diff --git a/setup/tools/generate-modules.sh b/setup/tools/generate-modules.sh
index 8f1f545..5fc587b 100755
--- a/setup/tools/generate-modules.sh
+++ b/setup/tools/generate-modules.sh
@@ -60,19 +60,19 @@ for i in "${ACTIVE_IDS[@]}"; do
 done
 
 # -- module-checklist (tui-install.sh and generate-answerfile.sh) -------------
-# Builds the full SELECTED_APPS=$(dialog ...) call including open/close.
+# Builds the full SELECTED_APPS=$(ui_checklist ...) call including open/close.
+# ui_checklist (defined in tui-install.sh) is a plain-bash replacement for the
+# `dialog --checklist` widget; it takes the same tag/desc/state triplets.
 build_checklist_tui() {
     local out
-    out='    SELECTED_APPS=$(dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \\\n'
-    out+='        --title " Applications " \\\n'
-    out+='        --checklist "Optional applications — installed after base components:" "$_APP_H" 76 "$_APP_LIST_H" \\\n'
+    out='    SELECTED_APPS=$(ui_checklist " Applications " "Optional applications — installed after base components:" \\\n'
     for i in "${ACTIVE_IDS[@]}"; do
         local id="${M_IDS[$i]}" desc="${M_DESCS[$i]}" def="${M_DEFAULTS[$i]}"
         local padded
         padded=$(printf '%-20s' "$id")
         out+="        \"${id}\"  \"${padded}  ${desc}\"  ${def} \\\\\n"
     done
-    out+='        3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) || SELECTED_APPS=""\n'
+    out+='        ) || SELECTED_APPS=""\n'
     printf '%s' "$out"
 }
 
diff --git a/setup/tui-install.sh b/setup/tui-install.sh
index bf1dc61..a10e598 100755
--- a/setup/tui-install.sh
+++ b/setup/tui-install.sh
@@ -30,49 +30,165 @@ ANSWERFILE_MODE=false
 # Enable unattended mode only when the answerfile is actually present on disk.
 [[ -f "$ANSWERFILE" ]] && ANSWERFILE_MODE=true
 
-BACKTITLE="the_miro's Arch Dotfiles"
+# ── Cyberqueer CLI palette ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Plain ANSI escape codes used by the prompt helpers below.  These keep the
+# magenta/cyan "cyberqueer" look without depending on the `dialog` binary, so
+# the installer runs on a bare console with nothing but bash + coreutils.
+# tput is not used here because it may be unavailable on a minimal TTY.
+C_RESET=$'\033[0m'
+C_TITLE=$'\033[1;35m'   # bold magenta — section headers
+C_RULE=$'\033[35m'      # magenta — separators
+C_ACCENT=$'\033[36m'    # cyan — prompts and selected marks
+C_BOLD=$'\033[1m'
+C_DIM=$'\033[2m'
 
-# ── Terminal dimensions (bare console safe) ───────────────────────────────────
-# tput may fail on a bare TTY with no TERM set; fall back to safe 80×24 defaults
-# so dialog sizing arithmetic never operates on empty strings.
-TERM_H=$(tput lines 2>/dev/null || echo 24)
-TERM_W=$(tput cols  2>/dev/null || echo 80)
+# ── Plain-CLI prompt helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# These reimplement the subset of `dialog` widgets the installer needs using
+# only `read`.  Widgets that return a value (input/menu/checklist/form) print
+# their UI to stderr and the chosen value(s) to stdout, mirroring dialog's
+# `3>&1 1>&2 2>&3` fd-swap convention so existing `$(...)` capture sites work
+# unchanged.  All interactive reads come from /dev/tty so the helpers keep
+# working even when stdin is redirected.
 
-# ── Cyberqueer dialog theme ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
-# dialog reads its color scheme from $DIALOGRC at startup.
-# Writing it to TMP_D (rather than ~/.dialogrc) avoids permanently altering
-# the user's existing dialog configuration on the live system.
-export DIALOGRC="$TMP_D/dialogrc"
-# The heredoc uses single-quoted 'EOF' so no variable expansion happens inside;
-# every value is a literal dialog color tuple: (FG, BG, BOLD).
-cat > "$DIALOGRC" <<'EOF'
-use_shadow = ON
-use_colors = ON
-screen_color              = (BLACK,BLACK,ON)
-shadow_color              = (BLACK,BLACK,ON)
-title_color               = (MAGENTA,BLACK,ON)
-border_color              = (MAGENTA,BLACK,ON)
-button_active_color       = (BLACK,MAGENTA,ON)
-button_inactive_color     = (WHITE,BLACK,OFF)
-button_key_active_color   = (BLACK,CYAN,ON)
-button_key_inactive_color = (CYAN,BLACK,ON)
-button_label_active_color   = (BLACK,MAGENTA,ON)
-button_label_inactive_color = (WHITE,BLACK,OFF)
-inputbox_color        = (WHITE,BLACK,OFF)
-inputbox_border_color = (MAGENTA,BLACK,ON)
-menubox_color         = (WHITE,BLACK,OFF)
-menubox_border_color  = (MAGENTA,BLACK,ON)
-item_color            = (WHITE,BLACK,OFF)
-item_selected_color   = (BLACK,MAGENTA,ON)
-tag_color             = (CYAN,BLACK,ON)
-tag_selected_color    = (BLACK,CYAN,ON)
-tag_key_color         = (CYAN,BLACK,ON)
-tag_key_selected_color = (BLACK,CYAN,ON)
-check_color           = (WHITE,BLACK,OFF)
-check_selected_color  = (BLACK,MAGENTA,ON)
-uarrow_color          = (MAGENTA,BLACK,ON)
-darrow_color          = (MAGENTA,BLACK,ON)
-EOF
+ui_header() {
+    # Styled section header printed to the given fd (default stdout).
+    printf '\n%s──── %s ────%s\n\n' "$C_TITLE" "$1" "$C_RESET"
+}
+
+ui_msgbox() {
+    # Informational box: print title + body, wait for Enter to acknowledge.
+    local title="$1" body="$2"
+    ui_header "$title"
+    printf '%b\n' "$body"
+    printf '\n%s  Press Enter to continue…%s' "$C_DIM" "$C_RESET"
+    read -r _ </dev/tty || true
+    printf '\n'
+}
+
+ui_yesno() {
+    # Confirmation prompt. Returns 0 for yes, 1 for no.
+    # $3 sets the default applied on a bare Enter ("yes" or "no").
+    local title="$1" body="$2" def="${3:-yes}" ans hint="[Y/n]"
+    [[ "$def" == no ]] && hint="[y/N]"
+    ui_header "$title"
+    printf '%b\n' "$body"
+    while true; do
+        printf '\n%s  %s %s%s ' "$C_ACCENT" "Confirm?" "$hint" "$C_RESET"
+        read -r ans </dev/tty || ans=""
+        ans="${ans,,}"; [[ -z "$ans" ]] && ans="$def"
+        case "$ans" in
+            y|yes) return 0 ;;
+            n|no)  return 1 ;;
+        esac
+    done
+}
+
+ui_input() {
+    # Single-line text entry. Echoes the entered value (or default) to stdout.
+    local title="$1" prompt="$2" def="${3:-}" val
+    {
+        ui_header "$title"
+        printf '%b\n' "$prompt"
+        [[ -n "$def" ]] && printf '%s  (default: %s)%s\n' "$C_DIM" "$def" "$C_RESET"
+        printf '%s  > %s' "$C_ACCENT" "$C_RESET"
+    } >&2
+    read -r val </dev/tty || val=""
+    [[ -z "$val" ]] && val="$def"
+    printf '%s' "$val"
+}
+
+ui_menu() {
+    # Single-choice list. Args: title prompt tag1 desc1 tag2 desc2 …
+    # Echoes the chosen tag to stdout; returns 1 (no selection) if the user
+    # enters 'q' or a blank line, so callers can fall back to a default.
+    local title="$1" prompt="$2"; shift 2
+    local -a tags=() descs=()
+    while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do tags+=("$1"); descs+=("$2"); shift 2; done
+    local i choice
+    while true; do
+        {
+            ui_header "$title"
+            printf '%b\n\n' "$prompt"
+            for i in "${!tags[@]}"; do
+                printf '   %s%2d%s) %s%-12s%s %s\n' \
+                    "$C_ACCENT" $((i + 1)) "$C_RESET" "$C_BOLD" "${tags[$i]}" "$C_RESET" "${descs[$i]}"
+            done
+            printf '\n%s  Enter number (q to skip): %s' "$C_ACCENT" "$C_RESET"
+        } >&2
+        read -r choice </dev/tty || choice=""
+        [[ "$choice" == q || -z "$choice" ]] && return 1
+        if [[ "$choice" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && (( choice >= 1 && choice <= ${#tags[@]} )); then
+            printf '%s' "${tags[$((choice - 1))]}"
+            return 0
+        fi
+    done
+}
+
+ui_checklist() {
+    # Multi-select list. Args: title prompt tag1 desc1 state1 tag2 desc2 state2 …
+    # state is "on"/"off" for the initial selection. The list is redrawn each
+    # round; the user toggles items by entering numbers and/or ranges
+    # (e.g. "1 3 5-8"), then presses Enter to confirm. Entering 'q' aborts
+    # (returns 1). The space-separated selected tags are printed to stdout.
+    local title="$1" prompt="$2"; shift 2
+    local -a tags=() descs=() state=()
+    while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do tags+=("$1"); descs+=("$2"); state+=("$3"); shift 3; done
+    local n=${#tags[@]} i mark line tok lo hi j
+    while true; do
+        {
+            ui_header "$title"
+            printf '%b\n\n' "$prompt"
+            for i in "${!tags[@]}"; do
+                if [[ "${state[$i]}" == on ]]; then mark="${C_ACCENT}[x]${C_RESET}"; else mark='[ ]'; fi
+                printf '  %s %s%3d%s  %s\n' "$mark" "$C_ACCENT" $((i + 1)) "$C_RESET" "${descs[$i]}"
+            done
+            printf '\n%s  Toggle items by number/range (e.g. 1 3 5-8); Enter confirms, q aborts.%s\n' "$C_DIM" "$C_RESET"
+            printf '%s  > %s' "$C_ACCENT" "$C_RESET"
+        } >&2
+        read -r line </dev/tty || line=""
+        [[ "$line" == q ]] && return 1
+        [[ -z "$line" ]] && break
+        for tok in $line; do
+            if [[ "$tok" =~ ^([0-9]+)-([0-9]+)$ ]]; then
+                lo=${BASH_REMATCH[1]}; hi=${BASH_REMATCH[2]}
+            elif [[ "$tok" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+                lo=$tok; hi=$tok
+            else
+                continue
+            fi
+            for (( j = lo; j <= hi; j++ )); do
+                (( j >= 1 && j <= n )) || continue
+                if [[ "${state[$((j - 1))]}" == on ]]; then state[$((j - 1))]=off; else state[$((j - 1))]=on; fi
+            done
+        done
+    done
+    local out=""
+    for i in "${!tags[@]}"; do
+        [[ "${state[$i]}" == on ]] && out+="${tags[$i]} "
+    done
+    printf '%s' "${out% }"
+}
+
+ui_form() {
+    # Sequential field entry. Args: title prompt label1 default1 label2 default2 …
+    # Prints one entered value per line to stdout (blank field → its default),
+    # matching the newline-separated output of `dialog --form`.
+    local title="$1" prompt="$2"; shift 2
+    {
+        ui_header "$title"
+        printf '%b\n' "$prompt"
+    } >&2
+    local label def v out=""
+    while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+        label="$1"; def="$2"; shift 2
+        printf '%s  %s%s%s [%s]: ' "$C_ACCENT" "$C_BOLD" "$label" "$C_RESET$C_ACCENT" "$def" >&2
+        printf '%s' "$C_RESET" >&2
+        read -r v </dev/tty || v=""
+        [[ -z "$v" ]] && v="$def"
+        out+="$v"$'\n'
+    done
+    printf '%s' "$out"
+}
 
 # ── State ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # STEP counts completed modules; TOTAL is pre-computed by count_steps() before
@@ -81,24 +197,16 @@ STEP=0
 TOTAL=0
 
 # ── Helpers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-require_dialog() {
-    # Short-circuit if dialog is already present; otherwise bootstrap it with pacman.
-    # This allows the script to be run on a fresh Arch install that hasn't yet installed dialog.
-    command -v dialog &>/dev/null && return
-    echo "dialog not found — installing..."
-    sudo pacman -S --noconfirm dialog || { echo "Failed to install dialog."; exit 1; }
-}
-
 require_jq() {
-    # Same bootstrap pattern as require_dialog: jq is only needed in answerfile mode
-    # but we install it on demand to avoid a hard dependency for interactive use.
+    # jq is only needed in answerfile mode, so we install it on demand rather
+    # than making it a hard dependency for interactive use.
     command -v jq &>/dev/null && return
     echo "jq not found — installing..."
     sudo pacman -S --noconfirm jq || { echo "Failed to install jq."; exit 1; }
 }
 
 die() {
-    # Fatal error helper: clear the dialog overlay before printing so the message
+    # Fatal error helper: clear the screen before printing so the message
     # is readable, then exit 1.  Uses stderr to keep it out of any $() capture.
     clear
     printf "\n  Error: %s\n\n" "$1" >&2
@@ -107,13 +215,11 @@ die() {
 
 warn() {
     # Non-fatal notice: in answerfile mode just log it; interactively show a
-    # dialog msgbox that blocks until the user acknowledges with OK.
+    # message box that blocks until the user acknowledges with Enter.
     if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
         printf "\n  Warning: %s\n" "$1" | tee -a "$LOG"
     else
-        dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-               --title " Module Conflict " \
-               --msgbox "\n  $1" 8 62
+        ui_msgbox " Module Conflict " "  $1"
     fi
 }
 
@@ -128,7 +234,7 @@ run_module() {
     STEP=$(( STEP + 1 ))
     log_sep "[$STEP/$TOTAL] $label"
 
-    # Clear the dialog overlay so module output scrolls cleanly on the raw terminal.
+    # Clear the selection screen so module output scrolls cleanly on the raw terminal.
     clear
     printf "\n\033[1;35m  [$STEP/$TOTAL] %s\033[0m\n" "$label"
     printf "\033[35m  ─────────────────────────────────────────────\033[0m\n\n"
@@ -146,11 +252,9 @@ run_module() {
             printf "\n  Warning: %s exited with code %d — continuing.\n" "$label" "$rc" | tee -a "$LOG"
         else
             # Interactive mode: ask the user whether to abort or continue.
-            # 'dialog --yesno' returns 0 for Yes and 1 for No; the '|| { ...; exit 1; }'
+            # ui_yesno returns 0 for Yes and 1 for No; the '|| { ...; exit 1; }'
             # fires on No, aborting the install.
-            dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-                   --title " Module Failed " \
-                   --yesno "$label exited with code $rc.\n\nContinue anyway?" 8 54 \
+            ui_yesno " Module Failed " "$label exited with code $rc.\n\nContinue anyway?" no \
                 || { clear; exit 1; }
         fi
     fi
@@ -322,9 +426,6 @@ fi
 # the installer cannot function on this OS.
 command -v pacman &>/dev/null || die "pacman not found — Arch Linux required."
 
-# Ensure the dialog binary is available before we try to use it.
-require_dialog
-
 if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
     load_answerfile
     printf "Answerfile mode: %s\n" "$ANSWERFILE" | tee -a "$LOG"
@@ -341,13 +442,9 @@ if ! ping -c1 -W3 archlinux.org &>/dev/null; then
         # Give the user a chance to plug in a cable or run iwctl before we
         # re-test.  A second failed ping offers a soft-abort rather than a
         # hard failure, in case the user wants to proceed with a local mirror.
-        dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-               --title " No Network Detected " \
-               --msgbox "\n  No internet connection found.\n\n  Wired: ensure the cable is plugged in.\n  WiFi:  switch to another TTY (Alt+F2)\n         and run: iwctl\n\n  Press OK once connected.\n" 13 58
+        ui_msgbox " No Network Detected " "  No internet connection found.\n\n  Wired: ensure the cable is plugged in.\n  WiFi:  switch to another TTY (Alt+F2)\n         and run: iwctl\n\n  Reconnect, then press Enter."
         if ! ping -c1 -W3 archlinux.org &>/dev/null; then
-            dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-                   --title " Still Offline " \
-                   --yesno "\n  Still no internet connection.\n\n  Packages cannot be downloaded without network access.\n\n  Continue anyway?" 11 58 \
+            ui_yesno " Still Offline " "  Still no internet connection.\n\n  Packages cannot be downloaded without network access.\n\n  Continue anyway?" no \
                 || { clear; echo "Aborted — no network."; exit 1; }
         fi
     fi
@@ -360,9 +457,7 @@ printf "Dotfiles install: %s\nDotfiles dir:    %s\n" "$(date)" "$DOTFILES_DIR" >
 
 # ── Welcome ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 if ! $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
-    dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Welcome " \
-        --msgbox "\n\
+    ui_msgbox " Welcome " "\
   the_miro's Arch dotfiles installer\n\
   Cyberqueer  ·  Wayland  ·  Hyprland\n\
   ─────────────────────────────────────────\n\
@@ -370,7 +465,7 @@ if ! $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
   Arch Linux — network admin, development & gaming\n\
 \n\
   Source:  $DOTFILES_DIR\n\
-  Log:     $LOG\n" 14 62
+  Log:     $LOG"
 fi
 
 # ── Hostname ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -385,14 +480,10 @@ if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
         printf "Hostname (from answerfile + MAC): %s\n" "$HOSTNAME_SET" | tee -a "$LOG"
     fi
 else
-    # dialog --inputbox: 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3 swaps fd1 and fd2 so the user's typed
-    # value (written to stdout by dialog) is captured by the $() subshell, while
-    # dialog's UI (which needs stderr for the terminal) flows to the actual terminal.
-    # The '|| HOSTNAME_INPUT=""' handles the user pressing Esc (dialog returns 1).
-    HOSTNAME_INPUT=$(dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Hostname " \
-        --inputbox "\n  Hostname for this machine (leave blank to keep default).\n" 9 54 "" \
-        3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) || HOSTNAME_INPUT=""
+    # ui_input prints its prompt to stderr and the typed value to stdout, so the
+    # $() capture receives only the hostname.  A blank line keeps the default.
+    HOSTNAME_INPUT=$(ui_input " Hostname " \
+        "  Hostname for this machine (leave blank to keep default).") || HOSTNAME_INPUT=""
     HOSTNAME_SET="$HOSTNAME_INPUT"
 fi
 
@@ -408,30 +499,25 @@ fi
 if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
     COMPONENTS="$AF_COMPONENTS"
 else
-    # dialog --checklist args: height width list-height, then triplets of tag desc state.
+    # ui_checklist takes tag/desc/state triplets and echoes the selected tags.
     # All four components are pre-selected ("on") because they form the expected base.
-    # The 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3 fd swap captures dialog's output (the selected tags) via $().
-    # Esc / Cancel returns exit code 1; the '|| { ...; exit 0; }' treats that as a clean abort.
-    COMPONENTS=$(dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Select Components " \
-        --checklist "Space toggles  ·  Enter confirms  ·  Esc quits" 16 68 4 \
-        "pkg"      "Package managers    yay · nvm · rust"                     on  \
-        "core"     "Core packages       100+ base system packages"            on  \
-        "svc"      "Core services       NetworkManager · cronie · fail2ban"   on  \
-        "shell"    "Shell setup         zsh · nvim · yazi · micro · starship" on  \
-        3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) || { clear; echo "Aborted."; exit 0; }
+    # Entering 'q' returns exit code 1; the '|| { ...; exit 0; }' treats that as a clean abort.
+    COMPONENTS=$(ui_checklist " Select Components " "Optional base components — all enabled by default:" \
+        "pkg"      "pkg      Package managers    yay · nvm · rust"                     on  \
+        "core"     "core     Core packages       100+ base system packages"            on  \
+        "svc"      "svc      Core services       NetworkManager · cronie · fail2ban"   on  \
+        "shell"    "shell    Shell setup         zsh · nvim · yazi · micro · starship" on) \
+        || { clear; echo "Aborted."; exit 0; }
 fi
 
 # ── DE selection ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
     DE="$AF_DE"
 else
-    # dialog --menu is a single-choice list; it outputs the selected tag.
-    # Esc returns exit code 1 — '|| DE="none"' defaults to skipping the DE,
+    # ui_menu is a single-choice list; it outputs the selected tag.
+    # 'q'/blank returns exit code 1 — '|| DE="none"' defaults to skipping the DE,
     # preserving whatever DE the user already has installed.
-    DE=$(dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Desktop Environment " \
-        --menu "Select a desktop environment  ·  Esc / none to skip:" 24 72 11 \
+    DE=$(ui_menu " Desktop Environment " "Select a desktop environment  ·  q / none to skip:" \
         "hyprlua"    "HyprLua    — Hyprland with Lua config (recommended)" \
         "niri"       "Niri       — scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor" \
         "hyprland"   "Hyprland   — Wayland WM, hyprlang config (legacy)" \
@@ -441,23 +527,15 @@ else
         "cosmic"     "COSMIC     — Rust-built Wayland DE (System76)" \
         "xfce"       "XFCE       — lightweight X11 DE" \
         "lxqt"       "LXQt       — lightweight Qt X11 DE" \
-        "none"       "Skip DE installation" \
-        3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) || DE="none"
+        "none"       "Skip DE installation") || DE="none"
 fi
 
 # ── Apps selection ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
     SELECTED_APPS="$AF_APPS"
 else
-    # Cap the dialog box at 40 rows but shrink to fit smaller terminals.
-    # The list height is the dialog height minus 8 rows of chrome (title, borders,
-    # prompt, buttons), with a minimum of 4 to remain usable on tiny screens.
-    _APP_H=$(( TERM_H - 2 < 40 ? TERM_H - 2 : 40 ))
-    _APP_LIST_H=$(( _APP_H - 8 < 4 ? 4 : _APP_H - 8 ))
 # BEGIN GENERATED MODULES: module-checklist
-    SELECTED_APPS=$(dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Applications " \
-        --checklist "Optional applications — installed after base components:" "$_APP_H" 76 "$_APP_LIST_H" \
+    SELECTED_APPS=$(ui_checklist " Applications " "Optional applications — installed after base components:" \
         "ollama"  "ollama                local LLM runner and API server"  off \
         "llama-cpp"  "llama-cpp             standalone LLM inference CLI and server"  off \
         "open-webui"  "open-webui            browser UI for Ollama and LLM backends"  off \
@@ -538,7 +616,7 @@ else
         "qemu"  "qemu                  full QEMU/KVM stack with virt-manager"  off \
         "freeipa-client"  "freeipa-client        sssd and ipa-client-install with auto-enrollment"  off \
         "freeipa-server"  "freeipa-server        interactive FreeIPA server setup with client generator"  off \
-        3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) || SELECTED_APPS=""
+        ) || SELECTED_APPS=""
 # END GENERATED MODULES: module-checklist
 fi
 
@@ -546,12 +624,10 @@ fi
 if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
     SHELL_RC="$AF_SHELL_RC"
 else
-    SHELL_RC=$(dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Shell Config for New Users " \
-        --menu "\n  Should new users on this machine inherit the dotfiles' rc files?\n  (Controls what gets copied to /etc/skel)\n" 13 68 2 \
+    SHELL_RC=$(ui_menu " Shell Config for New Users " \
+        "Should new users on this machine inherit the dotfiles' rc files?\n  (Controls what gets copied to /etc/skel)" \
         "dotfiles" "Use the_miro's .zshrc / .bashrc / .vimrc from dotfiles" \
-        "defaults" "Skip — use system defaults for new users" \
-        3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) || SHELL_RC="defaults"
+        "defaults" "Skip — use system defaults for new users") || SHELL_RC="defaults"
 fi
 
 # ── Confirmation (interactive mode only) ──────────────────────────────────────
@@ -654,12 +730,8 @@ if ! $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
 # END GENERATED MODULES: module-summary
     fi
 
-    # Size the confirmation dialog to the terminal, capped at 24 rows.
-    _CONF_H=$(( TERM_H - 2 < 24 ? TERM_H - 2 : 24 ))
-    dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Confirm Installation " \
-        --yesno "\n Components to install:\n\n${SUMMARY}\n Log: $LOG\n\n Proceed?" \
-        "$_CONF_H" 62 || { clear; echo "Aborted."; exit 0; }
+    ui_yesno " Confirm Installation " " Components to install:\n\n${SUMMARY}\n Log: $LOG" \
+        || { clear; echo "Aborted."; exit 0; }
 fi
 
 # Pre-count all selected steps before installation starts so run_module() can
@@ -846,20 +918,17 @@ if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
         bash "$DOTFILES_DIR/apply-theme.sh" "$TMP_COLORS" 2>&1 | tee -a "$LOG" || true
     fi
 else
-    # Interactive: show color form dialog
-    # dialog --form: each field is specified as label row col default frow fcol flen max.
-    # The fd swap (3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) captures the form output (one value per line) via $().
-    # Esc / Cancel sets COLORWAY_RAW="" so the colorway step is simply skipped.
-    COLORWAY_RAW=$(dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Colorway (optional) " \
-        --form "\n  Customize theme colors — bare 6-digit hex, no #.\n  Leave unchanged to skip colorway setup.\n" \
-        16 62 5 \
-        "COLOR_TEXT      " 1 1 "$DEF_TEXT"      1 18 10 7 \
-        "COLOR_BG        " 2 1 "$DEF_BG"        2 18 10 7 \
-        "COLOR_HIGHLIGHT " 3 1 "$DEF_HIGHLIGHT"  3 18 10 7 \
-        "COLOR_DARK      " 4 1 "$DEF_DARK"       4 18 10 7 \
-        "COLOR_RED       " 5 1 "$DEF_RED"        5 18 10 7 \
-        3>&1 1>&2 2>&3) || COLORWAY_RAW=""
+    # Interactive: prompt for each color field in turn.
+    # ui_form emits one value per line (blank → default), captured via $().
+    # Pressing Enter on every field leaves COLORWAY_RAW at the defaults, and the
+    # comparison below then skips the colorway step entirely.
+    COLORWAY_RAW=$(ui_form " Colorway (optional) " \
+        "  Customize theme colors — bare 6-digit hex, no #.\n  Leave each field unchanged to skip colorway setup." \
+        "COLOR_TEXT"      "$DEF_TEXT" \
+        "COLOR_BG"        "$DEF_BG" \
+        "COLOR_HIGHLIGHT" "$DEF_HIGHLIGHT" \
+        "COLOR_DARK"      "$DEF_DARK" \
+        "COLOR_RED"       "$DEF_RED") || COLORWAY_RAW=""
 
     if [[ -n "$COLORWAY_RAW" ]]; then
         # mapfile reads the newline-separated form output into an array.
@@ -912,9 +981,7 @@ fi
 if $ANSWERFILE_MODE; then
     printf "\nDone. Log: %s\n" "$LOG"
 else
-    dialog --backtitle "$BACKTITLE" \
-        --title " Done " \
-        --msgbox "\n  All selected components installed.\n\n  Log: $LOG\n\n  A reboot may be required for all changes to take effect.\n" 12 58
+    ui_msgbox " Done " "  All selected components installed.\n\n  Log: $LOG\n\n  A reboot may be required for all changes to take effect."
 
     clear
     printf "\n  Done. Log: %s\n\n" "$LOG"