Terminal UI

The Zaparoo Core terminal UI, or TUI, is Core's local menu interface. Use it when you are on the device running Core and want to check status, write a token, update media, or change settings without opening the Zaparoo App, Web UI, or command line.

Windows does not use the TUI. It runs Core from the system tray instead.

Opening the TUI

Start Core from the launcher, script, or executable documented for your platform. For example, MiSTer users open Zaparoo from the Scripts menu, and Batocera users open it from the Ports system in EmulationStation.

Use the relevant platform guide for install paths and startup behavior:

• MiSTer FPGA
• Batocera
• Linux
• RePlayOS

Service or daemon modes skip the TUI. See the command line reference for platform flags.

Main screen

The main screen shows the local Core service status, device IP address, Web UI address, connected reader status, and the most recent scanned token.

If the Core service is not running, most actions are disabled and the TUI tells you to check the logs.

Exiting the TUI may leave the Core service running in the background, depending on how Core was started on that platform.

Main actions

Action	What it does
Search media	Searches indexed media and writes the selected result to a token.
Custom write	Writes custom ZapScript to a token.
Update media	Scans configured media folders and updates the media database.
Settings	Opens Core settings, TUI settings, reader settings, audio settings, and logs.
Exit	Closes the TUI.

Writing tokens

The TUI can write tokens from Search media or Custom write.

Search results use the TUI write_format setting:

• zapscript writes the ZapScript generated by Core. This is the default.
• path writes the media path directly.

Custom writes parse the ZapScript before writing and show an error for unknown command names.

TUI settings

TUI-specific settings live in tui.toml next to config.toml. You can change them from Settings > TUI, or edit the file manually. See the TUI config reference for the full list.

The TUI settings menu includes:

• theme
• write_format
• mouse
• crt_mode
• on_screen_keyboard

crt_mode and on_screen_keyboard default to true on MiSTer and MiSTeX, and false elsewhere.

Logs

Open Settings > Logs to view recent Core log output, refresh the view, or upload the log for support.

Some platforms also show a Copy action that copies the log to a platform-specific location.