chess-tui
Chess in the terminal. Free, cross-platform terminal chess game in Rust. Local play, Stockfish, Lichess. 🦀
Table of contents
Description
chess-tui is a free, open-source terminal chess game. Play with a friend locally, against any UCI chess engine (e.g. Stockfish), or online via Lichess. Runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Quick Install
Homebrew:
brew install thomas-mauran/tap/chess-tui
chess-tui
Cargo:
cargo install chess-tui
chess-tui
Debian/Ubuntu:
DEB_URL=$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/thomas-mauran/chess-tui/releases/latest" | jq -r '.assets[] | select(.name | endswith(".deb")) | .browser_download_url') && curl -LO "$DEB_URL" && sudo dpkg -i "$(basename "$DEB_URL")" && sudo apt-get install -f
chess-tui
Available on:
For installation via package managers or other methods, see the Installation Guide.
Features
Local 2 player mode
Play against any UCI chess engine
Lichess Integration
Play online on Lichess directly from your terminal!
See Lichess Features for details.
Online multiplayer
Helper menu
Custom skins
Quick Start
Connect a chess engine:
# Simple engine path
chess-tui -e /path/to/engine
# Engine with command-line arguments (e.g., GNU Chess with UCI mode)
chess-tui -e "/opt/homebrew/bin/gnuchess --uci"
# Stockfish example
chess-tui -e /opt/homebrew/bin/stockfish
See Bot Configuration for details.
Configure Lichess:
chess-tui -l YOUR_LICHESS_TOKEN_HERE
See Lichess Setup for details.
Other options: --depth 15 (engine depth), --difficulty easy|medium|hard|magnus, --no-sound. See Configuration for all flags and config file.
Controls
| Key |
Action |
| Arrow keys or h/j/k/l |
Move cursor |
| Space |
Select piece / move |
| Esc |
Deselect or close popup |
| ? |
Help menu |
| s |
Cycle skins |
| b |
Back to menu |
| q |
Quit |
Press ? in-game for the full list.
Documentation
📚 Full Documentation (installation, configuration, Lichess, multiplayer).
- Installation (Cargo, Homebrew, Debian/Ubuntu, Arch, NixOS, Docker, binary)
- Configuration (config file, skins, bot, logging)
- Lichess (seek game, join by code, ongoing games, puzzles)
- Multiplayer (LAN and over the internet, e.g. with bore)
| Platform |
Install |
| macOS |
brew install thomas-mauran/tap/chess-tui or cargo install chess-tui |
| Linux |
cargo install chess-tui, .deb, or binary |
| Arch |
pacman -S chess-tui |
| NixOS |
nix-shell -p chess-tui or install from nixpkgs |
| Windows |
cargo install chess-tui |
FAQ
- Does it work with Stockfish? Yes. Run
chess-tui -e /path/to/stockfish (see Bot Configuration).
- Can I play on Lichess from the terminal? Yes. Get a Lichess API token and run
chess-tui -l YOUR_TOKEN.
- What is chess-tui built with? Rust, ratatui (TUI), shakmaty (chess), ruci (UCI engine support).
- Where is the config?
config.toml and skins.json in your config dir (e.g. ~/.config/chess-tui/ on Linux). See Configuration.
Troubleshooting
Run into issues? Check the docs: Lichess setup & troubleshooting, Bot configuration & troubleshooting. Otherwise open an issue.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Links
Terminal chess · Chess in the terminal · Chess CLI · Command line chess · Rust TUI · UCI engine · Lichess · Stockfish · ratatui
![dependabot[bot]](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/29110?v=4)
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