---
id: textual-dev
version: "1.8.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# textual-dev — Development tools for working with Textual

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 528.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

textual-dev is a companion package to Textual that provides development-focused command-line utilities for building terminal user interfaces. It bundles the `textual` CLI tool, which developers use to run, test, and debug Textual applications during development. The package depends on the core textual library, aiohttp for HTTP functionality, click for CLI argument handling, msgpack for serialization, and typing-extensions for type hints.

The package targets developers building terminal applications and is positioned as a development aid rather than a runtime requirement for end users. It supports Python 3.9 through 3.14 on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and carries an MIT license. The package occupies a stable position in the ecosystem, though the aging maintenance status suggests the tool is mature and stable rather than actively evolving.

Use it for:

- Run and test Textual applications during development using the textual CLI.
- Debug terminal UI behavior and layout issues in Textual apps.
- Serve Textual applications for remote or collaborative development scenarios.
- Integrate development tooling into CI/CD pipelines for terminal application testing.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

textual-dev provides a command-line tool for developing and testing Textual terminal applications, bundling utilities to streamline the development workflow.

Yes, if you are developing Textual applications. The package is stable, carries no known vulnerabilities, and has low install friction. The aging maintenance status is not a concern for a mature development tool. Install it as part of your Textual development environment, not as a runtime dependency for end users.

## Install

pip install textual-dev
uv add textual-dev
poetry add textual-dev

## Installing textual-dev

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Maintenance status is aging—last release was 307 days ago and the last commit on 2025-10-16—but the repository remains active and the package is marked Production/Stable.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive, allowing free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions; suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.

Quickstart:

pip install textual-dev

from textual.app import ComposeResult, Static
from textual.containers import Container

class HelloApp(Static):
    pass

# Then run: textual run your_app.py

Requires Python 3.9 or later; textual and textual_serve are runtime dependencies.

Verify before relying:

- Specific capabilities of the textual CLI tool beyond basic app development support.
- Whether textual_serve enables live-reload or remote development features.
- Integration points with the main textual package and version compatibility constraints.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 528.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

textual development tools, terminal ui development cli, textual app debugging, terminal application testing, textual cli utilities, tui development helpers, textual serve command, cli-tools, tui-development, textual-ecosystem

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