November 4, 2025
Click, clack, connect
Bluetui – A TUI for managing Bluetooth on Linux
Bluetui lets Linux users fix Bluetooth from the keyboard — fans cheer, nitpickers poke
TLDR: Bluetui is a new keyboard-driven app that lets Linux users control Bluetooth from the terminal. Fans love its speed and sensible keys, while critics argue over missing device addresses and screen whitespace — making it a big win for power users and a lively debate for everyone else.
Linux just got a new way to tame Bluetooth: Bluetui, a terminal app you run with the keyboard. It’s a TUI, meaning “terminal user interface” — think fast text screens instead of clicking around. The launch thread lit up with excitement and a little chaos. Robotics folks flexed, with one fan bragging they SSH into robots and get “super snappy” status panels instead of clunky web dashboards. Another voice threw shade at a rival, calling Bluetui “much better than bluetuith” thanks to sensible keybindings like space to connect and enter to disconnect — a tiny detail that had keyboard diehards high-fiving.
But drama arrived fast: a sharp-eyed commenter demanded device addresses on-screen, grumbling about “excess whitespace” and warning that identical device names can ruin your day. Meanwhile, a newcomer asked, “does TUI stand for terminal user interface?” and the thread collectively nodded, pausing the brawl for a quick explainer. There were giggles over the nerdfonts requirement to see cute icons, plus victory laps for easy installs via crates.io, Arch, and Gentoo. Open-source vibes (GPLv3) and customizable keys sweetened the deal. Verdict from the crowd: Bluetui is blazing fast, super usable, and already spawning memes about whitespace vs. power users. The keyboard clan is winning — for now.
Key Points
- •Bluetui is a terminal user interface for managing Bluetooth on Linux and requires BlueZ.
- •Installation options include binaries, crates.io (cargo), Arch Linux (pacman), Gentoo via lamdness overlay, X-CMD, and source build from GitHub.
- •The app offers global navigation and control keys, including scanning, help, and quit actions.
- •Adapter controls include pairing, power, and discovery toggles; device controls cover pair, connect/disconnect, trust, unpair, and rename.
- •Keybindings are customizable via a config file, and the software is licensed under GPLv3; Nerd Fonts may be needed for icon display.