CLI / TUI Client Plan

Overview

Single executable with two interfaces, distributed via bbin/babashka:

CLI mode: one-off commands via args (send message, read history, check notifications)
TUI mode: full interactive terminal app (clojure-tui)

Shared codebase — CLI and TUI use the same API client, auth, and config.

Stack

Babashka for fast startup + distribution via bbin
clojure-tui (~/repos/clojure-tui) for TUI rendering
Shared API client library (HTTP)
Connects to TUI session manager via SSE for real-time updates
HTTP POSTs to TUI SM for client→server signals (typing indicators)

Modes

CLI Mode (`ajet-chat <command> [args]`)

Stateless, one-shot commands. Fast startup via Babashka.

ajet-chat send #general "hey everyone"
ajet-chat read #general              # last N messages
ajet-chat read #general --since 1h   # messages from last hour
ajet-chat dm @alice "hey"            # send a DM
ajet-chat dm @alice                  # read DM history with alice
ajet-chat dms                        # list DM conversations
ajet-chat notifications              # unread notifications
ajet-chat channels                   # list channels
ajet-chat status                     # connection/auth status

TUI Mode (`ajet-chat` or `ajet-chat tui`)

Full interactive app. Launches when invoked with no command (or explicit tui).

Channel sidebar, message list, input
Real-time updates via TUI session manager (SSE)
Keyboard navigation, scrollback, search
Presence indicators, typing notifications
Inline image rendering (see below)

Shared Components

API client: HTTP client for REST calls to API (via auth gateway)
Auth/config: token storage, server URL, credentials (~/.config/ajet-chat/)
Message formatting: rendering messages to terminal (shared between CLI output and TUI views)
Notification model: unread tracking, mention detection

Image Rendering

Inline image display in the terminal via timg (optional dependency).

If timg is on PATH, shell out to render images inline in both CLI and TUI modes
timg handles terminal protocol detection automatically (kitty, iTerm2, sixel, unicode block fallback)
Works over SSH
If timg is not available, fall back to:
1. Native kitty/sixel escape sequences for compatible terminals
2. No inline images (show a placeholder with filename/URL)
In TUI mode: coordinate timg output with clojure-tui's terminal state (suspend raw mode, render, resume)

Distribution

Packaged as a bbin-installable babashka script/jar
bbin install io.github.ajet/ajet-chat-cli (or similar)
Single ajet-chat binary on PATH

TODO

Set up babashka-compatible project structure
CLI arg parsing (babashka.cli or tools.cli)
API client module (shared between CLI and TUI) — ajet.chat.shared.api-client in shared/
Auth flow: login, token storage, refresh
CLI commands: send, read, notifications, channels, status
TUI layout (channels sidebar, messages, input)
TUI real-time subscription via session manager
TUI keyboard navigation and commands
bbin packaging and install

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