periodic-table-cli
An interactive, terminal-based Periodic Table of Elements with navigation, search, and 20+ data visualization modes.
What is periodic-table-cli?
periodic-table-cli is an interactive command-line application that displays the complete Periodic Table of Elements directly in your terminal. It allows users to browse, search, and visualize detailed chemical properties for all 118 elements through a colorful, navigable interface. The tool solves the need for a quick, offline-accessible periodic table reference that's both educational and developer-friendly.
Developers, students, educators, and scientists who work in terminal environments and need quick access to chemical element data. It's particularly useful for those who prefer CLI tools for learning or reference.
Developers choose periodic-table-cli because it offers a unique, interactive terminal experience with no dependencies, multiple visualization modes, and powerful search—all while being completely free and open-source. Its focus on console aesthetics and usability sets it apart from web-based or static periodic tables.
Overview
An interactive Periodic Table of Elements app for the console!
Use Cases
Best For
- Quickly looking up element properties directly from the terminal
- Teaching chemistry concepts in a developer-friendly environment
- Visualizing trends like atomic radius or electronegativity across the periodic table
- Creating educational scripts or demos that incorporate chemical data
- Having a lightweight, offline periodic table reference for development workflows
- Exploring element families and electron configurations interactively
Not Ideal For
- Users with terminals that lack 256-color support or have screen dimensions below 156x46 columns
- Projects requiring programmatic access to element data via an API or library
- Scenarios needing up-to-date scientific data with automatic updates
- Environments where graphical interfaces or mouse-based navigation is essential
Pros & Cons
Pros
Runs on NodeJS 12+ with no external packages, ensuring easy installation and minimal footprint.
Offers over 20 display modes including heatmaps for atomic mass, electronegativity, and radioactivity, providing instant visual trends.
Allows browsing, searching by name/symbol/number, and navigating families and electron configurations with arrow keys in real-time.
Built for 256-color terminals with scrolling support for smaller screens, making it visually engaging in CLI environments.
Cons
Requires terminals with 256-color support and a minimum size of 156x46, which can be limiting on some systems or emulators.
Data is manually curated from PubChem and last updated in August 2025, lacking automatic updates for new discoveries or corrections.
Primarily interactive; lacks features to export data to files or provide a programmatic interface for integration into other tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
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