Wyreframe

A library that converts ASCII wireframes into working HTML/UI with scene management

+---------------------------+
|      'WYREFRAME'          |     Draw in ASCII
|  +---------------------+  |         ↓
|  | #email              |  |     Convert to HTML!
|  +---------------------+  |
|       [ Login ]           |
+---------------------------+

Features

• ASCII to HTML: Convert simple ASCII art into interactive UI elements
• Scene Management: Multi-screen prototypes with transitions (fade, slide, zoom)
• Interaction DSL: Define button clicks, navigation, and form validation
• Device Preview: Responsive previews for mobile, tablet, and desktop
• Auto-Fix: Automatically correct common wireframe formatting issues
• TypeScript/ReScript: Full type safety with both language support

Installation

npm install wyreframe

Quick Start

import { createUI } from 'wyreframe';

const ui = `
@scene: login

+---------------------------+
|       'WYREFRAME'         |
|  +---------------------+  |
|  | #email              |  |
|  +---------------------+  |
|       [ Login ]           |
+---------------------------+

#email:
  placeholder: "Enter your email"

[Login]:
  @click -> goto(dashboard, slide-left)
`;

const result = createUI(ui);

if (result.success) {
  document.getElementById('app').appendChild(result.root);
  result.sceneManager.goto('login');
}

Syntax Reference

UI Elements

Syntax	Description	HTML Output
+---+	Box/Container	<div>
[ Text ]	Button	<button>
#id	Input field	<input>
"text"	Link	<a>
'text'	Emphasis text	Title, Heading
[x] / [ ]	Checkbox	<input type="checkbox">
---	Divider	<hr>

Scene Directives

@scene: sceneId        # Scene identifier (required)
@title: Page Title     # Optional page title
@device: mobile        # Device type for sizing
@transition: fade      # Default transition effect

Device Types

Device	Dimensions	Description
desktop	1440x900	Desktop monitor
laptop	1280x800	Laptop screen
tablet	768x1024	Tablet portrait
tablet-landscape	1024x768	Tablet landscape
mobile	375x812	iPhone X ratio
mobile-landscape	812x375	Mobile landscape

Interactions

#email:
  placeholder: "Email"

[Login]:
  variant: primary
  @click -> goto(dashboard, slide-left)

"Forgot Password":
  @click -> goto(reset)

Actions:

Action	Description	Example
goto(scene, transition?)	Navigate to scene	@click -> goto(home, fade)
back()	Navigate back	@click -> back()
forward()	Navigate forward	@click -> forward()
validate(fields)	Validate inputs	@submit -> validate(email, password)
call(fn, args)	Custom function	@click -> call(submit, form)

Transitions: fade, slide-left, slide-right, zoom

Variants: primary, secondary, ghost

API

JavaScript/TypeScript

import {
  parse,
  parseOrThrow,
  render,
  createUI,
  createUIOrThrow,
  fix,
  fixOnly
} from 'wyreframe';

// Parse only - returns { success, ast, warnings } or { success: false, errors }
const parseResult = parse(text);

// Parse and throw on error
const ast = parseOrThrow(text);

// Render AST to DOM (pass ast, not parseResult!)
if (parseResult.success) {
  const { root, sceneManager } = render(parseResult.ast, options);
}

// Parse + Render combined (recommended)
const result = createUI(text, options);

// Parse + Render, throw on error
const { root, sceneManager } = createUIOrThrow(text, options);

// Auto-fix wireframe formatting issues
const fixResult = fix(text);
if (fixResult.success) {
  console.log('Fixed:', fixResult.fixed.length, 'issues');
  const cleanText = fixResult.text;
}

// Fix and return text only
const fixedText = fixOnly(text);

Render Options

const options = {
  // Additional CSS class for container
  containerClass: 'my-app',

  // Inject default styles (default: true)
  injectStyles: true,

  // Override device type for all scenes
  device: 'mobile',

  // Scene change callback
  onSceneChange: (fromScene, toScene) => {
    console.log(`Navigated from ${fromScene} to ${toScene}`);
  },

  // Dead-end click callback (buttons/links without navigation)
  onDeadEndClick: (info) => {
    console.log(`Clicked: ${info.elementText} in scene ${info.sceneId}`);
    // Show modal, custom logic, etc.
  }
};

const result = createUI(text, options);

SceneManager

const { sceneManager } = result;

sceneManager.goto('dashboard');        // Navigate to scene
sceneManager.goto('home', 'fade');     // Navigate with transition
sceneManager.back();                   // Go back in history
sceneManager.forward();                // Go forward in history
sceneManager.getCurrentScene();        // Get current scene ID
sceneManager.getSceneIds();            // Get all scene IDs

ReScript

// Parse + Render
switch Renderer.createUI(ui, None) {
| Ok({root, sceneManager, _}) =>
    sceneManager.goto("login")
| Error(errors) => Console.error(errors)
}

// With options
let options = {
  device: Some(#mobile),
  onSceneChange: Some((from, to) => Console.log2(from, to)),
  onDeadEndClick: None,
  containerClass: None,
  injectStyles: None,
}
switch Renderer.createUI(ui, Some(options)) {
| Ok({root, sceneManager, _}) => ...
| Error(errors) => ...
}

Auto-Fix

Wyreframe can automatically fix common formatting issues:

import { fix, fixOnly } from 'wyreframe';

const messyWireframe = `
+----------+
| Button  |    <- Misaligned pipe
+---------+    <- Width mismatch
`;

const result = fix(messyWireframe);
if (result.success) {
  console.log('Fixed issues:', result.fixed);
  console.log('Remaining issues:', result.remaining);
  console.log('Clean wireframe:', result.text);
}

// Or just get the fixed text
const cleanText = fixOnly(messyWireframe);

Fixable Issues:

• Misaligned pipes (|)
• Mismatched border widths
• Tabs instead of spaces
• Unclosed brackets

Multi-Scene Example

const app = `
@scene: login
@device: mobile

+---------------------------+
|         'Login'           |
|  +---------------------+  |
|  | #email              |  |
|  +---------------------+  |
|  +---------------------+  |
|  | #password           |  |
|  +---------------------+  |
|       [ Sign In ]         |
|                           |
|    "Create Account"       |
+---------------------------+

---

@scene: signup
@device: mobile

+---------------------------+
|       'Sign Up'           |
|  +---------------------+  |
|  | #name               |  |
|  +---------------------+  |
|  +---------------------+  |
|  | #email              |  |
|  +---------------------+  |
|       [ Register ]        |
|                           |
|    "Back to Login"        |
+---------------------------+

#email:
  placeholder: "Email"
#password:
  placeholder: "Password"
#name:
  placeholder: "Full Name"

[Sign In]:
  variant: primary
  @click -> goto(signup, slide-left)

"Create Account":
  @click -> goto(signup, slide-left)

[Register]:
  variant: primary
  @click -> goto(login, slide-right)

"Back to Login":
  @click -> goto(login, slide-right)
`;

const result = createUI(app, {
  onSceneChange: (from, to) => {
    console.log(`Scene: ${from} -> ${to}`);
  }
});

if (result.success) {
  document.getElementById('app').appendChild(result.root);
  result.sceneManager.goto('login');
}

Documentation

• API Reference
• Type Definitions
• Examples
• Developer Guide
• Testing Guide
• Live Demo

Development

npm install
npm run res:build    # ReScript build
npm run ts:build     # TypeScript build
npm run build        # Full build
npm run dev          # Dev server (http://localhost:3000/examples)
npm test             # Run tests
npm run test:watch   # Test watch mode
npm run test:coverage # Generate coverage report

Architecture

Wyreframe uses a 3-stage parsing pipeline:

1. Grid Scanner: Converts ASCII text to 2D character grid
2. Shape Detector: Identifies boxes, nesting, and hierarchy
3. Semantic Parser: Recognizes UI elements via pluggable parsers

The renderer generates pure DOM elements with CSS-based scene visibility and transitions.

License

GPL-3.0 License - see LICENSE for details.