- What is OmniTerm and how does it work with Laravel?
- OmniTerm is a terminal UI toolkit for Laravel Artisan commands. You write CLI output as HTML with Tailwind CSS classes, and OmniTerm compiles it to ANSI escape sequences for the terminal. It adds truecolor RGB rendering, gradients, arbitrary RGB classes, and content repeat on top of the Tailwind-for-terminal idea popularized by Termwind. Add the HasOmniTerm trait to a command to start rendering styled output.
- How do I install OmniTerm in a Laravel application?
- Install it with composer require pdphilip/omniterm. Then add the OmniTerm\HasOmniTerm trait to any Artisan command class and call methods such as $this->omni->success('Ready'). Adoption is incremental because each component, like a table row or progress bar, is independently opt-in. Basic usage does not require service provider configuration.
- Which Laravel and PHP versions does OmniTerm support?
- Current v3 releases require PHP 8.2+ and target Laravel 11, 12, and 13 with Symfony Console 7 or 8. Laravel 10 support was explicitly dropped in v3.0.0, so projects on Laravel 10 or Symfony 6 must stay on an older OmniTerm version or avoid upgrading. Older README text may still mention Laravel 10 and 12, so confirm the support matrix in the composer constraints for the exact version you install.
- Does OmniTerm support truecolor and 256-color terminals?
- OmniTerm supports full RGB truecolor output with an automatic 256-color fallback for terminals that do not support 24-bit color. You can use arbitrary RGB classes like text-[R,G,B] and bg-[R,G,B] when colors are computed dynamically. This makes it useful for branded CLI output, but you should still test in your target terminals and CI runners.
- How do I create gradients and arbitrary RGB colors in terminal output?
- Define gradients with bg-gradient-to-r plus from-*, via-*, and to-* classes to create per-character color transitions. Use arbitrary RGB classes such as text-[255,128,0] when the color is not part of the named palette. content-repeat-[char] fills remaining width with a chosen character, which is handy for separators and box-drawing lines. These are OmniTerm-specific extensions to its Tailwind class subset.
- What pre-built components does OmniTerm include?
- OmniTerm includes status messages, data tables, progress bars, spinners, live tasks, and an interactive split-pane browser. Each component is called through the omni helper added by the HasOmniTerm trait. Because components are independent, you can adopt only the ones your commands need.
- Is OmniTerm a drop-in alternative to Termwind?
- OmniTerm is inspired by Termwind's Tailwind-for-terminal concept but uses its own HTML-to-ANSI rendering engine, so it is not a drop-in replacement. It focuses on truecolor, gradients, arbitrary RGB colors, and content repeat. If you rely on Termwind-specific classes or behavior, plan for a migration and test the rendering subset you use.
- Will OmniTerm output break in CI logs or non-TTY environments?
- Because OmniTerm emits ANSI escape sequences, captured CI logs, log shippers, and non-TTY environments can show raw escape codes or unreadable artifacts. Verify that your target environments degrade cleanly and respect CI=true, NO_COLOR, and piped stdout before relying on styled output in automation. Keep machine-consumed output plain and reserve OmniTerm for human-facing terminal runs.
- Are OmniTerm async features like runTask and liveTask safe in production?
- Async and interactive features such as runTask, liveTask, browse, and ask use process spawning, in-place redraw, and TTY detection. These are the highest-defect-density areas and the hardest to automate in CI, so review cleanup, zombie processes, and hang behavior for long-running or killed tasks. For batch jobs, queue workers, and scheduled tasks whose output is parsed by machines, plain output is usually safer.
- Is OmniTerm actively maintained and production-ready?
- OmniTerm is maintained by a single maintainer and currently has zero dependents, so ecosystem durability evidence is limited. v3.0.0 made a breaking support-matrix change by dropping Laravel 10 and moving to Symfony 7, which suggests further majors as Laravel and Symfony evolve. Direct production risk is low because it only affects CLI output, but you should pin versions, test upgrades, and have a fork or removal path.