TPaint

Disclaimer: TPaint is a self-learning project, not production-ready software. It may contain bugs, logic errors, or inefficient code, and it is provided as-is. Use it with that in mind.

TPaint is a small graphics editor that runs in your terminal. Use the arrow keys to move around a colored canvas, choose from 16 terminal colors, and draw by painting cells. It is a simpler, keyboard-driven take on a paint program.

This is a self-learning project created to strengthen my C++ skills. It is built with C++20 and the standard library, with operating-system-specific APIs used for non-blocking keyboard input.

Requirements

• A C++20-capable compiler. Use a recent version of a compiler with C++20 support, such as GCC, Clang, or Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC). CMake will use the compiler installed and available on your system.
• CMake 3.20 or newer to configure the project and generate build files.
• A compatible interactive terminal. TPaint needs a real terminal that accepts arrow-key input and supports ANSI/VT escape sequences for cursor positioning and colors (including the standard and bright 16-color palette). Examples include GNOME Terminal or Konsole on Linux, Terminal or iTerm2 on macOS, and Windows Terminal or a modern Windows console. IDE output panes, redirected input, and other non-interactive consoles may not work correctly.

The interface uses a 20-row by 100-column canvas, so use a terminal window wide and tall enough to show it.

Build and run

From the project directory, configure and build a Release version.

On Linux and macOS:

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --config Release

Run it from a terminal:

./build/tpaint

On Windows, configure and build with:

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --config Release

Run build\Release\tpaint.exe from Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal.

Optional: add TPaint to PATH

Adding the folder containing the executable to your PATH lets you launch TPaint by typing tpaint in a terminal. Use the full path to the folder where you built the program; keep the project and build folder in place afterward.

• Linux: Add this line to your shell startup file, such as ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc (replace the example path):

  export PATH="$PATH:/absolute/path/to/tpaint/build"

• macOS: Add the same line to ~/.zshrc (the default shell), replacing the example path with the folder containing tpaint, usually the project's build folder.
• Windows: Open Edit environment variables for your account, select Path under user variables, choose Edit > New, and add the full path to build\Release inside the project. Open a new terminal afterward.

On Linux and macOS, open a new terminal or reload your shell configuration after editing it. Then launch the program with:

tpaint

Controls

Key	Action
Arrow keys	Move the cursor in Normal and Draw modes; move through the color palette in Color mode
n	Switch to Normal mode. Move the cursor without drawing.
d	Switch to Draw mode. Moving paints cells with the selected color.
c	Switch to Color mode. Use the arrow keys to select a color.
q	Quit TPaint.

The cursor is shown as a + on the canvas. The selected color is displayed above the palette. The palette contains the standard eight terminal colors and their bright variants.

Current limitations

TPaint is intentionally minimal: it has no save or load, undo, or other editing tools. Artwork is lost when you quit. Its colors depend on the terminal's color scheme, so they may look different across terminals.