RataguiBackend is a combined ratatui Backend and egui Widget that lets you render a full Ratatui terminal inside an egui UI. Because egui is WASM-friendly, this makes it easy to run terminal-style TUI apps in desktop GUIs or in the browser.
egui_ratatui builds on top of the [soft_ratatui] library and inherits its features:
- Multiple font backends:
embedded-graphics,embedded-ttf,bdf-parser,cosmic-text. - High performance: optimized for real-time UIs (hundreds of FPS on normal workloads).
- WASM compatible: run your ratatui apps in the browser via egui.
- Bevy & GUI friendly — bevy and eframe examples included.
Add the crate to your project:
cargo add egui_ratatuiYou will typically also add soft_ratatui (the rendering backends) and ratatui:
cargo add soft_ratatui
cargo add ratatuiOr clone and run the included examples:
git clone https://github.com/gold-silver-copper/egui_ratatui.git
cd egui_ratatui
cd bevy_example
cargo run --releaseuse eframe::egui;
use egui_ratatui::RataguiBackend;
use ratatui::Terminal;
use ratatui::prelude::Stylize;
use ratatui::widgets::{Block, Borders, Paragraph, Wrap};
use soft_ratatui::embedded_graphics_unicodefonts::{
mono_8x13_atlas, mono_8x13_bold_atlas, mono_8x13_italic_atlas,
};
use soft_ratatui::{EmbeddedGraphics, SoftBackend};
fn main() -> eframe::Result {
let options = eframe::NativeOptions {
viewport: egui::ViewportBuilder::default().with_inner_size([320.0, 240.0]),
..Default::default()
};
let font_regular = mono_8x13_atlas();
let font_italic = mono_8x13_italic_atlas();
let font_bold = mono_8x13_bold_atlas();
let soft_backend = SoftBackend::<EmbeddedGraphics>::new(
100,
50,
font_regular,
Some(font_bold),
Some(font_italic),
);
let mut backend = RataguiBackend::new("soft_rat", soft_backend);
let mut terminal = Terminal::new(backend).unwrap();
eframe::run_simple_native("My egui App", options, move |ctx, _frame| {
terminal
.draw(|frame| {
let area = frame.area();
let textik = format!("Hello eframe! The window area is {}", area);
frame.render_widget(
Paragraph::new(textik)
.block(Block::new().title("Ratatui").borders(Borders::ALL))
.white()
.on_blue()
.wrap(Wrap { trim: false }),
area,
);
})
.expect("epic fail");
egui::CentralPanel::default().show(ctx, |ui| {
ui.add(terminal.backend_mut());
});
})
}soft_ratatui (and therefore egui_ratatui) is modular. Enable only the backends you need to reduce binary size and dependencies. (Note: these features flags must be set on the soft_ratatui dependency, I am only mentioning them here for visibility)
| Feature | Enables | Description |
|---|---|---|
unicodefonts |
[embedded_graphics_unicodefonts] |
Embedded-graphics fonts with Unicode support. Automatically enables embedded-graphics. Enabled by default. |
embedded-graphics |
[EmbeddedGraphics] |
Uses embedded-graphics font atlases for TUI rendering. |
bdf-parser |
[Bdf] |
Bitmap Distribution Format font support. |
embedded-ttf |
[EmbeddedTTF] |
TrueType font rendering via RustType. Automatically enables embedded-graphics. |
cosmic-text |
[CosmicText] |
Advanced text shaping, layout, and Unicode support using CosmicText engine. |
Tip: Only enable the font backends you actually use in
Cargo.tomlto keep compile times and binary size down.
- The crate is designed so
RataguiBackend<R>is generic over anyR: RasterBackend. That means you can use the sameRataguiBackendcode withSoftBackend<EmbeddedGraphics>,SoftBackend<EmbeddedTTF>,SoftBackend<Bdf>, or whichever backend you enable. RataguiBackendimplements Ratatui'sBackendtrait, so it can be used anywhere aratatui::Terminalis expected.- For web/WASM deployment, remember to enable the appropriate features and follow the host GUI / wasm backend guide (see links below).
bevy_example/— embedding Ratagui inside Bevy (with bevy_egui).eframe_example/— minimal eframe example.- See the
soft_ratatuirepo for font/backend-specific examples (BDF, TTF, CosmicText, embedded-graphics).
soft_ratatui— software rendering backends used by egui_ratatui.ratatui— terminal UI crate.egui— immediate mode GUI used to embed the widget.bevy_ratatui— Bevy integration for Ratatui.mousefood- a no-std embedded-graphics backend for Ratatui!ratzilla- Build terminal-themed web applications with Rust and WebAssembly.ratatui-wgpu- A wgpu based rendering backend for ratatui.bevy_ratatui_camera- A bevy plugin for rendering your bevy app to the terminal using ratatui.
WASM & platform guides:
- Bevy WASM guide: https://bevy-cheatbook.github.io/platforms/wasm.html
- Macroquad WASM: https://macroquad.rs/articles/wasm/
- eframe (egui desktop + wasm): https://github.com/emilk/eframe_template
Font and text engine links:
Dual-licensed under MIT or Apache 2.0.