https://github.com/ratatui/mousefood
embedded-graphics backend for Ratatui
https://github.com/ratatui/mousefood
embedded-graphics ratatui rust tui
Last synced: 3 months ago
JSON representation
embedded-graphics backend for Ratatui
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/ratatui/mousefood
- Owner: ratatui
- License: apache-2.0
- Created: 2025-03-18T10:00:47.000Z (about 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-03-30T21:00:36.000Z (3 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-03-31T06:43:13.583Z (3 months ago)
- Topics: embedded-graphics, ratatui, rust, tui
- Language: Rust
- Homepage:
- Size: 7.17 MB
- Stars: 1,211
- Watchers: 5
- Forks: 39
- Open Issues: 25
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- Funding: .github/FUNDING.yml
- License: LICENSE-APACHE
- Code of conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
- Security: SECURITY.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# 
[](https://crates.io/crates/mousefood)
[](https://docs.rs/mousefood)
[](https://github.com/ratatui/mousefood/blob/main/.github/workflows/ci.yml)
[](https://deps.rs/crate/mousefood)
**Mousefood** - a no-std
[embedded-graphics](https://crates.io/crates/embedded-graphics) backend
for [Ratatui](https://crates.io/crates/ratatui)!
## Quickstart
Add mousefood as a dependency:
```shell
cargo add mousefood
```
Exemplary setup:
```rust
use mousefood::embedded_graphics::{mock_display::MockDisplay, pixelcolor::Rgb888};
use mousefood::prelude::*;
use ratatui::widgets::{Block, Paragraph};
use ratatui::{Frame, Terminal};
fn main() -> Result<(), Box> {
// replace this with your display driver
// e.g. ILI9341, ST7735, SSD1306, etc.
let mut display = MockDisplay::::new();
let backend = EmbeddedBackend::new(&mut display, EmbeddedBackendConfig::default());
let mut terminal = Terminal::new(backend)?;
terminal.draw(draw)?;
Ok(())
}
fn draw(frame: &mut Frame) {
let block = Block::bordered().title("Mousefood");
let paragraph = Paragraph::new("Hello from Mousefood!").block(block);
frame.render_widget(paragraph, frame.area());
}
```
### Special characters
Embedded-graphics includes bitmap fonts that have a very limited
set of characters to save space (ASCII, ISO 8859 or JIS X0201).
This makes it impossible to draw most of Ratatui's widgets,
which heavily use box-drawing glyphs, Braille,
and other special characters.
Mousefood by default uses [`embedded-graphics-unicodefonts`](https://crates.io/crates/embedded-graphics-unicodefonts),
which provides embedded-graphics fonts with a much larger set of characters.
#### Alternatives
In order to save space and [speed up rendering](#performance-and-hardware-support),
the `fonts` feature can be disabled by turning off the default crate features.
[`ibm437`](https://crates.io/crates/ibm437) is a good alternative that includes
some drawing characters, but is not as large as embedded-graphics-unicodefonts.
### Bold and italic fonts
Bold and italic modifiers are supported, but this requires providing fonts
through `EmbeddedBackendConfig`.
If only regular font is provided, it serves as a fallback.
All fonts must be of the same size.
```rust
use mousefood::embedded_graphics::{mock_display::MockDisplay, pixelcolor::Rgb888};
use mousefood::{EmbeddedBackend, EmbeddedBackendConfig, fonts};
use ratatui::Terminal;
fn main() -> Result<(), Box> {
let mut display = MockDisplay::::new();
let config = EmbeddedBackendConfig {
font_regular: fonts::MONO_6X13,
font_bold: Some(fonts::MONO_6X13_BOLD),
font_italic: Some(fonts::MONO_6X13_ITALIC),
..Default::default()
};
let backend = EmbeddedBackend::new(&mut display, config);
let _terminal = Terminal::new(backend)?;
Ok(())
}
```
### Color theme
Colors can be remapped using `color_theme` on `EmbeddedBackendConfig`.
By default the ANSI palette is used.
```rust
use mousefood::{ColorTheme, EmbeddedBackend, EmbeddedBackendConfig};
use mousefood::embedded_graphics::{mock_display::MockDisplay, pixelcolor::Rgb888};
fn main() -> Result<(), Box> {
let mut display = MockDisplay::::new();
let theme = ColorTheme {
background: Rgb888::new(5, 5, 5),
foreground: Rgb888::new(240, 240, 240),
yellow: Rgb888::new(255, 200, 0),
..ColorTheme::ansi()
};
let config = EmbeddedBackendConfig {
color_theme: theme,
..Default::default()
};
let backend = EmbeddedBackend::new(&mut display, config);
Ok(())
}
```
#### Built-in themes
Mousefood includes popular color themes that can be used directly:
- `ColorTheme::ansi()` - Standard ANSI colors (default)
- `ColorTheme::tokyo_night()` - Tokyo Night dark theme with blue/purple tones
### Cursor and blink
Mousefood supports configurable cursor styles and text blinking.
The cursor style can be set to `Inverse` (default), `Underline`, `Outline`, or `Japanese`.
Inverse mode requires the `framebuffer` feature and falls back to underline without it.
```rust,ignore
let config = EmbeddedBackendConfig {
cursor: CursorConfig {
style: CursorStyle::Japanese,
blink: true,
color: Rgb888::WHITE,
},
..Default::default()
};
```
Text blink modifiers (`SLOW_BLINK`, `RAPID_BLINK`) and cursor blinking are
behind the `blink` feature flag to avoid unnecessary computation and memory
usage when not needed:
```toml
[dependencies]
mousefood = { version = "*", features = ["blink"] }
```
Blink timing is configurable:
```rust,ignore
let config = EmbeddedBackendConfig {
#[cfg(feature = "blink")]
blink: BlinkConfig {
fps: 30,
slow: BlinkTiming { blinks_per_sec: 1, duty_percent: 15 },
fast: BlinkTiming { blinks_per_sec: 3, duty_percent: 50 },
},
..Default::default()
};
```
Without the `blink` feature, blink modifiers are silently ignored and the
cursor is always visible.
### Simulator
Mousefood can be run in a simulator using
[embedded-graphics-simulator](https://crates.io/crates/embedded-graphics-simulator) crate.
Run simulator example:
```shell
git clone https://github.com/ratatui/mousefood.git
cd mousefood/examples/simulator
cargo run
```
For more details, view the [simulator example](examples/simulator).
### EPD support
#### WeAct Studio
Support for EPD (e-ink displays) produced by WeAct Studio
(`weact-studio-epd` driver) can be enabled using `epd-weact` feature.
This driver requires some additional configuration.
Follow the [`weact-studio-epd`](https://docs.rs/weact-studio-epd)
crate docs and apply the same `flush_callback` pattern used in the [Waveshare example below](#waveshare).
Setup example
EPD drivers include their own internal buffers, so the mousefood framebuffer
adds memory overhead with no benefit. Disable default features to turn it off:
```toml
[dependencies]
mousefood = { version = "*", default-features = false, features = ["epd-weact"] }
```
```rust,ignore
use mousefood::prelude::*;
use weact_studio_epd::graphics::Display290BlackWhite;
use weact_studio_epd::WeActStudio290BlackWhiteDriver;
fn main() -> Result<(), Box> {
// Configure SPI + GPIO + delay provider for your board.
// let (spi_interface, busy, rst, delay) = ...;
let mut driver = WeActStudio290BlackWhiteDriver::new(spi_interface, busy, rst, delay);
let mut display = Display290BlackWhite::new();
driver.init()?;
let config = EmbeddedBackendConfig {
flush_callback: Box::new(move |d| {
driver.full_update(d).expect("epd update failed");
}),
..Default::default()
};
let backend = EmbeddedBackend::new(&mut display, config);
let _terminal = Terminal::new(backend)?;
Ok(())
}
```
#### Waveshare
Support for EPD (e-ink displays) produced by Waveshare Electronics
(`epd-waveshare` driver) can be enabled using `epd-waveshare` feature.
Setup example
EPD drivers include their own internal buffers, so the mousefood framebuffer
adds memory overhead with no benefit. Disable default features to turn it off:
```toml
[dependencies]
mousefood = { version = "*", default-features = false, features = ["epd-waveshare"] }
```
```rust,ignore
use mousefood::prelude::*;
use epd_waveshare::{epd2in9_v2::*, prelude::*};
fn main() -> Result<(), Box> {
// Configure SPI + GPIO + delay provider for your board.
// let (mut spi_device, busy, dc, rst, mut delay) = ...;
let mut epd = Epd2in9::new(&mut spi_device, busy, dc, rst, &mut delay, None)?;
let mut display = Display2in9::default();
let config = EmbeddedBackendConfig {
flush_callback: Box::new(move |d| {
epd.update_and_display_frame(&mut spi_device, d.buffer(), &mut delay)
.expect("epd update failed");
}),
..Default::default()
};
let backend = EmbeddedBackend::new(&mut display, config);
let _terminal = Terminal::new(backend)?;
Ok(())
}
```
See the full embedded example at [`examples/epd-waveshare-demo`](https://github.com/ratatui/mousefood/tree/main/examples/epd-waveshare-demo).
#### Lilygo T5 e-paper
Support for the lilygo T5 e-paper produced by Lilygo with an esp32s3 and the EDO47TC1 panel driver.
(`lilygo-epd47` driver) can be enabled using `lilygo-epd47` feature.
Setup example
The lilygo-epd47 driver include its own internal buffers, so the mousefood framebuffer
adds memory overhead with no benefit. Disable default features to turn it off:
```toml
[dependencies]
mousefood = { version = "*", default-features = false, features = ["lilygo-epd47"] }
```
```rust,ignore
use mousefood::prelude::*;
#[main]
fn main() -> Result<(), Box> {
// Setup all that is required for your board and get the peripherals.
// let peripherals = ...;
let mut display = Display::new(
pin_config!(peripherals),
peripherals.DMA_CH0,
peripherals.LCD_CAM,
peripherals.RMT,
)?;
let theme = ColorTheme {
background: Rgb888::WHITE,
foreground: Rgb888::BLACK,
..ColorTheme::ansi()
};
// setup mousefood
let backend = EmbeddedBackendConfig {
color_theme: theme,
font_regular: mousefood::fonts::mono_10x20_atlas(),
flush_callback: Box::new(move |display: &mut Display| {
display
.flush(DrawMode::BlackOnWhite)
.expect("to flush to the display")
}),
..Default::default()
};
let backend = EmbeddedBackend::new(&mut display, backend);
let _terminal = Terminal::new(backend)?;
Ok(())
}
```
See the full embedded example at [`examples/lilygo-epd47-demo`](https://github.com/ratatui/mousefood/tree/main/examples/lilygo-epd47-demo).
## Performance and hardware support
Flash memory on most embedded devices is very limited. Additionally,
to achieve high frame rate when using the `fonts` feature,
it is recommended to use `opt-level = 3`,
which can make the resulting binary even larger.
Mousefood is hardware-agnostic.
Successfully tested on:
### Microcontrollers
- ESP32 (Xtensa)
- ESP32-S3 (Xtensa)
- ESP32-C6 (RISC-V)
- STM32
- RP2040
- RP2350
### Display drivers
For every driver, the list of displays is not exhaustive.
- [ssd1306](https://crates.io/crates/ssd1306) for SSD1306
- [mipidsi](https://crates.io/crates/mipidsi) for ILI9341, ST7735, etc.
- [epd-waveshare](https://crates.io/crates/epd-waveshare) for e-paper displays from Waveshare
(requires enabling `epd-waveshare` feature)
- [weact-studio-epd](https://crates.io/crates/weact-studio-epd) for e-paper displays
from WeAct Studio (requires enabling `epd-weact` feature)
- [lilygo-epd47](https://crates.io/crates/lilygo-epd47) for the Lilygo T5 e-paper
from Lilygo (requires enabling `lilygo-epd47` feature)
Send a pull request to add your microcontroller or display driver here!
## Docs
Full API docs are available on [docs.rs](https://docs.rs/mousefood).
## Contributing
All contributions are welcome!
Before opening a pull request, please read the [contributing guidelines](./CONTRIBUTING.md).
## Built with Mousefood
Here are some projects built using Mousefood:
- [AirSniffer](https://github.com/nebelgrau77/airsniffer-esp32c6) - Get information about your indoor
climate at a glance.
- [Tuitar](https://github.com/orhun/tuitar) - A portable guitar training tool.
- [Mnyaoo32](https://github.com/intuis/mnyaoo32) - An eccentric way to consume IRC messages using ESP32.
- [Phone-OS](https://github.com/Julien-cpsn/Phone-OS) - A modern phone OS for ESP32 CYD.
Send a pull request to add your project here!
## License
[](LICENSE-MIT)
[](LICENSE-APACHE)
Mousefood is dual-licensed under
[Apache 2.0](LICENSE-APACHE) and [MIT](LICENSE-MIT) terms.