TUI Terminal User Interface

Shortlinker provides an interactive Terminal User Interface (TUI) for visually managing short links in the command line.

Launch TUI

./shortlinker tui

Interface Overview

The TUI interface consists of several main areas:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Shortlinker - Terminal UI                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  Code         Target URL                 Clicks  Status │
│  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│  github       https://github.com          142    Active │
│  google       https://google.com           89    Active │
│  temp         https://example.com           5    Expired│
│                                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Details Panel                                          │
│  Code: github                                          │
│  Target: https://github.com                            │
│  Created: 2024-12-01 10:30:22                          │
│  Expires: Never                                        │
│  Clicks: 142                                           │
│  Protected: No                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  q:Quit  x:Export/Import  /:Search  ↑↓:Navigate  Enter:Details

Keyboard Shortcuts

Main Interface

Shortcut	Function
↑ / ↓	Move selection up/down
j / k	Move down/up (Vim style)
PageUp / PageDown	Page up/down (10 items)
Home / g	Jump to top
End / G	Jump to bottom
s	Cycle sort column (code / URL / clicks / status)
S	Toggle sort direction (asc / desc)
Space	Toggle select current link (for batch delete)
Esc	Clear search state or clear batch selection
/	Search (fuzzy match on code / target URL)
Enter / v	View details
? / h	Help
a	Add new short link
e	Edit selected short link
d	Delete current link (or open batch delete when selected items exist)
x	Export/Import menu
y	Copy selected short code to clipboard
Y	Copy selected target URL to clipboard
q	Quit (with confirmation)

Add/Edit Interface

Shortcut	Function
Tab	Switch input fields
Enter	Save link
Esc	Cancel and return
Space	Toggle force overwrite (add only; focus must be on the short code field)

Features

1. Browse Link List

The main interface displays overview information for all short links:

• Code: Short link code (cyan)
• Target URL: Redirect destination (blue)
• Expiration: Shows expiration time or (EXPIRED) marker (yellow/red)
• Password Protected: Shows 🔒 icon (magenta)
• Click Count: Shows access count (green)

Selected item is highlighted with gray background.

2. Add New Link (Press a)

After entering add interface, you can configure:

• Short Code: Leave empty to auto-generate random code
• Target URL: Required, must start with http:// or https://
• Expire Time: Optional, supports relative time (e.g., 1d, 7d) or RFC3339 format
• Password: Optional, password protection (experimental)
• Force Overwrite: Check to overwrite existing short codes

Operations:

• Press Tab to switch between fields
• Press Space to toggle "Force Overwrite" (when focus is on the Short Code field)
• Press Enter to save
• Press Esc to cancel

3. Edit Existing Link (Press e)

Edit interface is similar to add, but short code field is read-only. You can modify:

• Target URL
• Expiration time
• Password (leave empty to keep current password)

Note: Creation time and click count are preserved.

4. Delete Link (Press d)

A confirmation dialog will appear showing link details. Press y to confirm deletion, n to cancel.

Warning: Delete operation cannot be undone!

5. Batch Selection and Batch Delete (Press Space + d)

• Press Space in the main screen to select/unselect current link
• After selecting multiple links, press d to open the batch delete confirmation popup
• In batch delete confirmation, press y to delete, n or Esc to cancel

6. Export/Import (Press x)

Export Function:

• Default filename is a timestamped name like shortlinks_export_20250115_183000.csv (editable)
• Exports all links in CSV format (with header)
• Useful for backup or migration

Import Function:

• Select a .csv file via the built-in file browser
• Batch import links (simple upsert: existing codes will be overwritten)
• Compatible with CLI export format

7. Auto Server Notification

After create/update/delete (and import), TUI notifies the server via IPC to run ReloadTarget::Data, refreshing short-link data and caches.

If IPC is unreachable (server not running, ipc.enabled=false, socket mismatch, etc.), the notification is skipped and local TUI operations still complete.

Color Scheme

TUI uses different colors to indicate link status:

• 🟢 Green: Active links
• 🔴 Red: Expired links
• 🔵 Blue: Protected links
• ⚪ Gray: Selection highlight

Use Cases

TUI mode is suitable for:

1. Visual Management: Intuitive interface for quick CRUD operations
2. No API Required: No need to configure Admin API Token or start Web service
3. Server Management: Complete short link management in SSH terminals
4. Batch Operations: Supports batch import and batch delete
5. Immediate Feedback: Operations take effect immediately without waiting for API responses

Limitations

Current version TUI known limitations:

• ⚠️ Only batch delete is supported; no batch edit or batch create
• ⚠️ Password input shown as masked, cannot see actual content

Troubleshooting

Display Issues

# Ensure terminal supports UTF-8
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

# Adjust terminal window size (recommend at least 80x24)

Cannot Start TUI

# Check if storage backend is accessible
./shortlinker list

# View error output
./shortlinker tui

Data Not Refreshing

There is no manual refresh shortcut in the current version:

• Lists are refreshed automatically after create/update/delete/import
• If you are in a search state, press Esc to clear the filter
• If it still looks stale, exit and re-enter TUI

Comparison with Other Tools

Feature	TUI	CLI	Admin API	Web Panel
View Links	✅	✅	✅	✅
Create Links	✅	✅	✅	✅
Edit Links	✅	✅	✅	✅
Delete Links	✅	✅	✅	✅
Export/Import	✅	✅	✅ (CSV)	✅
Visual UI	✅	❌	❌	✅
Auth Required	❌	❌	✅	✅
Interactive	✅	❌	❌	✅
Batch Operations	⚠️ Import + Batch delete	✅	✅	✅
Remote Access	❌	❌	✅	✅

Next Steps

• 📋 Learn CLI Commands for link management operations
• 🛡️ Use Admin API for programmatic management
• 🎨 Try Web Admin Panel for graphical management