Orbit: A High-Performance Terminal Workspace & System Monitor in Rust with WASM Plugins

Description and use

Orbit is a fast terminal dashboard written in Rust that supports WebAssembly plugins, delivering sub‑millisecond input latency and 60 FPS rendering, fully keyboard‑controlled.

Problem

Terminal dashboards often trade speed for extensibility: compiled C/Rust tools are fast but inflexible, while Python or Electron apps are extensible but slow.

Outcome

Orbit achieves sub‑millisecond input latency, 60 FPS rendering, and full keyboard control while remaining extensible via WebAssembly plugins.

Workflow

• Install Orbit via Cargo or download a pre‑compiled release
• Launch Orbit in a terminal
• Use Vim‑style keys (h/j/k/l) to navigate panels
• Press Enter to inspect container logs
• Configure keymaps in YAML
• Add custom telemetry plugins compiled to WebAssembly and load them at runtime

Evidence

Most terminal dashboards force a compromise: either they are fast but rigid (compiled C/Rust with fixed layouts and hardcoded charts), or they are extensible but slow (heavy Python or Electron apps).

Source

Orbit is an extensible, keyboard-driven developer dashboard and real-time system monitor written in Rust.

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WASM Plugin Architecture: Write custom telemetry plugins or workspace integrations in any language that compiles to WebAssembly. Orbit dynamically loads them at runtime without recompiling the core binary.

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Sub-millisecond Input Latency: Built with Ratatui and Crossterm using decoupled async background data pollers. UI rendering is locked at a steady 60 FPS while background workers stream stats.

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Modal Vim Navigation: Everything is keyboard-controllable. Switch panels with h/j/k/l, inspect container logs with <Enter>, and customize keymaps directly in YAML.

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Installation via Cargo: cargo install orbit-tui orbit

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