Overview
Claude Code isn’t just a simple terminal interface - it’s actually a game engine architecture that renders React components into ANSI terminal output at 60fps with a 16ms frame budget.
The Breakdown
- Claude Code uses React scene graph rendering - it constructs UI components using React just like web apps do
- The system performs real-time rasterization - it converts React components into 2D pixel layouts then renders them to terminal screens
- It implements frame-based diffing - comparing each new screen against the previous one to minimize what needs redrawing
- The pipeline operates on game engine timing - maintaining ~60fps with only 5ms to convert React to ANSI output
- This reveals Claude Code as sophisticated graphics architecture rather than a simple text-based terminal interface