SourceDialog

SourceDialog is a pure Bash TUI dialog library you can source from your own scripts to create interactive terminal forms — no external dependencies (dialog, whiptail, ncurses, etc.).

Features

• Pure Bash — single file, no dependencies, just source it
• All standard widgets — canvas, frame, textbox, pushbutton, inputbox, passwordbox, menubox, checklist, radiolist
• Unicode rendering — rounded box-drawing characters, modern markers, scroll indicators (auto-detected, falls back to legacy ACS)
• 256-color support — auto-detected, smoother shadows and custom themes
• Customizable — override any _SD_* color/style variable before calling sd_start
• Full API compatibility — drop-in upgrade for the original SourceDialog
• Bash 4.3+

Quick Start

source /path/to/sourcedialog

myvar=""

sd_load_canvas     name=cv1 x=10 y=2 width=40 height=8 caption=" MY FORM "
sd_load_textbox    name=tb1 x=13 y=4 width=34 text="Enter your name:"
sd_load_inputbox   name=ib1 x=13 y=6 width=34 varname=myvar
sd_load_pushbutton name=ok  x=20 y=8 caption="  OK  "
sd_load_pushbutton name=cc  x=30 y=8 caption=" Cancel "

sd_ok_push()  { return 0; }
sd_cc_push()  { return 1; }

sd_start

API

Widget Registration

Function	Description
sd_load_canvas	Frame/decoration
sd_load_frame	Concave frame (no shadow)
sd_load_textbox	Static text
sd_load_pushbutton	Button
sd_load_inputbox	Text input
sd_load_passwordbox	Password input
sd_load_menubox	Selection list
sd_load_checklist	Multi-select list
sd_load_radiolist	Single-select list

Lifecycle

Function	Description
sd_start	Init, draw, read, reset (main entry point)
sd_init	Set up terminal (hide cursor, raw mode)
sd_draw	Render all registered widgets
sd_read	Interactive input loop
sd_reset	Restore terminal
sd_clear	Unregister all widgets (for multi-page dialogs)

Return Codes

Code	Meaning
0	OK / confirm
1	Cancel
27	Escape
127	Not interactive
254	Move backward
255	Move forward

Customizable Variables

Set any of these before sd_start to customize appearance:

Colors (values: 0–7 for 8-color, 0–255 for 256-color terminals):

_SD_BG, _SD_FG, _SD_FRAME_BG, _SD_FRAME_HI, _SD_FRAME_LO, _SD_TEXT_FG, _SD_TEXT_BG, _SD_BTN_FG, _SD_BTN_BG, _SD_BTN_KEY, _SD_BTN_SEL_FG, _SD_BTN_SEL_BG, _SD_INPUT_FG, _SD_INPUT_BG, _SD_INPUT_SEL_FG, _SD_INPUT_SEL_BG, _SD_LIST_FG, _SD_LIST_BG, _SD_LIST_KEY, _SD_LIST_SEL_FG, _SD_LIST_SEL_BG, _SD_SHADOW_BG

Style:

Variable	Default	Values
_SD_STYLE	auto	auto, unicode, legacy
_SD_CORNER	rounded	rounded, square (unicode only)
_SD_256COLOR	auto	auto, yes, no

Keybindings

Key	Action
Arrow keys	Navigate items (list)
Space	Toggle selection (list)
Tab / Enter	Move forward
Shift+Tab	Move backward
Home / End	First / last item
Page Up / Down	Scroll page
Escape	Cancel
Backspace	Delete character (input)
Any letter	Jump to matching item (list)

Examples

bash examples/demo        # multi-page dialog with all widgets
bash examples/example1    # OS chooser
bash examples/example2    # address form
bash examples/example3    # account creation

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Robin Dubreuil 63008968+robindubreuil@users.noreply.github.com Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3. See LICENSE.

Credits

Inspired by SourceDialog by Antonio Macchi (2008), originally posted to comp.os.linux.development.apps on 2008-11-07. This is a complete rewrite aiming to be a drop-in upgrade with full API compatibility.