// rust library · cli · json-rpc

Drive any
interactive
terminal,
from code.

ptywright is a Rust crate and CLI for spawning, observing, and driving PTY-backed terminal applications. Use it as a library in your tests, a binary in your scripts, or a JSON-RPC server for agents and UAT pipelines — one vocabulary across all three.

$ cargo add ptywright read the spec →

macOSLinuxWindowsearly dev

session-01 · claude-codesession-02 · zsh+

80×24 · stable

pty>session.spawn("claude").attach()

↳spawned pid 48211 · 80×24 · alt-screen

pty>wait(screen_stable(250ms))

↳stable after 412ms · seq 14

pty>send.text("summarize SPEC.md")

↳wrote 18 bytes · cursor 02:18

pty>wait(matches(r"Approve\? $y/n$"))

↳matched · row 19 · turn complete

pty>send.key("y") · transcript.snapshot()

↳1.2 KiB · redacted 2 patterns

pty>_▌

┌── observer ──┬── matcher ──┬── transcript ──┐
│ 80×24 cells  │ regex+temp. │ 64 KiB ring    │
│ vt100 engine │ on-stable   │ raw stream opt │
└──────────────┴─────────────┴────────────────┘

01 / target

Spawn anything

Program, args, env, cwd, terminal size. PTY-first, no shimming.

02 / observe

Cell-level snapshots

Style, mode, scrollback, alt-screen. Bounded transcript.

03 / wait

Deterministic matchers

Regex, temporal, lifecycle. No sleeps, no flake.

04 / automate

JSON-RPC + Lua

NDJSON, LSP framing, sockets. Trusted plugins for adapters.

// fig.01 · the runtime, end to end

Nine layers.
Every one reusable on its own.

OBSERVATION FLOWS DOWN.
↳ CONTROL LOOPS BACK UP.
↳ EACH BOX MAPS TO A FILE IN SRC/.

Drive any interactive terminal,from code.

Drive any
interactive
terminal,
from code.