What is tui-use and how do I install it?

It's a CLI tool letting AI agents control interactive terminal apps via PTY snapshots. npm install -g tui-use, or build from GitHub.

Can tui-use let AI agents use vim or htop?

Absolutely—full key support, screen snapshots with highlights make navigation trivial for agents like Claude or Cursor.

Yes, SSH in and run TUIs on the far end; agents keep the session alive for interactive control.

Not fully, but it supercharges agents for anything interactive—REPLs, wizards, TUIs—beyond bash's reach.

🤖 AI Dev Tools

Imagine AI agents zipping through vim or npm wizards without stalling. tui-use makes it real, turning human-built terminals into agent playgrounds.

theAIcatchup Apr 08, 2026 3 min read

tui-use bridges AI agents to human-only terminal apps via PTY snapshots and keystrokes. 𝕏
Unlocks REPLs, TUIs like vim/htop, and CLI wizards for smoothly agent control. 𝕏
Predicts agent devops era, scripting the unscriptable with xterm rendering magic. 𝕏

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#AI agents #CLI agents #PTY control #terminal automation #tui-use

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Originally reported by Hacker News