Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Blank screen / no output

• Check that using term = createTerm() is called before render().
• Ensure stdout is a TTY. Piped output needs renderString() instead of render().
• Verify the component returns visible content (not null or empty fragments).

Content overflows / truncation

• Text auto-truncates by default. Use wrap="wrap" on Text to wrap instead, or wrap="overflow" to allow overflow.
• Check overflow="hidden" on the parent Box to clip children.
• For scrollable content, use overflow="scroll" with a scrollTo prop.

Incremental rendering mismatches

• Run with SILVERY_STRICT=1 to compare incremental vs fresh render output on every frame.
• If a mismatch is found, file a bug with the minimal reproduction.
• Use withDiagnostics({ checkIncremental: true }) in tests to catch these automatically.

useInput not receiving keys

• Ensure InputLayerProvider wraps your app if using useInputLayer.
• Check that stdin is in raw mode (term.caps.input returns true).
• Verify no other input layer is consuming the key before yours (layers are LIFO).

Layout oscillation / infinite loops

• Silvery has built-in containment for useBoxRect that detects and breaks oscillation loops.
• If you see oscillation, check for circular dependencies in layout — e.g., a component that changes its size based on useBoxRect in a way that triggers another layout.
• Avoid setting width or height dynamically based on useBoxRect of the same Box.

Flickering in tmux / Zellij

• Silvery uses Synchronized Update Mode (DEC 2026) by default, which prevents flicker. Verify your multiplexer version supports it (tmux 3.2+).
• To disable sync updates for debugging: SILVERY_SYNC_UPDATE=0.

Colors not appearing

• Check term.caps.colorLevel — returns "mono" if NO_COLOR is set or TERM=dumb.
• Verify COLORTERM=truecolor is set for true color support.
• Some CI environments strip ANSI codes. Use renderString(<App />, { plain: true }) for those.

Kitty keyboard shortcuts not working

• run() auto-enables the Kitty protocol on supported terminals. If using createApp().run(), pass kitty: true explicitly.
• Check that your terminal supports it (Ghostty, Kitty, WezTerm, foot — see Terminal Capabilities).
• iTerm2 and Terminal.app do not support the Kitty protocol.

Flexily vs Yoga layout differences

Some layout behaviors differ between Flexily and Yoga (the engine Ink uses), so if you're mixing the two or copying examples, watch for:

• Percentage widths: Flexily resolves width="50%" against the parent's content area. Yoga resolves against the parent's total width including padding. If your layout is off by a few cells, check padding on the parent.
• Default flexShrink: Both default to 1, but Flexily may clamp earlier on zero-width children. If a child collapses unexpectedly, set flexShrink={0} explicitly.
• flexBasis="auto": Yoga uses the intrinsic content size. Flexily does the same but measures text differently for multi-line content. If text wraps unexpectedly, set an explicit width.
• Gap: Flexily supports gap, rowGap, columnGap the same as Yoga. If gaps don't appear, verify flexDirection is set (gap only applies between flex children along the main axis).

Switch engines to isolate: SILVERY_ENGINE=yoga bun run app.ts

Focus routing debugging

If focus isn't moving where expected:

1. Enable inspector: SILVERY_DEV=1 to visualize the focus tree and see which nodes are focusable.
2. Check focusable prop: Only <Box focusable> nodes participate in focus. Text nodes cannot receive focus.
3. Verify testID: Spatial navigation overrides (nextFocusUp, nextFocusDown, etc.) reference nodes by testID. Missing or mismatched IDs are silently ignored.
4. Scope boundaries: If Tab doesn't leave a subtree, a parent has focusScope which restricts cycling to that subtree. Remove or restructure the scope.
5. Debug with FocusManager: Access fm.activeId and fm.focusOrigin to see what's focused and why.

VirtualList blank rendering

VirtualList shows blank rows when:

• estimateHeight is far off: ListView/VirtualList measures actual rendered heights after layout and uses them for scroll math. However, a very inaccurate estimateHeight can cause jumpiness on the first render before measurements stabilize. Set it to the most common item height.
• data array changes identity on every render: Wrap with useMemo or hoist the array. Identity changes cause VirtualList to recalculate offsets.
• Container has no height: VirtualList needs a parent with a known height (explicit height prop or flex layout). Without it, the visible window is zero and nothing renders.
• scrollTo is out of range: A scrollTo value past the last item shows blank space. Clamp to Math.max(0, data.length - visibleCount).

useBoxRect returning zeros

useBoxRect() returns { width: 0, height: 0 } on the first render because layout hasn't run yet. This is by design.

• Normal case: The component re-renders once layout completes (usually the same frame). Your UI should handle width === 0 gracefully (return null or a placeholder).
• Not updating at all: Ensure the component's parent has a concrete size. A chain of flexGrow={1} without a root-level size means layout can't resolve.
• In tests: Call app.debug() after render — if the layout is correct in the debug output, the hook is working. If width stays 0, check that createRenderer has cols and rows set.
• Oscillation: If the component changes its own size based on useBoxRect, it can loop. Silvery's built-in containment detects this and breaks the cycle automatically.

Debugging

Runtime Debug

See debugging.md for the full reference: STRICT verification modes, diagnostic workflow, and symptom→check cross-reference.

SILVERY_STRICT=1 bun run app.ts              # Buffer-level (includes vt100 output check)
SILVERY_STRICT_TERMINAL=xterm bun run app.ts # Independent terminal verification
DEBUG=silvery:* DEBUG_LOG=/tmp/silvery.log bun run app.ts  # Pipeline traces

Test Debug

const app = render(<MyComponent />)
app.debug() // Print current frame to console
console.log(app.ansi) // Print with colors
console.log(app.text) // Print plain text (no ANSI)