Getting Started

Build a Small Terminal Dashboard Step by Step

In this tutorial you will build a compact but realistic terminal application from scratch. Starting with an empty CMake project, you will gradually implement a colorful terminal dashboard while learning the most important features of the library.

Along the way you will explore:

  • direct terminal output using Terminal::printLine()

  • buffer-based rendering with Buffer and Terminal::updateScreen()

  • layout using rectangles, anchors, alignment, and framed panels

  • Unicode-aware text rendering and wrapped text blocks

  • animated bitmap-font headlines using Font and ColorSequence

  • keyboard interaction and resize-aware redraws

The tutorial uses a small standalone project and only requires a C++20 toolchain, CMake, and Git.

Start with the Project Structure →

Prefer to Explore First?

If you would like to see what the library can do before building the tutorial project, take a look at the Demos section. Each demo page includes screenshots and highlights the features used in the example.

Explore the Demo Gallery →