Native Backends
mcp-tuikit supports a variety of terminal backends. The backend defines where the TUI application is rendered. This is extremely useful for verifying that a TUI renders correctly on a specific terminal emulator.
By default, the backend is determined based on your OS and installed dependencies, but it can be overridden.
Supported Terminals
Cross-Platform
- xterm.js (Playwright): The most robust headless backend. It spawns a hidden Playwright browser, loads
xterm.js, and pipes the PTY into it. Excellent for CI environments. - Alacritty
- WezTerm
- Kitty
- Ghostty
macOS Specific
- Terminal.app (MacTerminalAppBackend)
- iTerm2
Linux Specific
- Gnome Terminal
- Konsole
Windows Specific
- Windows Terminal
- Cmd
- Powershell
How Backend Resolution Works
The server attempts to use the most stable native backend available in your environment. If visual snapshots fail or a UI is not requested, it falls back to headless abstractions.
You can explicitly force a backend by setting the MCP_TUIKIT_BACKEND environment variable before starting the MCP server.