Command-line reference

The TUI is launched by a single management command — the only externally observable entry point.

Synopsis

python manage.py admin_tui [--user USERNAME] [--app DOTTED_PATH]
                           [--theme PATH] [--theme-name NAME]
                           [--no-color] [--debug]

Arguments

Flag	Type	Default	Description
--user USERNAME	str	the lone active superuser	The Django user whose permissions and audit attribution the session uses. Must be active and is_staff.
--app DOTTED_PATH	import path	ADMIN_TUI["APP_CLASS"]	The AdminTuiApp subclass to launch.
--theme PATH	path	ADMIN_TUI["THEME"]	A Textual .tcss applied via App.CSS_PATH, layered on the selected theme.
--theme-name NAME	str	ADMIN_TUI["THEME_NAME"] (→ django-dark)	The colour theme to apply. See theming.md.
--no-color	flag	off	Textual's no-colour mode (accessibility / SSH terminals).
--debug	flag	off	Verbose logging to ./.admin_tui_debug.log.

Standard Django BaseCommand flags (--settings, --pythonpath, --traceback, --verbosity) are honoured.

--user resolution

1. If --user is given: resolve by username. Non-existent, inactive, or non-staff users are refused (exit code 2).
2. If --user is omitted: use the single active staff superuser. Zero or more than one → exit code 3 with an actionable message.

All resolution failures print a one-line message to stderr and exit before any screen is rendered (within ~1 second).

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Normal exit (quit / Ctrl-C).
1	Unexpected error at the top of the app loop (stack trace to stderr).
2	--user resolution failed (missing / inactive / not staff).
3	Default-superuser resolution failed (none, or more than one).
4	--app could not be imported or isn't an AdminTuiApp subclass.
5	--theme isn't a readable .tcss, or --theme-name isn't registered.
64	Unrecognised arguments (Django's usage-error default).

Examples

# Default — launch as the single superuser
python manage.py admin_tui

# Explicit user
python manage.py admin_tui --user alice

# A different bundled theme
python manage.py admin_tui --theme-name django

# Reskinned app with a custom .tcss override
python manage.py admin_tui --app myproject.tui.MyAdminTuiApp --theme themes/dark.tcss

# Debug logging
python manage.py admin_tui --debug --user alice