clitic Documentation

A Python package for building rich, interactive CLI applications.

Why “clitic”?

The name is a playful linguistic reference. A clitic (/ˈklɪtɪk/) is an unstressed word that normally occurs only in combination with another word — like the ‘m in “I’m”.

The name fits perfectly because:

• It starts with “CLI” — Command Line Interface

• Like its linguistic namesake, clitic is designed to exist in combination with another project — yours! It’s a framework meant to be the foundation for your rich interactive CLI applications.

Getting Started

• Installation
  • Requirements
  • Install from PyPI
  • Development Installation
  • Verify Installation
  • Dependencies
• Quick Start
  • Basic Application
  • Key Concepts
  • Next Steps

API Reference

• App
  • App
  • Usage Examples
  • Properties
  • Methods
• Widgets
  • InputBar
  • Conversation
• Exceptions
  • CliticError
  • PluginError
  • ConfigurationError
  • RenderError
  • SessionError
  • HistoryError
  • Exception Hierarchy
  • Usage Examples
  • Exception Details
• Plugin System
  • ContentPlugin
  • ModeProvider
  • Protocols
  • Plugin Priority
  • Plugin Architecture
• Completion System
  • Completion
  • CompletionProvider
  • Completion Ordering
  • Using with InputBar

Development

• Contributing
  • Development Setup
  • Development Commands
  • Code Style
  • Testing
  • Pre-Commit Checklist
  • Submitting Changes
  • Documentation
• Changelog
  • [Unreleased]
  • [0.1.0] - 2026-04-11

Overview

clitic provides reusable components for building terminal user interfaces (TUIs) with:

• Multiline input with syntax highlighting and history navigation

• Scrollable content areas with pluggable renderers

• Markdown, diff, and terminal content rendering

• CSS-like styling and theming

• Responsive layouts that adapt to terminal width

Built on Textual for the TUI framework, with Rich for rendering.

Showcase

The package includes an executable showcase demonstrating all implemented features:

python -m clitic
# or
make showcase

License

MIT License