cars

cars is a CLI + TUI tool for simulating custom, rule-based cellular automata. It supports multiple presets, custom rule input, and real-time visualizations using Ratatui.

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Features

• Simulate 2D binary-state cellular automata (e.g., Conway’s Game of Life)
• Custom rules in B/S notation (e.g., B3/S23)
• ASCII or interactive TUI rendering with Ratatui
• Built-in presets: glider, blinker, block
• CLI-based configuration of rules, grid size, steps, and more

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Usage

Build the project

cargo build --release

Run with default options

cargo run

Run a glider in a 40x20 grid with TUI

cargo run -- --preset glider --width 40 --height 20 --ui tui

Run with custom rule (e.g., HighLife)

cargo run -- --preset glider --rule B36/S23 --ui tui

Run until Ctrl+C (no --steps)

cargo run -- --preset blinker --width 30 --height 30 --ui tui

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CLI Options

Flag	Description	Default
--rule	Cellular automaton rule string in B/S format	B3/S23
--width	Grid width	10
--height	Grid height	10
--steps	Number of generations to simulate (omit to run until Ctrl+C)	(infinite)
--preset	Pattern to seed initially (glider, blinker, block)	(optional)
--ui	UI mode: tui for interactive, omit for plain terminal output	(optional)

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Rule Syntax

Uses standard Life-like cellular automaton notation:

• B = birth conditions
• S = survival conditions

Example:
B3/S23 (Conway’s Game of Life):

• Dead cells become alive with exactly 3 neighbors
• Live cells survive with 2 or 3 neighbors

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Future Plans

• Export simulation frames to GIF
• Support for random seeding
• Interactive controls: pause/resume, speed adjustment
• Support for non-totalistic and multi-state automata

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Tech Stack

• Rust 🦀
• clap for argument parsing
• ratatui for terminal UI
• crossterm for input handling

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📜 License

MIT

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