cargo-tui

A gitui-style terminal UI for Cargo. Build, run, test, and manage dependencies of your Rust projects from a fast, keyboard- and mouse-driven TUI.

Features

• Build / Run — build, run, fmt, clippy, check, clean, doc, publish, and more. Run targets are detected automatically via cargo metadata:
  • library-only crates show a clear "nothing to run" note instead of a raw cargo error,
  • a single binary runs directly,
  • multiple binaries and examples/*.rs each get their own entry (cargo run --bin <name> / cargo run --example <name>).
• Crate — manage dependencies per section ([dependencies], [dev-dependencies], [build-dependencies]). Search crates.io, add to the section of your choice, and remove — the installed list refreshes in real time.
• Test — run the whole suite or a subset and see per-test pass/fail results.
• Scrollable output — focus the Output/Description pane and scroll it with hjkl.
• Mouse support — click tabs and list rows, and scroll with the wheel.
• Configurable keys — every binding can be changed from a TOML config file.

Installation

Install globally with your preferred Node package manager:

bun add -g cargo-tui
# or
npm install -g cargo-tui
# or
pnpm add -g cargo-tui

The correct prebuilt binary for your platform (Windows / Linux / macOS, x64 and arm64) is fetched automatically as an optional dependency.

From source

git clone https://github.com/cet-t/cargo-tui
cd cargo-tui
cargo build --release
# binary at target/release/cargo-tui

Usage

Run it inside (or above) a Cargo project:

cargo-tui

Options:

| Flag | Description | | --- | --- | | --manifest-path <PATH> | Path to Cargo.toml (or its parent directory). | | --config <FILE> | Path to a config file (see below). | | -h, --help | Print help. |

Key bindings

Arrow keys always work in addition to the configured keys.

| Key | Action | | --- | --- | | 1 / 2 / 3 | Switch to Build/Run / Crate / Test | | ] / [ | Next / previous tab | | j / k | Move selection down / up | | Enter | Run the selected command / add the selected crate | | r | Re-run the last command | | K | Kill the running process | | l | Focus the Output/Description pane; while focused, hjkl scroll | | h | Scroll left; at the left edge, return focus to the list | | s | Search crates.io (Crate tab) | | Enter | Run the search (in search input) | | p | Cycle the target section for adding (dependencies → dev → build) | | d | Remove the selected installed crate | | Tab | Toggle Installed / Search (Crate tab) | | q / Esc | Quit | | Ctrl+C | Kill the running process, or quit |

Mouse

• Click a tab to switch to it.
• Click a list row to select it.
• Click the right pane to focus it for scrolling.
• Wheel scrolls the right pane when the cursor is over it, otherwise moves the selection.

Configuration

Keys are read from a TOML file. Default location:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\cargo-tui\config.toml
• Linux / macOS: ~/.config/cargo-tui/config.toml

Or pass an explicit path with --config. Every key is optional and falls back to the default shown below. Values accept plain characters ("q"), named keys ("enter", "esc", "tab", "up", "f5", …) and modifiers ("ctrl+c").

[keys]
quit        = "q"
tab_1       = "1"
tab_2       = "2"
tab_3       = "3"
tab_next    = "]"
tab_prev    = "["
down        = "j"
up          = "k"
focus_right = "l"
focus_left  = "h"
run         = "enter"
rerun       = "r"
kill        = "K"
pkg_search  = "s"
pkg_remove  = "d"
pkg_toggle  = "tab"
pkg_profile = "p"

License

MIT