UCI-Compatible Engines
Any UCI-compatible chess engine works with chess-tui. Below are the most popular options.
Stockfish Recommended ⭐
The strongest open-source engine in the world. Fully supports UCI_LimitStrength and UCI_Elo, so all difficulty presets work perfectly.
| Platform | Install |
|---|---|
| macOS | brew install stockfish |
| Debian/Ubuntu | sudo apt install stockfish |
| Fedora | sudo dnf install stockfish |
| Arch Linux | sudo pacman -S stockfish |
| Windows | stockfishchess.org/download |
chess-tui -e stockfish
GNU Chess
Classic open-source engine. Requires the --uci flag. Difficulty presets work via depth/time limiting (ELO limiting not supported).
| Platform | Install |
|---|---|
| macOS | brew install gnu-chess |
| Debian/Ubuntu | sudo apt install gnuchess |
| Fedora | sudo dnf install gnuchess |
| Arch Linux | sudo pacman -S gnuchess |
chess-tui -e "gnuchess --uci"