2025-03-29 08:01:13 -04:00
# CLIDE
2026-01-25 20:57:36 +00:00
CLIDE is an extendable command-line driven development environment written in Rust using the Qt UI framework that supports both full and headless Linux environments.
The GUI is written in QML compiled through Rust using the cxx-qt crate, while the TUI was implemented using the ratatui crate.
It's up to you to build your own development environment for your tools. Plugins are planned to be supported in the future for bringing your own language-specific tools or features.
Once you've created your plugin, you can submit a pull request to add a link to the git repository for your plugin to the final section in this README if you'd like to contribute.
2025-03-29 08:01:13 -04:00
The following packages must be installed before the application will build.
2026-01-25 20:57:36 +00:00
In the future, we may provide a minimal installation option that only includes dependencies for the headless TUI.
2025-03-29 08:01:13 -04:00
```bash
2026-01-25 20:57:36 +00:00
sudo apt install qt6-base-dev qt6-declarative-dev qt6-tools-dev qml6-module-qtquick-controls qml6-module-qtquick-layouts qml6-module-qtquick-window qml6-module-qtqml-workerscript qml6-module-qtquick-templates qml6-module-qtquick qml6-module-qtquick-dialogs qt6-svg-dev
2025-03-29 08:01:13 -04:00
```
And of course, [Rust ](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install ).
```bash
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
```
2026-01-25 20:57:36 +00:00
## Usage
To install and run clide
```bash
git clone https://git.shaunreed.com/shaunrd0/clide
cd clide
cargo install --path .
```
After installation `clide` can be used directly
```bash
clide --help
Extendable command-line driven development environment written in Rust using the Qt UI framework.
If no flags are provided, the GUI editor is launched in a separate process.
If no path is provided, the current directory is used.
Usage: clide [OPTIONS] [PATH]
Arguments:
[PATH] The root directory for the project to open with the clide editor
Options:
-t, --tui Run clide in headless mode
-g, --gui Run the clide GUI in the current process, blocking the terminal and showing all output streams
-h, --help Print help
```
### TUI
The TUI is implemented using the ratatui crate and has the typical features you would expect from a text editor.
You can browse your project tree, open / close new editor tabs, and save / reload files.
Controls for the TUI are listed at the bottom of the window, and update depending on which widget you have focused.
For now, there are no language-specific features or plugins available for the TUI –
To run the TUI, pass the `-t` or `--tui` flags.
```bash
# With cargo from the project root
cargo run -- -t
# Or via clide directly after installation
clide -t
```
### GUI
The GUI is still in development. It is at this point a text viewer, instead of a text editor.
There are many placeholder buttons and features in the GUI that do nothing when used.
The GUI is run by default when executing the `clide` application.
```bash
# With cargo from the project root
cargo run
# Or via clide directly after installation
clide
```
2025-03-29 08:01:13 -04:00
## Development
It's recommended to use RustRover or Qt Creator for development.
The [Qt Installer ](https://www.qt.io/download-qt-installer ) will provide the latest Qt6 LTS and Qt Creator.
If using RustRover be sure to set your QML binaries path in the settings menu.
If Qt was installed to its default directory this will be `$HOME/Qt/6.8.3/gcc_64/bin/` .
2026-01-25 20:57:36 +00:00
Viewing documentation in the web browser is possible, but using Qt Assistant is recommended.
It comes with Qt6 when installed. Run the following command to start it.
```bash
nohup $HOME/Qt/6.8.3/gcc_64/bin/assistant > /dev/null 2>& 1 &
```
If you are looking for an include path from Qt
```bash
find /usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/ -name QFile*
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtWidgets/QFileIconProvider
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtWidgets/QFileDialog
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtGui/QFileSystemModel
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtGui/QFileOpenEvent
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtCore/QFile
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtCore/QFileDevice
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtCore/QFileSystemWatcher
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtCore/QFileInfoList
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtCore/QFileInfo
/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu/qt6/QtCore/QFileSelector
```
This helped find that QFileSystemModel is in QtGui and not QtCore.
2025-03-29 08:01:13 -04:00
### Resources
Some helpful links for reading up on QML if you're just getting started.
2026-01-25 20:57:36 +00:00
* [Rust Crates - cxx-qt ](https://docs.rs/releases/search?query=cxx_qt )
2025-03-29 08:01:13 -04:00
* [QML Reference ](https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/qmlreference.html )
* [QML Coding Conventions ](https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/qml-codingconventions.html )
* [All QML Controls Types ](https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/qtquick-controls-qmlmodule.html )
2026-01-25 20:57:36 +00:00
* [KDAB CXX-Qt Book ](https://kdab.github.io/cxx-qt/book/ )
* [github.com/KDAB/cxx-qt ](https://github.com/KDAB/cxx-qt )
### Plugins
TODO: Add a list of plugins here. The first example will be C++ with CMake functionality.
