id: task-77 title: Migrate from blessed to bblessed for better Bun and Windows support status: Done assignee:

• '@ai-agent' created_date: '2025-06-16' updated_date: '2025-06-16' labels:
• refactoring
• dependencies
• windows dependencies: []

Description

Successfully migrated from the original blessed library to bbblessed (github:node-opcua/bbblessed), a fork with improved bundling support that eliminates the need for complex Windows patches and provides better cross-platform compatibility.

Background

The project previously used blessed v0.1.81 with a custom patch script (scripts/patch-blessed.js) that:

1. Replaced dynamic widget loading with static imports for Bun bundling
2. Bundled terminfo files and patched tput.js for Windows compatibility

This patching was fragile and a maintenance burden.

Acceptance Criteria

• [x] Replace blessed with bblessed in package.json
• [x] Remove postinstall patch script
• [x] Remove patch-blessed.js and terminfo resources
• [x] All tests pass with bblessed
• [x] Board view and other TUI components work correctly
• [x] Windows binary builds without patches
• [x] No regression in functionality

Implementation Details

Migration Steps Completed:

1. Installed bbblessed from GitHub: npm install github:node-opcua/bbblessed
2. Removed postinstall script from package.json
3. Deleted scripts/patch-blessed.js
4. Deleted resources/terminfo/ directory
5. Updated all imports from import blessed from "blessed" to import blessed from "bbblessed"
6. Verified all tests pass (229/229)
7. Tested board view and other TUI functionality

Key Benefits:

• No more patches: bbblessed has improved bundling support with recent commits specifically addressing bundling issues
• Better Windows support: Cross-platform compatibility built-in
• Improved bundling: Specific fixes for bundling issues (Sept 2024 commits)
• Cleaner setup: No postinstall scripts or resource files needed
• Same API: Drop-in replacement, no code changes required
• Active maintenance: bbblessed is actively maintained with recent bundling improvements

Technical Notes:

• The library is now imported as bbblessed in all source files
• Version 0.1.82 includes bundling improvements from Sept 2024
• Windows Fix: Enhanced createScreen() in tui.ts to handle Windows terminfo issues:
  • Only disables tput on Windows (works normally on Mac/Linux)
  • Sets tput: false, termcap: false, extended: false on program creation
  • Forces terminal: 'dumb' on Windows to prevent terminfo detection
  • Provides minimal tput stubs with common escape sequences for Windows
  • Works around bbblessed bugs where it incorrectly uses this.put instead of this.tput.strings
  • Adds required methods like csr() and enacs() that bbblessed expects
  • This completely prevents the ENOENT: no such file or directory terminfo errors on Windows
  • Windows users still get full TUI with colors, boxes, and all features

Related Tasks Updated:

• Task 41: Updated to reflect actual bblessed usage
• Task 53: Added note about improved Bun compatibility
• Task 61: Added note about better bundling with bblessed
• Task 72: Added note about eliminating terminfo patches
• Task 74: Added note about better cross-platform support
• Tasks 76-76.6: Archived (neo-neo-blessed migration cancelled)