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/projects/signalbox · active process

Signalbox

Modern native-C terminal client for Pandora, evolving pianobar’s foundation into a responsive cross-platform TUI targeting macOS, Linux, and Windows.

SB-001 // PROJECT STATUS

Independent engineering / FOSS project

  • RoleCreator / Maintainer
  • StatusActive Development
  • StackC · Terminal UI · Pandora · Audio · macOS · Linux · Windows · Git
  • WindowsNative .exe target currently in active development.
  • RepositoryCurrently private during active development.

OVERVIEW.TXT

Signalbox takes pianobar’s proven native-C foundation and asks what a modern, responsive Pandora terminal client can look like while keeping the speed, simplicity, and character of a native terminal application.

It is more than a visual reskin. The work reaches through the interaction model, terminal state and rendering, live resize behavior, audio playback, keyboard input, authentication and session behavior, build tooling, and cross-platform compatibility while modernizing an established codebase.

CURRENTLY_WORKING.LOG

Implemented and tested

  • Pandora authentication and session behavior
  • Station retrieval and selection
  • Playlist and track retrieval
  • Audio playback
  • Now Playing track, artist, and album metadata
  • Keyboard input handling
  • Responsive terminal resize, reflow, and redraw behavior
  • macOS runtime and Linux cross-platform work

WHY_I_BUILT_IT.TXT

Operator note

I’ve always liked software that does one thing well, stays close to the machine, and does not need a browser tab to justify its existence.

Signalbox became an excuse to revisit native C, terminal application design, audio, cross-platform behavior, and the strange engineering problems that only show up when the entire UI lives inside a terminal.

ENGINEERING_FOCUS.DIR

Current areas of work

Native C

Working in and extending an established native-C application foundation.

Terminal UI

Building a responsive interface with distinct Stations and Now Playing regions—not treating stdout as a static stream.

Audio

Maintaining real Pandora streaming and playback behavior while modernizing the surrounding application experience.

Input + State

Handling keyboard interaction, authentication and session behavior, selection, playback, and application state inside a terminal.

Resize / Reflow

Detecting live terminal dimension changes and rebuilding or redrawing interface regions correctly.

Cross-Platform

Developing across macOS, Linux, and Windows while preserving the application’s native-C terminal architecture. The native Windows .exe target is in active development.

Debugging

Using runtime instrumentation and logging to trace terminal behavior and diagnose rendering and state problems.

LINEAGE.TXT

Signalbox carries forward and builds upon pianobar’s native-C foundation. The project respects that lineage while evolving the interface and interaction model; it does not present the underlying work as something written from scratch.

ROAD_AHEAD.LOG

  • Native Windows .exe target in active development
  • Continued TUI refinement and interaction polish
  • Terminal-size resilience
  • Cross-platform validation
  • Documentation and eventual public source release
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