The latest articles on DEV Community by Samir (@mesamirh). https://dev.to/mesamirh https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4065691%2Fc2b2cdf5-a84b-47db-869b-f913249246ea.png https://dev.to/mesamirh en Samir Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:33:26 +0000 https://dev.to/mesamirh/building-a-modern-media-browser-in-rust-for-the-terminal-467 https://dev.to/mesamirh/building-a-modern-media-browser-in-rust-for-the-terminal-467 <p>Terminal applications have evolved far beyond simple command-line utilities. Projects like Lazygit and Yazi have shown that a well-designed TUI can deliver an experience that's both fast and intuitive.</p> <p>Inspired by that workflow, I built <strong>MovieBox-TUI</strong>—a cross-platform, keyboard-first media browser written in Rust.</p> <p><strong>Repository:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/mesamirh/MovieBox-Tui" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/mesamirh/MovieBox-Tui</a></p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fgq0kx78o2uhf5p9ftnwd.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fgq0kx78o2uhf5p9ftnwd.gif" alt="MovieBox-TUI Demo" width="600" height="372"></a></p> <h2> Overview </h2> <p>MovieBox-TUI is an open-source terminal application for searching, browsing, and playing movies, TV shows, anime, and IPTV through locally installed media players.</p> <p>Instead of switching between websites and desktop applications, everything is accessible from a responsive keyboard-driven interface inside the terminal.</p> <p>Supported players include <strong>mpv</strong>, <strong>VLC</strong>, <strong>IINA</strong>, and other compatible media players.</p> <h2> Highlights </h2> <ul> <li>Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, and Windows)</li> <li>Fully keyboard-driven interface</li> <li>Fast search and responsive navigation</li> <li>Multiple built-in themes</li> <li>Automatic media player detection</li> <li>Provider switching</li> <li>Open source</li> </ul> <h2> Built With </h2> <p>MovieBox-TUI is written entirely in Rust using a modern asynchronous architecture.</p> <p>Core technologies include:</p> <ul> <li>Rust</li> <li>Ratatui</li> <li>Crossterm</li> <li>Tokio</li> <li>Reqwest</li> </ul> <p>Rust provides the performance, reliability, and portability needed for a responsive terminal application while Ratatui makes it possible to build a polished interface that feels native to the terminal.</p> <h2> Development </h2> <p>Most of the work wasn't the interface itself—it was making the application behave consistently across Linux, macOS, and Windows.</p> <p>Some of the challenges included:</p> <ul> <li>Cross-platform media player detection</li> <li>Platform-specific process launching</li> <li>Asynchronous provider requests</li> <li>Responsive layouts for different terminal sizes</li> <li>Maintaining a smooth user experience while resolving content</li> </ul> <p>These platform-specific details ended up being the most time-consuming part of the project.</p> <h2> Source Code </h2> <p>MovieBox-TUI is fully open source and actively maintained.</p> <p>Repository:</p> <p><a href="https://github.com/mesamirh/MovieBox-Tui" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/mesamirh/MovieBox-Tui</a></p> <p>Feedback, bug reports, feature requests, and contributions are always welcome.</p> <p>If you're building terminal applications with Rust or Ratatui, I'd be interested in hearing about your approach or any ideas for improving the project.</p> rust