Hooks

Silvery provides hooks for input handling, layout queries, terminal access, and interaction features.

Input hooks by intent

Choose the narrowest hook for the job:

Intent	Hook
Application command	useHotkey
Several application commands	useHotkeyMap
Typed and pasted text	useTextInput
Ink-compatible mixed handler	useInput
Release/modifier observation	useRawKeyEvent

The semantic hooks keep normalized key identity separate from produced text. In particular, bind the literal character "?" with useHotkey("?", handler); the low-level input value for that press is the normalized base key "/".

Interaction Feature Hooks

These hooks read state from interaction features registered in the CapabilityRegistry. The shipped run() runtime installs its mouse features automatically; explicitly composed runtimes must register the corresponding capability themselves.

useSelection

Reads the current text selection state from the SelectionFeature. It is available in mouse-enabled run() composition.

import { useSelection } from "silvery"

function SelectionIndicator() {
  const selection = useSelection()
  if (!selection?.active) return null
  return <Text>Selected: {selection.text}</Text>
}

Returns TerminalSelectionState | undefined — undefined when no selection feature is registered.

Legacy hooks

Legacy search hooks are no longer part of the public surface; use SearchProvider, useSearch(), and a registered semantic searchable. Other superseded interaction hooks remain compatibility-only. New selection code should use useSelection() and the capabilities installed by the shipped run() runtime.

useBoxRectDangerously

Returns the computed dimensions of the component's content area — width, height, and position.

import { Box, Text, useBoxRectDangerously } from "silvery"

function SizedBox() {
  const { width, height, x, y } = useBoxRectDangerously()

  return (
    <Box borderStyle="single">
      <Text>
        Size: {width}x{height}
      </Text>
      <Text>
        Position: ({x}, {y})
      </Text>
    </Box>
  )
}

Return Value

Property	Type	Description
width	number	Computed width in characters
height	number	Computed height in lines
x	number	X position from left edge
y	number	Y position from top edge

First Render Behavior

On the first render, dimensions are { width: 0, height: 0, x: 0, y: 0 }. This is because layout hasn't been computed yet. The component will immediately re-render with correct values.

function Header() {
  const { width } = useBoxRectDangerously()

  // Guard against first render if needed
  if (width === 0) return null

  return <Text>{"=".repeat(width)}</Text>
}

In practice, both renders happen before the first paint, so this is usually invisible.

MeasuredBox primitive

For the common pattern of "render based on my own measured size," use the <MeasuredBox> primitive instead of writing the useBoxRectDangerously() + width > 0 ? <Inner /> : null dance by hand:

import { MeasuredBox } from "silvery"
;<MeasuredBox width="100%" flexDirection="column" alignItems="center">
  {({ width }) => <Banner availableWidth={width} />}
</MeasuredBox>

MeasuredBox defers rendering its render-prop children until the outer Box's measured width is non-zero — eliminating the width=0 sentinel frame.

useTerm

Access the Term instance for terminal capabilities and styling.

import { useTerm } from "silvery"

function ColoredOutput() {
  const term = useTerm()

  return (
    <Box>
      <Text>{term.green("Success!")} Operation completed.</Text>
      <Text>
        Terminal size: {term.columns}x{term.rows}
      </Text>
    </Box>
  )
}

Return Value

Returns the Term instance passed to render(). Provides:

Property/Method	Description
columns	Terminal width
rows	Terminal height
hasColor()	Check if terminal supports colors
Color methods	red(), green(), bold(), etc.

useInput

Handle the low-level Ink-compatible (input, key) tuple. Prefer useHotkey for commands and useTextInput for text in new code; see the useInput API reference for the normalized-key contract.

import { useInput } from "silvery"

function App() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0)

  useInput((input, key) => {
    if (key.upArrow) setCount((c) => c + 1)
    if (key.downArrow) setCount((c) => c - 1)
    if (input === "q") process.exit()
  })

  return <Text>Count: {count}</Text>
}

The low-level input value is normalized for physical key matching, while key.text is the produced character. See the useInput API reference for the complete signature, options, and Key fields.

useApp

Access app-level controls.

import { useApp } from "silvery"

function App() {
  const { exit, panic } = useApp()

  useInput((input) => {
    if (input === "q") exit()
    if (input === "P") panic("fatal provider invariant", { title: "my-app" })
  })

  return <Text>Press q to quit</Text>
}

Return Value

Property	Type	Description
exit	(error?: Error) => void	Exit the app
panic	(reason: unknown, options?: PanicOptions) => void	Restore the terminal, then print a copyable fatal diagnostic to stderr

useStdout

Access stdout stream and dimensions.

import { useStdout } from "silvery"

function App() {
  const { stdout, write } = useStdout()

  return (
    <Text>
      Terminal: {stdout.columns}x{stdout.rows}
    </Text>
  )
}

Return Value

Property	Type	Description
stdout	NodeJS.WriteStream	stdout stream
write	(data: string) => void	Write directly to stdout

useFocusable

Returns focus state for the nearest focusable ancestor. The component must be rendered inside a <Box focusable> with a testID.

import { useFocusable, Box, Text } from "silvery"

function FocusableItem({ label }: { label: string }) {
  const { focused } = useFocusable()

  return (
    <Box testID={label} focusable borderStyle={focused ? "double" : "single"}>
      <Text>{label}</Text>
    </Box>
  )
}

Return Value

Property	Type	Description
focused	boolean	Whether this component currently has focus
focus	() => void	Programmatically focus this component
blur	() => void	Programmatically blur this component
focusOrigin	"keyboard" | "mouse" | "programmatic" | null	How focus was acquired

Focus behavior is configured via Box props: focusable, autoFocus, focusScope, onFocus, onBlur, onKeyDown.

useFocusWithin

Returns whether any descendant of the specified Box (by testID) has focus.

import { useFocusWithin } from "silvery"

function Sidebar() {
  const hasFocus = useFocusWithin("sidebar")

  return (
    <Box testID="sidebar" borderColor={hasFocus ? "blue" : "gray"}>
      <FocusableItem testID="item1" />
      <FocusableItem testID="item2" />
    </Box>
  )
}

useFocusManager

Access the focus manager for programmatic focus control.

import { useFocusManager } from "silvery"

function App() {
  const { activeId, focusNext, focusPrev, focus, blur } = useFocusManager()

  return (
    <Box flexDirection="column">
      <Text>Active: {activeId ?? "none"}</Text>
      <FocusableItem label="First" />
      <FocusableItem label="Second" />
      <FocusableItem label="Third" />
    </Box>
  )
}

Return Value

Property	Type	Description
activeId	string | null	testID of the currently focused node
activeElement	SilveryNode | null	The currently focused node
focused	boolean	Whether any node has focus
focus	(id: string) => void	Focus a specific component by testID
focusNext	() => void	Focus next focusable component
focusPrev	() => void	Focus previous focusable component
blur	() => void	Clear focus from all components