debtui

A terminal user interface (TUI) front-end for deb-get.

Features

Browse all packages available through deb-get in a single scrollable list (left pane)
View detailed information for the currently selected package (right pane)
Mark packages directly for installation (i) or uninstallation (u) from the main list
Apply all marked operations at once with Enter
Reset all marks with r
'Recent Operations' pane shows success or failure for each recent install/uninstall action

Background

This application is clanker code. I am learning Odin, and plan to build a fleet of TUI apps. I chose this as my first project because deb-get could do the hard work and I could learn some of the tricks of the Odin trade. This tool scratches an itch I had using deb-get, and I hope it helps you, too.

Prerequisites

Odin compiler
deb-get installed and available in $PATH
A modern terminal that supports ANSI escape codes and the alternate screen buffer

Build & Run

# Build
odin build src -out:debtui -o:speed

# Run
./debtui

Or run directly:

odin run src

CLI Flags

Flag	Description
`--version`	Print version and exit
`--verbose`, `-v`	Enable detailed diagnostic logging (useful when reporting bugs)

Example:

./debtui --version
./debtui --verbose     # or -v

Key Bindings

Navigation

Key	Action
`↑` / `k`	Move selection up
`↓` / `j`	Move selection down
`PgUp` / `PgDn`	Scroll by page
`Home` / `End`	Jump to first / last item

Marking & Actions

Key	Action
`i`	Mark selected package for installation
`u`	Mark selected package for uninstallation
`Enter`	Apply all marked install and uninstall operations
`r`	Clear all pending marks

Other

Key	Action
`q` / `Q`	Quit
`R`	Refresh package lists from deb-get
`?`	Show keybindings in the status bar
`Ctrl+C`	Force quit

Interface

Left pane: Scrollable list of available packages.
- [i] = already installed via deb-get
- [+] = marked for installation
- [-] = marked for uninstallation
Right pane: Detailed information about the currently selected package.
Status bar: Shows pending operations and a throbber (| / - \) while packages are being installed or removed.

Screenshots

(Screenshots coming soon)

How It Works

debtui uses deb-get under the hood:

deb-get list --raw — populates the main list
deb-get list --installed — determines which packages are already installed
deb-get show <pkg> — fetches details for the right pane (cached locally for 7 days)
On Enter: runs deb-get install ... and/or deb-get remove ... for all marked packages

Package details are cached on disk to avoid repeated network requests. See the Persistent Cache section for details.

All package operations are performed only when you explicitly press Enter.

Persistent Cache

debtui maintains an on-disk cache of package details to reduce repeated calls to deb-get and GitHub.

Location: ~/.cache/debtui/ (or $XDG_CACHE_HOME/debtui if set)
TTL: Package details are considered fresh for 7 days.
Automatic cleanup: On startup and every manual refresh (R), the app removes:
- Entries older than 7 days
- Entries for packages that no longer appear in deb-get list --raw
Diagnostic logs: If cache-related errors occur, they are written to daily files named cache-errors-YYYY-MM-DD.log inside the cache directory. These files are only created when something noteworthy happens.

This caching makes browsing large lists of packages much faster after the first run.

License

This project is released into the public domain under the Unlicense.

Author

ScottDD

Repository: https://github.com/scottdd/debtui

Contributing

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome. Please try to keep the interface simple and keyboard-driven.