htop, aptitude) and writing new terminal emulators. It began as a fork of vt102 and is licensed LGPL-3.0-only (754 stars, 122 forks at read time).

Key findings

Architecture split: Screen (emulation state: grid, cursor, modes) vs Stream (byte parser feeding the screen); ByteStream accepts raw bytes, which is the pty-capture shape.
Positioned explicitly for "screen scrape terminal apps" and "write terminal emulators (graphical or web)" — the embedded-sub-terminal use case, not just testing.
Started as a fork of vt102 (samfoo), an incomplete pure-Python VT100 implementation.
License is LGPL-3.0-only (per repo metadata and SUSE packaging), not MIT/BSD.
Companion tutorial (quoted in dependent sources) places the Screen "between (network, serial, pipe, ...) transport and a display".

Pros / strengths

Existence proof that pure-Python VT emulation is fast and correct enough for real apps (htop scraping, AjaxTerm-style web terminals, PTY replay tooling).
The Screen/Stream split is the right seam: parsing and state stay independent and separately testable.

Cons / limitations / caveats

LGPL-3.0: cannot be vendored into tai's single-file distribution without license complications — reimplementation is required, not optional.
README is thin on sequence coverage details; wide-character and newer xterm extension handling have historically been weak spots (not verified against current source in this pass).

Relevance to tai

Validates the Terminal-widget design exactly: pty bytes → stream parser → screen grid → compositor paint. tai reimplements the same split (already prototyped as this session's VtScreen) with stdlib-only code.
The LGPL finding closes the "just vendor pyte" alternative permanently.

Changelog

Date	Change
2026-10-10	Initial dossier created.

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