RFC for TUI

[arjunkathuria]

Problem you are trying to solve

Hi All,

Lovely tool, i think we can score another win on usability.

I'd like propose the development and eventual inclusion of a simple TUI (Terminal UI) for the rustup tool under a separate sub-command, perhaps something like rustup tui

It would, for starters, include basic functionality like -

1. Listing available rustup versions for installation.
2. Showing versions installed with a single green tick.
3. Showing the currently set version with a green double tick, unsettng any other version.
4. A single key press (say "i" key) to install the highlighted version from the list.
5. A single keypress (say "u" key) for uninstalling the highlighted version.
6. ???

This issue is a RFC (request for comments) for the maintainers and users to explore that if i (we?) take up the development of this feature -

1. Would this be something that the team would be open to including in the tool? (i am not sure of the scope of the tool)
2. is this a functionality that users would want?
3. Would it make using the tool easier / more pleasant experience for (atleast some) users, thus amplifying the rust-language spirit of -

"A language empowering everyone, to build reliable and efficient software"

Solution you'd like

Well, what i have in mind is something along the lines of -

The gif is from the Haskell install tool GHCup's webpage

I am a top contributor to GHCup and currently picking up Rust thus the idea of porting the TUI functionality from it to rustup.

Looking forward -Arjun

Notes

i'll have to figure out how it'll be implemented and the scope of it but i think rust already has some pretty good terminal-ui libraries.

One downside of the GHCup version of TUI is that it doesn't work on Windows yet, i don't think that'll be the case with the rust libraries.

[rbtcollins]

A different long term desire we've had is a machine drivable interface. All output as , communicating over stdin/stdout only. I think such an API would permit building the sort of TUI you describe without making the core larger - and it would also help VSCode and other IDEs that drive rustup programmatically today by giving them a stable interface with no end user usability concerns driving changes.

[arjunkathuria]

i see. i suppose we could do that. is there an outline / issue tracked on this somewhere?

[rbtcollins]

I couldn't find it quickly. @kinnison - do you recall if we have one?