The GUI currently hard-requires the ReAction/ClassAct classes, which means OS 3.0/3.1 users without ClassAct installed get no GUI at all (the FAQ's answer today is "the CLI still works everywhere").
A GadTools front-end would remove that dependency entirely: gadtools.library is in ROM/Workbench from OS 2.04 up, so a GadTools GUI could run on every system the CLI runs on — including the plain-68000 / OS 2.04 baseline, MorphOS/OS4 under 68k emulation, and AROS 68k.
There's also a forward-looking reason: ReAction's availability in anything continuing on from OS 3.2/3.3 is uncertain (ownership/licensing of the ClassAct-derived classes), whereas GadTools is part of the classic ROM API every successor reimplements. If ReAction ever becomes a dead end, a GadTools front-end keeps the GUI viable; it would be the lowest-common-denominator sibling of the proposed MUI front-end (see the companion MUI issue).
Scope thoughts:
- Same portable core and commodity/ARexx/CLI-forwarding glue; only the window/gadget layer differs.
- GadTools has no layout engine, listbrowser, or fuelgauge — the account list, countdown bar, and font-adaptive layout all need hand-rolling, so this is a real (if well-trodden) chunk of work.
- Precondition shared with the MUI issue: split the GUI logic from the ReAction-specific layer so front-ends are thin.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
https://claude.ai/code/session_01CRP4gJ7zq9zy1DoC4toRWc
The GUI currently hard-requires the ReAction/ClassAct classes, which means OS 3.0/3.1 users without ClassAct installed get no GUI at all (the FAQ's answer today is "the CLI still works everywhere").
A GadTools front-end would remove that dependency entirely: gadtools.library is in ROM/Workbench from OS 2.04 up, so a GadTools GUI could run on every system the CLI runs on — including the plain-68000 / OS 2.04 baseline, MorphOS/OS4 under 68k emulation, and AROS 68k.
There's also a forward-looking reason: ReAction's availability in anything continuing on from OS 3.2/3.3 is uncertain (ownership/licensing of the ClassAct-derived classes), whereas GadTools is part of the classic ROM API every successor reimplements. If ReAction ever becomes a dead end, a GadTools front-end keeps the GUI viable; it would be the lowest-common-denominator sibling of the proposed MUI front-end (see the companion MUI issue).
Scope thoughts:
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
https://claude.ai/code/session_01CRP4gJ7zq9zy1DoC4toRWc