ConsolePrism

An opinionated, component-based UI framework for .NET console applications. Build terminal interfaces with tables, menus, progress bars, spinners, layout containers, and more.

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🚨Important Note

Do note that this simple project is very limited and simple in scope compared to a more advanced notable project like Spectre.Console, so use that instead if you can. Its much better than this little library that I've made for myself.

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📑 Table of Contents

• 🚀 Features
• 📦 Installation
• 📚 Usage Guide
• 🎨 Theming
• 🏗️ Architecture
• 💻 Requirements
• 📄 Licence
• 🤝 Contributing

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🚀 Features

• Theming System — Fully composable themes combining colour schemes and border styles, with built-in presets
• Semantic Colour Output — Contextual coloured text for errors, success, warnings, and information
• Rich Components — Tables, menus, progress bars, spinners, and notifications
• Layout Containers — Panel, Row, Column, and Viewport for structured terminal layouts
• Renderer Abstraction — Swap rendering backends for testing or deferred output via IRenderer
• Scoped Theming — Apply themes globally or per-component, with scoped overrides via ConsoleContext

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📦 Installation

NuGet Package

dotnet add package ConsolePrism

Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository
2. Add a reference to your project:

dotnet add reference path/to/src/ConsolePrism.csproj

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📚 Usage Guide

Semantic Colour Output

using ConsolePrism.Core;

ColorWriter.WriteSuccessLine("Operation completed!");
ColorWriter.WriteErrorLine("Something went wrong.");
ColorWriter.WriteWarningLine("Proceed with caution.");
ColorWriter.WriteInfoLine("Here is some information.");
ColorWriter.WriteHighlightLine("Important text.");

// Explicit colour when needed
ColorWriter.WriteColoredLine("Custom text", ConsoleColor.Magenta);

Menus

using ConsolePrism.Components;

// Arrow-key interactive menu (default)
string[] choices = ["New Game", "Continue", "Settings", "Exit"];

Menu interactive = new("Main Menu", MenuStyle.Interactive, choices);

int choice = interactive.Interact();

// Numbered menu
Menu numbered = new("Select Difficulty", MenuStyle.Numbered, "Easy", "Normal", "Hard");

int difficulty = numbered.Interact();

// Bordered menu
Menu bordered = new("Choose Mode", MenuStyle.Bordered, "Story", "Creative", "Survival");

int mode = bordered.Interact();

Tables

using ConsolePrism.Components;

string[] headers = ["Name", "Score", "Level"];
string[][] data = [
    ["Alice",   "1250", "10"],
    ["Bob",     "980",  "8" ],
    ["Charlie", "1500", "12"],
]; // Can be nullable for empty cells

new Table(headers, data).Render();

// Alternatively for coloured cells
TableCell[][] colouredData = [
    ["Alice",   new TableCell("1250", ConsoleColor.Green), "10"],
    ["Bob",     new TableCell("980", ConsoleColor.Red),    "8" ],
    ["Charlie", new TableCell("1500", ConsoleColor.Yellow),"12"],
];

new Table(headers, colouredData).Render();

// Custom column widths
int[] widths = [15, 10, 8];
new Table(headers, data, widths).Render();

Progress Bars

using ConsolePrism.Components;

// Static progress bar
new ProgressBar(75, "Processing", 100).Render();

// Animated in-place progress
ProgressBar bar = new(0, "Loading", 100) { InPlace = true };

for (int i = 0; i <= 100; i++)
{
    bar.Current = i;
    bar.Render();
    Thread.Sleep(50);
}

Spinners

using ConsolePrism.Components;

Spinner spinner = new(Spinner.Dots, "Loading assets...");
spinner.Start();

// Do work...
await LoadAssetsAsync();

spinner.Stop("Assets loaded successfully!");

// Using Dispose pattern
using Spinner spinner = new(Spinner.Pulse, "Connecting...");
spinner.Start();
await ConnectAsync();

Notifications

using ConsolePrism.Components;

new Notification("File saved!", false, NotificationLevel.Success).Render();
new Notification("Low disk space.", false, NotificationLevel.Warning).Render();
new Notification("Connection failed.", false NotificationLevel.Error).Render();

// Transient notification
new Notification("Autosaving...", false, NotificationLevel.Info, 2000).Render();

// Bordered notification
new Notification("Welcome to ConsolePrism!", true, NotificationLevel.Info).Render();

Console Text

using ConsolePrism.Components;

// Simple text
new ConsoleText("This is a simple text component.").Render();

// Text with colour
new ConsoleText("This is an error message.", ConsoleColor.Red).Render();

// Note: This has been implemented with the sole purpose of for ease of use in the panel, column, row and viewport layouts.

Panels

using ConsolePrism.Layout;

Panel simplePanel = new(
	content: new ConsoleText("This is a simple panel.") // Or any component
);

// Complex panel with title, content, and padding
Panel panel = new(
    title: "Welcome",
    content: new ConsoleText("Hello, World!"),
    horizontalPadding: 2,
    verticalPadding: 1
);

panel.Render();

Rows

using ConsolePrism.Layout;

Row row = new(
	spacing: 1,
	new ConsoleText("Header"),
	new Panel(title: "Info", content: new ConsoleText("Details...")),
	new ConsoleText("Footer")
);

row.Render();

// Alternatively through Fluent API:
Row fluentRow = new Row(spacing: 1)
    .Add(new ConsoleText("Header"))
    .Add(new Panel(title: "Info", content: new ConsoleText("Details...")))
    .Add(new ConsoleText("Footer"));

fluentRow.Render();

Viewport

using ConsolePrism.Layout;

Viewport viewport = new(
	height: 2,
	new ConsoleText("Line 1"),
	new ConsoleText("Line 2"),
	new ConsoleText("Line 3"),
	new ConsoleText("Line 4"),
	new ConsoleText("Line 5")
);

viewport.Render();

// Alternatively through Fluent API:
Viewport fluentViewport = new Viewport(height: 10)
    .Add(new ConsoleText("Line 1"))
    .Add(new ConsoleText("Line 2"))
    // ... 50+ more lines
    .Add(new ConsoleText("Line 52"));

fluentViewport.Render();  // Initially shows lines 1-10

// User can scroll
fluentViewport.ScrollDown(3);  // Now shows lines 4-13
fluentViewport.Render();

fluentViewport.ScrollUp(1);    // Back to lines 3-12
fluentViewport.Render();

fluentViewport.ScrollToTop();  // Back to lines 1-10
fluentViewport.Render();

// Users can also interact with the viewport itself through up/down arrow keys:
fluenViewport.Interact();

Columns

using ConsolePrism.Layout;

Column column = new(
	gap: 2,
	new Panel(title: "Left", content: new ConsoleText("A")),
	new Panel(title: "Middle", content: new ConsoleText("B")),
	new Panel(title: "Right", content: new ConsoleText("C"))
);		

column.Render();

// Alternatively through Fluent API:
Column fluentColumn = new Column(gap: 2)
    .Add(new Panel(title: "Left", content: new ConsoleText("A")))
    .Add(new Panel(title: "Middle", content: new ConsoleText("B")))
    .Add(new Panel(title: "Right", content: new ConsoleText("C")));

fluentColumn.Render();

App Shell

using ConsolePrism.Layout;
using ConsolePrism.Components;

Panel mainContent = new(
    title: "Dashboard",
    content: new ConsoleText("Welcome to the application!"),
    horizontalPadding: 2
);

// Wrap the content in the AppShell
AppShell shell = new(
    title: "MY AWESOME CLI",
    content: mainContent,
    leftFooter: "Status: Online",
    rightFooter: "v1.0.0 | Press ESC to exit"
);

shell.Render();

Console Utilities

using ConsolePrism.Core;

// Positioning
ConsoleHelper.WriteCentered("Centered Title");
ConsoleHelper.WriteRight("Right-aligned", padding: 2);
ConsoleHelper.WriteAt("Positioned text", x: 10, y: 5);

// Cursor control
ConsoleHelper.HideCursor();
ConsoleHelper.MoveCursor(0, 10);
ConsoleHelper.ShowCursor();

// Drawing
ConsoleHelper.DrawHorizontalLine('─');
ConsoleHelper.WriteEmptyLines(2);

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🎨 Theming

List of available theme presets:

• NordTheme - Arctic blue tones with rounded borders
• MonochromeTheme - Grayscale for minimal or accessible output
• RetroTheme - Amber tones with ASCII borders
• MatrixTheme - Cascading greens against a dark background
• SunsetTheme - Cosy oranges, magenta and soft whites to evoke a twilight atmosphere
• SolarizedTheme - Warm amber and earthy tones with cool accent colours
• PastelTheme - Muted, light tones for a gentle visual experience

Applying a Built-in Preset

using ConsolePrism.Themes;
using ConsolePrism.Themes.Presets;

// Apply globally
Theme.Apply(NordTheme.Instance);

// Reset to default
Theme.Apply(Theme.Default);

Creating a Custom Theme

using ConsolePrism.Themes;

Theme myTheme = new()
{
    Colors = new ColorScheme
    {
        Primary   = ConsoleColor.Cyan,
        Success   = ConsoleColor.Green,
        Error     = ConsoleColor.Red,
        Warning   = ConsoleColor.Yellow,
        Info      = ConsoleColor.Blue,
        Highlight = ConsoleColor.Magenta,
        Muted     = ConsoleColor.DarkGray,

        MenuTitle    = ConsoleColor.Cyan,
        MenuOption   = ConsoleColor.White,
        MenuSelected = ConsoleColor.Green,
        MenuBorder   = ConsoleColor.DarkGray,

        TableHeader  = ConsoleColor.Cyan,
        TableBorder  = ConsoleColor.DarkGray,
        TableData    = ConsoleColor.White,

        ProgressBarComplete   = ConsoleColor.Green,
        ProgressBarIncomplete = ConsoleColor.DarkGray,
        ProgressBarText       = ConsoleColor.White
    },
    Border = BorderStyle.Rounded
};

Theme.Apply(myTheme);

Scoped Theme Override

using ConsolePrism.Core;
using ConsolePrism.Themes.Presets;

// Theme.Current is temporarily replaced for the duration of the block
using (new ConsoleContext(MonochromeTheme.Instance))
{
    table.Render();
}
// Theme.Current is automatically restored here

Per-Component Theme Override

Table table = new(headers, data)
{
    Theme = RetroTheme.Instance
};

table.Render(); // uses RetroTheme regardless of Theme.Current

Border Styles

using ConsolePrism.Themes;

// Built-in presets
BorderStyle.Single;   // ┌─┐ │ └─┘  (default)
BorderStyle.Double;   // ╔═╗ ║ ╚═╝
BorderStyle.Rounded;  // ╭─╮ │ ╰─╯
BorderStyle.Ascii;    // +-+ | +-+

// Custom border
Borderstyle custom = new()
{
    TopLeft  = '╔', TopRight  = '╗',
    BottomLeft = '╚', BottomRight = '╝',
    Horizontal = '═', Vertical = '║',
    Cross = '╬',
    TeeLeft = '╠', TeeRight = '╣',
    TeeTop  = '╦', TeeBottom = '╩'
};

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🏗️ Architecture

ConsolePrism/
├── Interfaces/
│   ├── IRenderable       → Anything that can render itself
│   ├── IInteractable     → Components that accept user input
│   ├── IComponent        → Base interface for all UI components
|   └── IRenderer         → Output backend abstraction
│
├── Themes/
│   ├── ColorScheme       → Full color palette definition
│   ├── BorderStyle       → Border character set definition
│   ├── Theme             → Unified theme object (ColorScheme + BorderStyle)
│   └── Presets/
│
├── Core/
│   ├── ColorWriter       → Semantic colored text output
│   ├── ConsoleHelper     → Cursor control, positioning, and drawing utilities
│   ├── ConsoleContext    → Scoped theme switching via IDisposable
│   └── Rendering/
│       ├── ConsoleRenderer   → Default implementation writing to Console
│       └── StringRenderer    → In-memory buffer for testing and layout buffering
│
├── Components/
|   ├── ComponentBase     → Abstract base with theme resolution and renderer swapping
│   ├── Menu              → Numbered, interactive, and bordered menu styles
│   ├── Table             → Auto-sizing bordered table with text wrapping
|   ├── TableCell         → Cell content with optional colour
│   ├── ProgressBar       → Static and in-place animated progress bars
│   ├── Spinner           → Animated spinners for async operations
│   ├── Notification      → Transient styled messages with optional auto-dismiss
|   ├── ConsoleText       → Simple text for use with the layout components
│   └── Prompt            → Styled input prompt with optional masked entry
│
└── Layout/
    ├── Panel             → Bordered content container with title support
    ├── Row               → Vertical component stacking with optional spacing
    ├── Column            → Horizontal side-by-side component layout
    ├── AppShell          → Common application layout with header, footer, and main content
    └── Viewport          → Scrollable content region with fixed visible height

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💻 Requirements

• .NET 9.0 or .NET 10.0
• Windows, macOS, or Linux
• A terminal with a dark background is recommended for the best visual experience

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📄 Licence

See LICENCE for details. (MIT Licence)

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! You can:

• Report bugs or request features via Issues
• Submit pull requests
• Suggest improvements to the API
• Propose new components, themes, or layout containers