cellabrate

README

Cellabrate

A portmanteau of "cell" and "celebrate", reflecting the celebration of life’s patterns in the simulation.

Cellabrate is a terminal-based Conway's Game of Life editor and simulator. It allows you to interactively create, edit, and simulate cellular automaton patterns in real-time. Inspired by Vim for its keyboard navigation, it provides a streamlined, efficient way to experiment with patterns, using paint and erase modes, dynamic grid resizing, and more.

TODO: Cellabrate Demo

Features

• Real-time cellular automaton simulation
• Interactive cell editing with cursor
• Paint and erase modes for efficient pattern creation
• Vim-inspired keyboard navigation
• Dynamic grid resizing based on terminal dimensions

How It Works

This implementation of Conway's Game of Life follows these rules:

1. Underpopulation: Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbors dies.
2. Survival: Any live cell with two or three live neighbors lives on.
3. Overpopulation: Any live cell with more than three live neighbors dies.
4. Reproduction: Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbors becomes alive.

Installation

Install with Go

Go Install

go install github.com/manankarnik/cellabrate

Run Binary

cellabrate

Clone and Run

Clone This Repository

git clone https://github.com/manankarnik/cellabrate.git

Navigate to the Project Directory

cd cellabrate

Run Cellabrate

go run .

Requirements

• Golang
• tcell/v2

Usage

TODO: Cellabrate Interface

Basic Controls

The program starts with a simple pattern (3-cell line) in the center of the screen. Use the keyboard to navigate, edit cells, and control simulation.

Modes

The program has two main modes:

1. Edit Mode (default) - Move cursor and toggle cells on/off
   • Paint Mode - Draw live cells by moving the cursor
   • Erase Mode - Erase live cells by moving the cursor
2. Simulation Mode - Watch the Game of Life evolve

Key Bindings

Movement

Key	Action
h,j,k,l or Arrow keys	Move cursor (left, down, up, right)
f	Move cursor 5 steps right
b	Move cursor 5 steps left
u	Move cursor 5 steps up
d	Move cursor 5 steps down
Ctrl+F	Move cursor to far right
Ctrl+B	Move cursor to far left
Ctrl+U	Move cursor to top
Ctrl+D	Move cursor to bottom
m	Move cursor to horizontal middle
M	Move cursor to vertical middle

Cell Manipulation

Key	Action
Space	Toggle cell state (alive/dead) at cursor
p	Toggle paint mode
e	Toggle erase mode
c	Clear the entire grid

Simulation Control

Key	Action
s	Toggle simulation (start/pause)
n	Step simulation forward one generation

Program Control

Key	Action
Esc, q	Quit the program

Special Modes

Paint Mode

Paint mode allows you to "draw" live cells by simply moving the cursor. This makes creating patterns much faster than toggling individual cells.

• Press p to enter or exit paint mode
• The cursor will turn green in paint mode
• Move the cursor to create live cells
• Note: Paint mode is disabled during simulation, and you cannot use it simultaneously with erase mode.

TODO: Paint Mode Example

Erase Mode

Erase mode is similar to paint mode but removes cells instead of creating them.

• Press e to enter or exit erase mode
• The cursor will turn red in erase mode
• Move the cursor to remove live cells
• Note: Erase mode is disabled during simulation, and you cannot use it simultaneously with paint mode.

TODO: Erase Mode Example

Examples

Here are some classic patterns you can create:

Glider

TODO: Glider Pattern

Blinker

TODO: Blinker Pattern

Gosper Glider Gun

TODO: Gosper Glider Gun

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to raise Issues and submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

References

• Conway's Game of Life for creating the Game of Life
• tcell library for terminal graphics