EonaCat.ConsoleKit 1.0.0

EonaCat.ConsoleKit

A rich, zero-dependency C# library for building beautiful, interactive console applications.

Installation

dotnet add package EonaCat.ConsoleKit

Then import the namespace:

using EonaCat.ConsoleKit;

Features

1. Ink – Styled Output

Fluent colored and styled console output. Supports markup syntax, horizontal rules, and centered headers.

// Basic colored output
Ink.Write("Hello ", ConsoleColor.White);
Ink.WriteLine("World!", ConsoleColor.Cyan);

// Semantic shortcuts
Ink.Success("File saved.");
Ink.Error("Connection refused.");
Ink.Warning("Disk space low.");
Ink.Info("Server starting on :8080");
Ink.Muted("(debug information)");
Ink.Bold("Important!");

// Inline color markup
Ink.Markup("[green]✓ Done[/] — elapsed [yellow]3.2s[/]");

// Horizontal rule
Ink.Rule();                      // ─────────────────
Ink.Rule('=', ConsoleColor.Red); // custom character and color

// Centered header with double-line border
Ink.Header("My Application");
Ink.Header("Section", ConsoleColor.Magenta);

2. ProgressBar

Thread-safe animated progress bar. Implements IDisposable.

using var bar = new ProgressBar("Uploading", width: 50);

for (int i = 0; i <= 100; i += 5)
{
    bar.Report(i);
    await Task.Delay(100);
}

bar.Complete("Upload finished");
// or let Dispose() complete it automatically

Custom fill characters:

using var bar = new ProgressBar("Building", fill: '▓', empty: '░');
bar.Report(45);

3. Spinner

Animated Braille spinner for indeterminate operations.

using var spinner = new Spinner("Connecting to database...");
await Task.Delay(2000);
spinner.Complete("Connected");

// Or signal failure
spinner.Fail("Timeout after 30s");

4. Table

Unicode box-drawing table renderer with zebra striping.

var table = new Table("Name", "Role", "Status")
    { HeaderColor = ConsoleColor.Yellow, Zebra = true };

table.AddRow("Alice", "Admin",  "Active")
     .AddRow("Bob",   "Editor", "Inactive")
     .AddRow("Carol", "Viewer", "Active");

table.Render();

Output:

╔═══════╦════════╦══════════╗
║ Name  ║ Role   ║ Status   ║
╠═══════╬════════╬══════════╣
║ Alice ║ Admin  ║ Active   ║
║ Bob   ║ Editor ║ Inactive ║
║ Carol ║ Viewer ║ Active   ║
╚═══════╩════════╩══════════╝

5. ArgParser

Fluent CLI argument parser with short/long flags, default values, and auto-generated help.

var parser = new ArgParser("mytool", "Processes files at lightning speed")
    .AddOption("output", "o", "Output directory", defaultValue: "./out")
    .AddOption("format", "f", "Output format (json|csv|xml)", defaultValue: "json")
    .AddFlag("verbose", "v", "Enable verbose logging")
    .AddFlag("dry-run", "d", "Simulate without writing files");

var result = parser.Parse(args);

// Read values
string output   = result.GetOrDefault("output", "./out");
bool   verbose  = result.GetFlag("verbose");
int    retries  = result.GetInt("retries", 3);
string filename = result.Positional.FirstOrDefault() ?? "input.txt";

// Print help automatically
if (result.GetFlag("help"))
    parser.PrintHelp();

6. Prompt

Interactive prompts: text input, password, yes/no, single-select, and multi-select.

// Text input with optional default
string name = Prompt.Ask("Your name", defaultValue: "World");

// Password (masked with •)
string pass = Prompt.Password("Enter password");

// Confirmation
bool confirmed = Prompt.Confirm("Delete all files?", defaultYes: false);

// Arrow-key single selection
var env = Prompt.Select("Choose environment",
    new[] { "Development", "Staging", "Production" });

// Space-toggle multi-selection
var features = Prompt.MultiSelect("Enable features",
    new[] { "Dark mode", "Notifications", "Analytics", "Beta features" });

7. FileTransfer

Download, upload, and copy files with real-time progress bars.

// Download a file
bool ok = await FileTransfer.DownloadAsync(
    "https://example.com/data.zip",
    "/tmp/data.zip");

// Upload via HTTP multipart POST
bool uploaded = await FileTransfer.UploadAsync(
    "/tmp/report.pdf",
    "https://api.example.com/upload",
    fieldName: "document");

// Local copy with progress
await FileTransfer.CopyFileAsync("/src/large.bin", "/dst/large.bin");

// Format a byte count
string size = FileTransfer.FormatBytes(1_048_576); // → "1.0 MB"

8. Log

Leveled console (and optional file) logger with timestamps.

var log = new Log(Log.Level.Debug, logFile: "app.log");

log.Debug("Cache miss for key='user:42'");
log.Info("HTTP server listening on :8080");
log.Success("Build completed in 3.4s");
log.Warning("Memory usage above 80%");
log.Error("Failed to connect: timeout");

Output:

[14:32:01] [DEBUG]   Cache miss for key='user:42'
[14:32:01] [INFO]    HTTP server listening on :8080
[14:32:01] [SUCCESS] Build completed in 3.4s
[14:32:01] [WARNING] Memory usage above 80%
[14:32:01] [ERROR]   Failed to connect: timeout

9. Banner

Dismissable notification boxes with border decoration.

Banner.Show("Welcome to EonaCat.ConsoleKit!");
Banner.Success("Deployment complete — 4 services updated");
Banner.Warning("Rate limit approaching: 95/100 req/min");
Banner.Error("Critical: database connection pool exhausted");

// Custom icon and color
Banner.Show("Custom message", ConsoleColor.Magenta, icon: "★");

10. ConsoleUtils

Miscellaneous helpers: line clearing, key waits, countdowns, property lists, alerts.

// Clear the current line
ConsoleUtils.ClearLine();

// Wait for any key
ConsoleUtils.WaitForKey("Press any key to exit...");

// Countdown pause
ConsoleUtils.Countdown(5, "Restarting in");

// Two-column property list
ConsoleUtils.PrintProperties(new[]
{
    ("Version",    "2.1.0"),
    ("Build",      "release"),
    ("Commit",     "a3f9c12"),
});

// Beep + optional message
ConsoleUtils.Alert("Check complete.");

11. Menu – Interactive Numbered Menu

Arrow-key navigable menu with keyboard number shortcuts.

var options = new[] { "Start Server", "View Logs", "Configuration", "Exit" };
var choice  = Menu.Show("Main Menu", options);
Console.WriteLine($"You chose: {choice}");

// Menu with action callbacks
Menu.ShowWithActions("Tools", new[]
{
    ("Deploy",    () => Deploy()),
    ("Rollback",  () => Rollback()),
    ("Status",    () => PrintStatus()),
});

Features:

• Arrow key navigation
• Press 1–9 as shortcuts
• Selected item printed in green after confirmation
• Custom display delegate supported

12. Pager – Paginated List Viewer

Navigate large collections page by page without scrolling.

var logs = File.ReadAllLines("app.log");

Pager.Show(logs,
    pageSize: 20,
    title: "Application Logs");

// Custom display formatting
var users = GetAllUsers();
Pager.Show(users,
    pageSize: 15,
    display: u => $"{u.Id,6}  {u.Name,-30}  {u.Email}",
    title: "User Directory");

Navigation: ← previous page, → next page, Q/Esc to quit.

13. TreeNode – Tree View Renderer

Display hierarchical data in an ASCII tree.

var root = new TreeNode("Project", ConsoleColor.Cyan);

var src = root.Add("src", ConsoleColor.Yellow);
src.Add("Program.cs");
src.Add("ConsoleKit.cs", ConsoleColor.Green);

var tests = root.Add("tests", ConsoleColor.Yellow);
tests.Add("UnitTests.cs");
tests.Add("IntegrationTests.cs");

root.Add("README.md");
root.Add(".gitignore", ConsoleColor.DarkGray);

root.Render();

Output:

└── Project
    ├── src
    │   ├── Program.cs
    │   └── ConsoleKit.cs
    ├── tests
    │   ├── UnitTests.cs
    │   └── IntegrationTests.cs
    ├── README.md
    └── .gitignore

14. StatusDashboard – Live Status Panel

Update named fields in place; ideal for monitoring dashboards.

using var dash = new StatusDashboard("Service Monitor");

dash.Set("API",      "✓ Online",    ConsoleColor.Green);
dash.Set("Database", "✓ Online",    ConsoleColor.Green);
dash.Set("Cache",    "⚠ Degraded",  ConsoleColor.Yellow);
dash.Set("Queue",    "✗ Offline",   ConsoleColor.Red);

// Update live
await Task.Delay(1000);
dash.Set("Cache", "✓ Recovered", ConsoleColor.Green);

15. ConsoleTimer – Stopwatch Display

Animated elapsed-time counter updating in place.

using var timer = new ConsoleTimer("Build time");
await RunBuild();
var elapsed = timer.Stop();
Console.WriteLine($"Finished in {elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s");

// Or let Dispose stop it
using (var t = new ConsoleTimer("Processing"))
{
    ProcessData();
} // prints elapsed automatically

16. WordWrap – Auto-Wrapping Text

Wraps long text to the console width with optional indent.

var longText = "This is a very long paragraph that will be automatically " +
               "wrapped to fit within the current console window width without " +
               "cutting words in the middle.";

WordWrap.Write(longText, indent: 4, color: ConsoleColor.Gray);

// With custom max width
WordWrap.Write(longText, indent: 0, maxWidth: 60);

17. Toast – Timed Notification

Briefly shows a message at the bottom of the console, then auto-dismisses.

// Show for 2.5 seconds (default)
Toast.Show("File saved successfully!");

// Custom duration and color
Toast.Show("Sync complete — 42 records updated",
    durationMs: 4000,
    color: ConsoleColor.Green);

Toast.Show("Warning: API rate limit at 90%",
    durationMs: 5000,
    color: ConsoleColor.Yellow);

18. Sparkline – Inline Mini-Chart

Render a tiny histogram from any numeric series.

var cpuSamples = new[] { 12.0, 45, 67, 23, 89, 54, 32, 76, 91, 44 };
Sparkline.Render(cpuSamples, label: "CPU %", color: ConsoleColor.Green);

var memSeries = GetMemoryTimeSeries();
Sparkline.Render(memSeries, label: "RAM");

Output:

 CPU %: ▁▄▆▂▇▅▃▆█▄

19. Columns – Column Layout

Print a list of strings in evenly-spaced columns.

var commands = new[]
{
    "start", "stop", "restart", "reload",
    "status", "logs", "config", "help",
    "version", "update", "deploy", "rollback",
};

Columns.Print(commands, columnCount: 4, color: ConsoleColor.Cyan);

Output:

start       stop        restart     reload
status      logs        config      help
version     update      deploy      rollback

20. DiffViewer – Line Diff Highlighter

Side-by-side line comparison with color coding.

var original = File.ReadAllText("config.v1.json");
var updated  = File.ReadAllText("config.v2.json");

DiffViewer.Show(original, updated, "v1.0", "v2.0");

Output (red = removed, green = added, gray = unchanged):

═══════════════ Diff: v1.0 → v2.0 ═════════════════
  {
-   "port": 8080,
+   "port": 9090,
    "host": "localhost",
-   "debug": true
+   "debug": false
  }

21. Clipboard – System Clipboard

Copy text to the system clipboard (Windows, macOS, Linux).

string token = GenerateApiToken();
Clipboard.Copy(token);
Ink.Success($"Token copied to clipboard: {token}");

// Works cross-platform:
// - Windows: clip
// - macOS:   pbcopy
// - Linux:   xclip

22. CodeBlock – Syntax-Framed Block

Render code inside a rounded box with an optional language label.

CodeBlock.Render(
    "var x = Prompt.Ask(\"Name\");\nInk.Success($\"Hello, {x}!\");",
    language: "C#");

CodeBlock.Render(
    "SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = 1;",
    language: "SQL",
    borderColor: ConsoleColor.DarkGreen);

Output:

╭ C# ──────────────────────────────────╮
│ var x = Prompt.Ask("Name");          │
│ Ink.Success($"Hello, {x}!");         │
╰──────────────────────────────────────╯

23. Typewriter – Animated Text

Print text character by character for dramatic effect.

Typewriter.Write("Initializing AI core...", delayMs: 40, color: ConsoleColor.Green);

// With cancellation
var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
Typewriter.Write("A very long message that can be cancelled...",
    delayMs: 50, ct: cts.Token);

24. HistoryPrompt – Readline-Style Input

Like Prompt.Ask but with ↑/↓ arrow key history navigation, cursor movement, and in-line editing.

// First call
string cmd1 = HistoryPrompt.Ask("Command");  // user types "build"

// Second call — press ↑ to recall "build"
string cmd2 = HistoryPrompt.Ask("Command");

// Access history
foreach (var entry in HistoryPrompt.History)
    Console.WriteLine(entry);

// Reset
HistoryPrompt.ClearHistory();

25. Wizard – Multi-Step Workflow

Guided step-by-step process with per-step spinners and fail-fast behaviour.

var wizard = new Wizard()
    .AddStep("Check prerequisites", () =>
    {
        Thread.Sleep(500);
        return File.Exists("/usr/bin/git");
    })
    .AddStep("Download dependencies", () =>
    {
        Thread.Sleep(1000);
        return true;
    })
    .AddStep("Compile project", () =>
    {
        Thread.Sleep(2000);
        return true;
    })
    .AddStep("Run tests", () =>
    {
        Thread.Sleep(800);
        return true;
    });

bool success = wizard.Run();

26. BarChart – Horizontal Bar Chart

Render a labeled horizontal bar chart from any numeric dictionary.

var stats = new Dictionary<string, double>
{
    ["Feature A"] = 87,
    ["Feature B"] = 42,
    ["Feature C"] = 100,
    ["Feature D"] = 65,
    ["Feature E"] = 23,
};

BarChart.Render(stats,
    maxBarWidth: 50,
    barColor: ConsoleColor.Cyan);

Output:

──────────────────────────────────────
  Feature A  ▕████████████████████████▏ 87.0
  Feature B  ▕████████████            ▏ 42.0
  Feature C  ▕██████████████████████████████▏ 100.0
  Feature D  ▕███████████████████     ▏ 65.0
  Feature E  ▕███████                 ▏ 23.0
──────────────────────────────────────

27. SystemInfo – Environment Details

Print a summary of the current runtime environment.

SystemInfo.Print();

Output:

════════════ System Information ════════════
  OS                       Windows 10.0.22621
  Machine                  DEV-WORKSTATION
  User                     alice
  CLR Version              8.0.0
  Processors               16
  64-bit                   True
  Working Dir              C:\Projects\MyApp
  Console Size             220×50

28. Retry – Resilient Operation Wrapper

Retry a failing async or sync operation with exponential backoff and live spinner feedback.

// Async
var result = await Retry.RunAsync(
    action: () => httpClient.GetStringAsync("https://api.example.com/data"),
    maxAttempts: 4,
    initialDelayMs: 250,
    label: "API fetch");

// Sync
var config = Retry.Run(
    action: () => LoadConfig("settings.json"),
    maxAttempts: 3,
    label: "Load config");

// Delays: attempt 2 → 250ms, attempt 3 → 500ms, attempt 4 → 1000ms

29. Section – Collapsible Console Panel

Group related output in a labeled, bordered section. Can optionally start collapsed.

using (new Section("Database Results"))
{
    table.Render();
}

// Collapsed section (shows collapsed, user presses any key to expand)
using (new Section("Advanced Details", collapsed: true))
{
    SystemInfo.Print();
    BarChart.Render(perfData);
}

Output:

 ▼ Database Results
 ─────────────────────────────
   [table content here]
 ─────────────────────────────

30. Theme – Color Theme Manager

Apply a named color theme to control output palette throughout the app.

// Apply a theme
Theme.Apply(Theme.Preset.Ocean);
Theme.Apply(Theme.Preset.Forest);
Theme.Apply(Theme.Preset.Sunset);

// Print all available themes with color swatches
Theme.PrintAll();

// Use theme colors in your own output
var (primary, accent, muted, success, warning, error) = Theme.Current;
Ink.WriteLine("Themed output", primary);

Available presets:

Complete Example App

using EonaCat.ConsoleKit;

// Apply theme
Theme.Apply(Theme.Preset.Ocean);

// Show app header
Ink.Header("EonaCat.ConsoleKit Demo");
SystemInfo.Print();

// Countdown before starting
ConsoleUtils.Countdown(3, "Starting in");

// Interactive menu
var section = Menu.Show("Choose Demo", new[]
{
    "Table Demo",
    "Progress Demo",
    "Chart Demo",
    "Wizard Demo",
    "Diff Demo",
    "Exit",
});

switch (section)
{
    case "Table Demo":
        using (new Section("User Table"))
        {
            var t = new Table("ID", "Name", "Score")
                { HeaderColor = ConsoleColor.Cyan };
            t.AddRow(1, "Alice", 98)
             .AddRow(2, "Bob", 74)
             .AddRow(3, "Carol", 87);
            t.Render();
        }
        break;

    case "Progress Demo":
        using var bar = new ProgressBar("Processing", width: 50);
        for (int i = 0; i <= 100; i += 2)
        {
            bar.Report(i);
            Thread.Sleep(30);
        }
        bar.Complete("Done!");
        break;

    case "Chart Demo":
        BarChart.Render(new Dictionary<string, double>
        {
            ["Alpha"]   = 72,
            ["Beta"]    = 55,
            ["Gamma"]   = 91,
            ["Delta"]   = 38,
        });
        Sparkline.Render(new[] { 10.0, 45, 30, 80, 60, 95, 20, 55 }, "Trend");
        break;

    case "Wizard Demo":
        new Wizard()
            .AddStep("Initialize", () => { Thread.Sleep(300); return true; })
            .AddStep("Validate",   () => { Thread.Sleep(500); return true; })
            .AddStep("Deploy",     () => { Thread.Sleep(800); return true; })
            .Run();
        break;

    case "Diff Demo":
        DiffViewer.Show(
            "version: 1.0\nport: 8080\ndebug: true",
            "version: 2.0\nport: 9090\ndebug: false",
            "v1", "v2");
        break;
}

Toast.Show("Demo complete!", durationMs: 3000, color: ConsoleColor.Green);
ConsoleUtils.WaitForKey();