Just redesigned my personal site with a TTY-style interface

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall Reception

  • Many commenters find the TTY-style portfolio “fun”, “original”, “beautiful”, and a nice passion project.
  • Others appreciate the “old web” vibe and the fact that it’s clearly built for the creator’s own enjoyment, not just utility.
  • Some feel it looks incomplete or “half-baked” because it sits between a real shell and a normal website.

Terminal Authenticity & Features

  • Repeated requests for classic commands: ls, cd, clear, less, grep, echo, uname, exit, plus numbered/TUI-like navigation.
  • Multiple people instinctively tried ls, sudo rm -rf /, cat /etc/passwd, and adventure commands like plugh/xyzzy and were disappointed they didn’t work.
  • Suggestions to add:
    • A pager (less) for long output.
    • Tab completion and more realistic keyboard shortcuts.
    • Better terminal fonts and consistent styling for headers.
    • Humorous responses to dangerous commands (rm -rf /).

Usability, Audience & Mobile

  • Strong split:
    • Some see friction as a deliberate filter, good for targeting technical visitors.
    • Others argue that as a portfolio/introduction, it risks alienating recruiters, non-technical people, and mobile users.
  • Concerns:
    • Typing to navigate is off-putting for many; people prefer mouse/touch.
    • Terminal-style UI is awkward on phones (onscreen keyboard, no arrow keys, double-enter issues, constant scrolling).
    • Site is not usable in text-only browsers (Lynx/ELinks) and has quirks with extensions like Vimium.
  • Common proposed compromise:
    • Make commands and highlighted words clickable and auto-executing.
    • Provide a “clear text” or standard HTML view alongside the TTY view.
    • Make subpages linkable (deep links that auto-run the right command).

Inspiration, Alternatives & Experiments

  • Several people share their own terminal-themed or TUI-inspired sites and libraries and mention similar projects from earlier eras.
  • Ideas floated:
    • Add telnet/SSH access in parallel to a normal web UI.
    • Turn the site into a small adventure game.
    • Use a minimal “motherfucking website”-style HTML design if the goal is traditionalist simplicity rather than terminal cosplay.