`jsx
import {render, Box, Text} from 'ink';

const Example = () => (

This is a box with margin

);

render();
`

#### Dimensions

##### width

Type: number string

Width of the element in spaces.
You can also set it in percent, which will calculate the width based on the width of parent element.

`jsx

X

//=> 'X '
`

`jsx


X

Y

//=> 'X Y'
`

##### height

Type: number string

Height of the element in lines (rows).
You can also set it in percent, which will calculate the height based on the height of parent element.

`jsx

X

//=> 'X\n\n\n'
`

`jsx


X

Y

//=> 'X\n\n\nY\n\n'
`

##### minWidth

Type: number

Sets a minimum width of the element.
Percentages aren't supported yet, see https://github.com/facebook/yoga/issues/872.

##### minHeight

Type: number

Sets a minimum height of the element.
Percentages aren't supported yet, see https://github.com/facebook/yoga/issues/872.

#### Padding

##### paddingTop

Type: number\
Default: 0

Top padding.

##### paddingBottom

Type: number\
Default: 0

Bottom padding.

##### paddingLeft

Type: number\
Default: 0

Left padding.

##### paddingRight

Type: number\
Default: 0

Right padding.

##### paddingX

Type: number\
Default: 0

Horizontal padding. Equivalent to setting paddingLeft and paddingRight.

##### paddingY

Type: number\
Default: 0

Vertical padding. Equivalent to setting paddingTop and paddingBottom.

##### padding

Type: number\
Default: 0

Padding on all sides. Equivalent to setting paddingTop, paddingBottom, paddingLeft and paddingRight.

`jsx
Top
Bottom
Left
Right
Left and right
Top and bottom
Top, bottom, left and right
`

#### Margin

##### marginTop

Type: number\
Default: 0

Top margin.

##### marginBottom

Type: number\
Default: 0

Bottom margin.

##### marginLeft

Type: number\
Default: 0

Left margin.

##### marginRight

Type: number\
Default: 0

Right margin.

##### marginX

Type: number\
Default: 0

Horizontal margin. Equivalent to setting marginLeft and marginRight.

##### marginY

Type: number\
Default: 0

Vertical margin. Equivalent to setting marginTop and marginBottom.

##### margin

Type: number\
Default: 0

Margin on all sides. Equivalent to setting marginTop, marginBottom, marginLeft and marginRight.

`jsx
Top
Bottom
Left
Right
Left and right
Top and bottom
Top, bottom, left and right
`

#### Flex

##### flexGrow

Type: number\
Default: 0

See flex-grow.

`jsx

Label:

Fills all remaining space


`

##### flexShrink

Type: number\
Default: 1

See flex-shrink.

`jsx


Will be 1/4


Will be 3/4


`

##### flexBasis

Type: number string

See flex-basis.

`jsx


X

Y

//=> 'X Y'
`

`jsx


X

Y

//=> 'X Y'
`

##### flexDirection

Type: string\
Allowed values: row row-reverse column column-reverse

See flex-direction.

`jsx


X

Y

// X Y


X

Y


// Y X


X
Y

// X
// Y


X
Y

// Y
// X
`

##### alignItems

Type: string\
Allowed values: flex-start center flex-end

See align-items.

`jsx


X


A

B

C


// X A
// B
// C



X


A

B

C


// A
// X B
// C



X


A

B

C


// A
// B
// X C
`

##### alignSelf

Type: string\
Default: auto\
Allowed vales: auto flex-start center flex-end

See align-self.

`jsx


X


// X
//
//



X


//
// X
//



X


//
//
// X
`

##### justifyContent

Type: string\
Allowed values: flex-start center flex-end space-between space-around

See justify-content.

`jsx

X

// [X ]


X

// [ X ]


X

// [ X]


X
Y

// [X Y]


X
Y

// [ X Y ]
`

#### Visibility

##### display

Type: string\
Allowed values: flex none\
Default: flex

Set this property to none to hide the element.

#### Borders

##### borderStyle

Type: string\
Allowed values: single double round bold singleDouble doubleSingle classic

Add a border with a specified style.
If borderStyle is undefined (which it is by default), no border will be added.
Ink uses border styles from cli-boxes module.

`jsx



single



double



round



bold





singleDouble



doubleSingle



classic



`

See example in examples/borders.

##### borderColor

Type: string

Change border color.
Accepts the same values as color in component.

`jsx

Green Rounded Box

`

$3

Adds one or more newline (\n) characters.
Must be used within components.

#### count

Type: number\
Default: 1

Number of newlines to insert.

`jsx
import {render, Text, Newline} from 'ink';

const Example = () => (

Hello

World

);

render();
`

Output:

`
Hello
World
`

$3

A flexible space that expands along the major axis of its containing layout.
It's useful as a shortcut for filling all the available spaces between elements.

For example, using in a with default flex direction (row) will position "Left" on the left side and will push "Right" to the right side.

`jsx
import {render, Box, Text, Spacer} from 'ink';

const Example = () => (

Left

Right

);

render();
`

In a vertical flex direction (column), it will position "Top" to the top of the container and push "Bottom" to the bottom of it.
Note, that container needs to be tall to enough to see this in effect.

`jsx
import {render, Box, Text, Spacer} from 'ink';

const Example = () => (

Top

Bottom

);

render();
`

$3

component permanently renders its output above everything else.
It's useful for displaying activity like completed tasks or logs - things that
are not changing after they're rendered (hence the name "Static").

It's preferred to use for use cases like these, when you can't know
or control the amount of items that need to be rendered.

For example, Tap uses to display
a list of completed tests. Gatsby uses it
to display a list of generated pages, while still displaying a live progress bar.

`jsx
import React, {createSignal, createEffect} from 'solid-js';
import {render, Static, Box, Text} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const [tests, setTests] = createSignal([]);

createEffect(() => {
let completedTests = 0;
let timer;

const run = () => {
// Fake 10 completed tests
if (completedTests++ < 10) {
setTests(previousTests => [
...previousTests,
{
id: previousTests.length,
title: Test #${previousTests.length + 1}
}
]);

setTimeout(run, 100);
}
};

run();

return () => {
clearTimeout(timer);
};
}, []);

return (
<>
{/ This part will be rendered once to the terminal /}

{test => (

✔ {test.title}

)}


{/ This part keeps updating as state changes /}

Completed tests: {tests.length}


);
};

render();
`

Note: only renders new items in items prop and ignores items
that were previously rendered. This means that when you add new items to items
array, changes you make to previous items will not trigger a rerender.

See examples/static for an example usage of component.

#### items

Type: Array

Array of items of any type to render using a function you pass as a component child.

#### style

Type: object

Styles to apply to a container of child elements.
See for supported properties.

`jsx

{...}

`

#### children(item)

Type: Function

Function that is called to render every item in items array.
First argument is an item itself and second argument is index of that item in
items array.

Note that key must be assigned to the root component.

`jsx

{(item, index) => {
// This function is called for every item in ['a', 'b', 'c']
// item is 'a', 'b', 'c'
// index is 0, 1, 2
return (

Item: {item}

);
}}

`

$3

Transform a string representation of React components before they are written to output.
For example, you might want to apply a gradient to text, add a clickable link or create some text effects.
These use cases can't accept React nodes as input, they are expecting a string.
That's what component does, it gives you an output string of its child components and lets you transform it in any way.

Note: must be applied only to children components and shouldn't change the dimensions of the output, otherwise layout will be incorrect.

`jsx
import {render, Transform} from 'ink';

const Example = () => (
output.toUpperCase()}>
Hello World

);

render();
`

Since transform function converts all characters to upper case, final output that's rendered to the terminal will be "HELLO WORLD", not "Hello World".

#### transform(children)

Type: Function

Function which transforms children output.
It accepts children and must return transformed children too.

##### children

Type: string

Output of child components.

Hooks

$3

This hook is used for handling user input.
It's a more convenient alternative to using useStdin and listening to data events.
The callback you pass to useInput is called for each character when user enters any input.
However, if user pastes text and it's more than one character, the callback will be called only once and the whole string will be passed as input.
You can find a full example of using useInput at examples/use-input.

`jsx
import {useInput} from 'ink';

const UserInput = () => {
useInput((input, key) => {
if (input === 'q') {
// Exit program
}

if (key.leftArrow) {
// Left arrow key pressed
}
});

return …
};
`

#### inputHandler(input, key)

Type: Function

The handler function that you pass to useInput receives two arguments:

##### input

Type: string

The input that the program received.

##### key

Type: object

Handy information about a key that was pressed.

###### key.leftArrow

###### key.rightArrow

###### key.upArrow

###### key.downArrow

Type: boolean\
Default: false

If an arrow key was pressed, the corresponding property will be true.
For example, if user presses left arrow key, key.leftArrow equals true.

###### key.return

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Return (Enter) key was pressed.

###### key.escape

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Escape key was pressed.

###### key.ctrl

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Ctrl key was pressed.

###### key.shift

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Shift key was pressed.

###### key.tab

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Tab key was pressed.

###### key.backspace

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Backspace key was pressed.

###### key.delete

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Delete key was pressed.

###### key.pageDown

###### key.pageUp

Type: boolean\
Default: false

If Page Up or Page Down key was pressed, the corresponding property will be true.
For example, if user presses Page Down, key.pageDown equals true.

###### key.meta

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Meta key was pressed.

#### options

Type: object

##### isActive

Type: boolean\
Default: true

Enable or disable capturing of user input.
Useful when there are multiple useInput hooks used at once to avoid handling the same input several times.

$3

useApp is a React hook, which exposes a method to manually exit the app (unmount).

#### exit(error?)

Type: Function

Exit (unmount) the whole Ink app.

##### error

Type: Error

Optional error. If passed, waitUntilExit will reject with that error.

`js
import {useApp} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {exit} = useApp();

// Exit the app after 5 seconds
createEffect(() => {
setTimeout(() => {
exit();
}, 5000);
}, []);

return …
};
`

$3

useStdin is a React hook, which exposes stdin stream.

#### stdin

Type: stream.Readable\
Default: process.stdin

Stdin stream passed to render() in options.stdin or process.stdin by default.
Useful if your app needs to handle user input.

`js
import {useStdin} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {stdin} = useStdin();

return …
};
`

#### isRawModeSupported

Type: boolean

A boolean flag determining if the current stdin supports setRawMode.
A component using setRawMode might want to use isRawModeSupported to nicely fall back in environments where raw mode is not supported.

`jsx
import {useStdin} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {isRawModeSupported} = useStdin();

return isRawModeSupported ? (

) : (

);
};
`

#### setRawMode(isRawModeEnabled)

Type: function

##### isRawModeEnabled

Type: boolean

See setRawMode.
Ink exposes this function to be able to handle Ctrl+C, that's why you should use Ink's setRawMode instead of process.stdin.setRawMode.

Warning: This function will throw unless the current stdin supports setRawMode. Use isRawModeSupported to detect setRawMode support.

`js
import {useStdin} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {setRawMode} = useStdin();

createEffect(() => {
setRawMode(true);

return () => {
setRawMode(false);
};
});

return …
};
`

$3

useStdout is a React hook, which exposes stdout stream, where Ink renders your app.

#### stdout

Type: stream.Writable\
Default: process.stdout

`js
import {useStdout} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {stdout} = useStdout;

return …
};
`

#### write(data)

Write any string to stdout, while preserving Ink's output.
It's useful when you want to display some external information outside of Ink's rendering and ensure there's no conflict between the two.
It's similar to , except it can't accept components, it only works with strings.

##### data

Type: string

Data to write to stdout.

`js
import {useStdout} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {write} = useStdout();

createEffect(() => {
// Write a single message to stdout, above Ink's output
write('Hello from Ink to stdout\n');
}, []);

return …
};
`

See additional usage example in examples/use-stdout.

$3

useStderr is a React hook, which exposes stderr stream.

#### stderr

Type: stream.Writable\
Default: process.stderr

Stderr stream.

`js
import {useStderr} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {stderr} = useStderr();

return …
};
`

#### write(data)

Write any string to stderr, while preserving Ink's output.

It's useful when you want to display some external information outside of Ink's rendering and ensure there's no conflict between the two.
It's similar to , except it can't accept components, it only works with strings.

##### data

Type: string

Data to write to stderr.

`js
import {useStderr} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {write} = useStderr();

createEffect(() => {
// Write a single message to stderr, above Ink's output
write('Hello from Ink to stderr\n');
}, []);

return …
};
`

$3

Component that uses useFocus hook becomes "focusable" to Ink, so when user presses Tab, Ink will switch focus to this component.
If there are multiple components that execute useFocus hook, focus will be given to them in the order that these components are rendered in.
This hook returns an object with isFocused boolean property, which determines if this component is focused or not.

#### options

##### autoFocus

Type: boolean\
Default: false

Auto focus this component, if there's no active (focused) component right now.

##### isActive

Type: boolean\
Default: true

Enable or disable this component's focus, while still maintaining its position in the list of focusable components.
This is useful for inputs that are temporarily disabled.

##### id

Type: string\
Required: false

Set a component's focus ID, which can be used to programmatically focus the component. This is useful for large interfaces with many focusable elements, to avoid having to cycle through all of them.

`jsx
import {render, useFocus, Text} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {isFocused} = useFocus();

return {isFocused ? 'I am focused' : 'I am not focused'};
};

render();
`

See example in examples/use-focus and examples/use-focus-with-id.

$3

This hook exposes methods to enable or disable focus management for all components or manually switch focus to next or previous components.

#### enableFocus()

Enable focus management for all components.

Note: You don't need to call this method manually, unless you've disabled focus management. Focus management is enabled by default.

`js
import {useFocusManager} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {enableFocus} = useFocusManager();

createEffect(() => {
enableFocus();
}, []);

return …
};
`

#### disableFocus()

Disable focus management for all components.
Currently active component (if there's one) will lose its focus.

`js
import {useFocusManager} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {disableFocus} = useFocusManager();

createEffect(() => {
disableFocus();
}, []);

return …
};
`

#### focusNext()

Switch focus to the next focusable component.
If there's no active component right now, focus will be given to the first focusable component.
If active component is the last in the list of focusable components, focus will be switched to the first component.

Note: Ink calls this method when user presses Tab.

`js
import {useFocusManager} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {focusNext} = useFocusManager();

createEffect(() => {
focusNext();
}, []);

return …
};
`

#### focusPrevious()

Switch focus to the previous focusable component.
If there's no active component right now, focus will be given to the first focusable component.
If active component is the first in the list of focusable components, focus will be switched to the last component.

Note: Ink calls this method when user presses Shift+Tab.

`js
import {useFocusManager} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {focusPrevious} = useFocusManager();

createEffect(() => {
focusPrevious();
}, []);

return …
};
`

#### focus(id)

##### id

Type: string

Switch focus to the component with the given id.
If there's no component with that ID, focus will be given to the next focusable component.

`js
import {useFocusManager, useInput} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const {focus} = useFocusManager();

useInput(input => {
if (input === 's') {
// Focus the component with focus ID 'someId'
focus('someId');
}
});

return …
};
`

API

#### render(tree, options?)

Returns: Instance

Mount a component and render the output.

##### tree

Type: ReactElement

##### options

Type: object

###### stdout

Type: stream.Writable\
Default: process.stdout

Output stream where app will be rendered.

###### stdin

Type: stream.Readable\
Default: process.stdin

Input stream where app will listen for input.

###### exitOnCtrlC

Type: boolean\
Default: true

Configure whether Ink should listen to Ctrl+C keyboard input and exit the app.
This is needed in case process.stdin is in raw mode, because then Ctrl+C is ignored by default and process is expected to handle it manually.

###### patchConsole

Type: boolean\
Default: true

Patch console methods to ensure console output doesn't mix with Ink output.
When any of console.* methods are called (like console.log()), Ink intercepts their output, clears main output, renders output from the console method and then rerenders main output again.
That way both are visible and are not overlapping each other.

This functionality is powered by patch-console, so if you need to disable Ink's interception of output but want to build something custom, you can use it.

###### debug

Type: boolean\
Default: false

If true, each update will be rendered as a separate output, without replacing the previous one.

#### Instance

This is the object that render() returns.

##### rerender(tree)

Replace previous root node with a new one or update props of the current root node.

###### tree

Type: ReactElement

`jsx
// Update props of the root node
const {rerender} = render();
rerender();

// Replace root node
const {rerender} = render();
rerender();
`

##### unmount()

Manually unmount the whole Ink app.

`jsx
const {unmount} = render();
unmount();
`

##### waitUntilExit()

Returns a promise, which resolves when app is unmounted.

`jsx
const {unmount, waitUntilExit} = render();

setTimeout(unmount, 1000);

await waitUntilExit(); // resolves after unmount() is called
`

##### clear()

Clear output.

`jsx
const {clear} = render();
clear();
`

#### measureElement(ref)

Measure the dimensions of a particular element.
It returns an object with width and height properties.
This function is useful when your component needs to know the amount of available space it has. You could use it when you need to change the layout based on the length of its content.

Note: measureElement() returns correct results only after the initial render, when layout has been calculated. Until then, width and height equal to zero. It's recommended to call measureElement() in a createEffect hook, which fires after the component has rendered.

##### ref

Type: MutableRef

A reference to a element captured with a ref property.
See Refs for more information on how to capture references.

`jsx
import {render, measureElement, Box, Text} from 'ink';

const Example = () => {
const ref = useRef();

createEffect(() => {
const {width, height} = measureElement(ref.current);
// width = 100, height = 1
}, []);

return (


This box will stretch to 100 width


);
};

render();
`

Testing

Ink components are simple to test with ink-testing-library.
Here's a simple example that checks how component is rendered:

`jsx
import {JSX} from 'solid-js';
import {Text} from 'ink';
import {render} from 'ink-testing-library';

const Test = () => Hello World;
const {lastFrame} = render();

lastFrame() === 'Hello World'; //=> true
`

Check out ink-testing-library for more examples and full documentation.

Using React Devtools

![](media/devtools.jpg)

Ink supports React Devtools out-of-the-box.
To enable integration with React Devtools in your Ink-based CLI, run it with DEV=true environment variable:

`
$ DEV=true my-cli
`

Then, start React Devtools itself:

`
$ npx react-devtools
`

After it starts up, you should see the component tree of your CLI.
You can even inspect and change the props of components, and see the results immediatelly in the CLI, without restarting it.

Note: You must manually quit your CLI via Ctrl+C after you're done testing.

Useful Components

- ink-text-input - Text input.
- ink-spinner - Spinner.
- ink-select-input - Select (dropdown) input.
- ink-link - Link component.
- ink-gradient - Gradient color component.
- ink-big-text - Awesome text component.
- ink-image - Display images inside the terminal.
- ink-tab - Tab component.
- ink-color-pipe - Create color text with simpler style strings in Ink.
- ink-multi-select - Select one or more values from a list
- ink-divider - A divider component.
- ink-progress-bar - Configurable component for rendering progress bars.
- ink-table - Table component.
- ink-ascii - Awesome text component with more font choices, based on Figlet.
- ink-markdown - Render syntax highlighted Markdown.
- ink-quicksearch-input - Select component with fast quicksearch-like navigation.
- ink-confirm-input - Yes/No confirmation input.
- ink-syntax-highlight - Code syntax highlighting.
- ink-form - Form component.
- ink-task-list - Task list component.

Useful Hooks

- ink-use-stdout-dimensions - Subscribe to stdout dimensions.

Examples

- Jest - Implementation of basic Jest UI (live demo).
- Counter - Simple counter that increments every 100ms (live demo).
- Form with Validation - Manage form state using Final Form.
- Borders - Add borders to component.
- Suspense - Use React Suspense.
- Table - Render a table with multiple columns and rows.
- Focus Management - Use useFocus hook to manage focus between components.
- User Input - Listen to user input.
- Write to stdout - Write to stdout bypassing main Ink output.
- Write to stderr - Write to stderr bypassing main Ink output.
- Static - Use ` to render permanent output.
- Child process - Render output from a child process.

Maintainers

- Vadim Demedes
- Sindre Sorhus