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Using the TUI

Everything is operable by keyboard and by mouse — the mouse is additive, never required. On a terminal that doesn't report mouse events, every action is still reachable by a key binding.

Index

The first screen lists every app and model the web admin would show your user.

Action Keyboard Mouse
Open an app / model arrows + Enter single click
Quit q —
Help ? —

Changelist

The list view mirrors the Django admin changelist.

Keyboard

q back · / focus search · s sort · a add · Space select row · x actions · PgUp/PgDn page · Enter open the focused row.

Mouse

Action Mouse
Focus a row single click
Open a row double-click (or click the focused row), or Enter
Multi-select click the leading checkbox column
Sort by a column click its header (sortable columns only)
Filter click an entry in the right-hand filter sidebar
Page click ‹ Prev / Next ›
Add click + Add
Scroll mouse wheel

Layout, truncation & preview

Columns have fixed widths that don't change when you move the selection. Long values are truncated with an ellipsis (…); the full value of the focused row is shown in the footer preview bar, and the whole record is on its detail screen. When the columns are wider than the terminal, the table scrolls horizontally — no column is ever dropped.

If the model's ModelAdmin declares search_fields, a search box appears in the toolbar. Type a query and press Enter (or press / to jump to it). Search uses Django's own search_fields, so results match the web admin exactly.

Sorting & ordering

Sorting is controlled by your ModelAdmin — ordering, sortable_by, and each field's admin_order_field:

  • The active sort column shows ▲ (ascending) or ▼ (descending), including the model's default ordering.
  • s cycles the sort across the sortable columns and directions; clicking a column header sorts that column directly.
  • Non-sortable columns don't respond (the TUI says so), exactly as in the web admin.

Filters

When the model declares list_filter, a filter sidebar appears on the right built from the admin's own filter choices. Selecting an entry applies Django's filter — identical result set to the web admin.

Actions & selection

Space (or the checkbox column) selects rows across pages. x opens the action picker, which lists the admin actions from ModelAdmin.get_actions() plus any TUI-native bulk actions and a Delete entry (when you have delete permission). A confirmation screen names what will change before anything runs; messages the action emits via message_user(...) are surfaced with their severity.

Detail / create / edit

Opening a record shows a read-only detail with the admin's fieldsets. From there:

Action Keyboard Mouse
Edit e —
Save Ctrl+S click Save
Cancel / back q / Esc click Cancel
Delete d click Delete

The edit/add form follows the Django change form: a breadcrumb, a Change <model> / Add <model> heading, label-left / field-right rows that respect the admin's fieldsets and readonly_fields, and a submit row with Save, Save and add another, Save and continue editing, Cancel, and Delete. Validation runs through the admin's form, so clean_* / clean errors appear on the right fields and every successful save writes the same LogEntry the web admin would.

Errors

Database or query errors (a missing table, a permission problem, a broken ModelAdmin method) surface as a notification — the app stays on a usable screen rather than crashing.