android-widgets 0.1.8

Kivy-androidwidgets

Generate Android home-screen widgets for Kivy / Buildozer apps from a pure-Python DSL — no XML, no Java. Widget definitions are compiled by a CLI pre-build step into res/, src/ and a p4a hook that Buildozer compiles straight into the APK.

Complete sample: working app

Quickstart

1. Install

pip install kivy-androidwidgets

2. Describe your widget in Python

widgets.py (in your project root):

from android_widgets import HomeWidget, AWColumn, AWRow, AWText, AWImage, AWButton, AWProgressBar, Color

clock = HomeWidget(
    name="Clock",
    description="Shows the current time",
    layout=AWColumn(
        spacing=6,
        children=[
            AWText("12:00", id="time", size=28, bold=True),
            AWText("Mon 4 Aug", id="date", size=12, color=Color("#888888")),
        ],
    ),
    min_width_dp=110,          # 2 cells
    min_height_dp=110,
    resize_mode="horizontal|vertical",
    update_period_ms=1800000,  # Android minimum: 30 minutes
    tap_to_open=True,          # whole widget opens the app on tap
    background=Color("#FFFFFF"),
    radius=12,
)

3. Generate the Android artifacts

python -m android_widgets init     # creates p4a/hook.py (one-time)
python -m android_widgets generate --spec buildozer.spec --module widgets.py

This writes (gitignore them):

• res/layout/<name>.xml, res/layout/<name>_preview.xml
• res/xml/<name>_provider.xml — the appwidget-provider metadata
• res/drawable/widget_bg_<name>.xml — rounded background shapes
• src/<package>/<ClassName>.java — one AppWidgetProvider per widget
• res/values/widgets.xml, p4a/widget_receivers.json

generate reads package.domain + package.name from buildozer.spec. Use --dry-run to preview without writing.

4. Wire it into buildozer.spec

android.add_resources = res
android.add_src = src
p4a.hook = p4a/hook.py

5. Build

buildozer android debug

The generated p4a/hook.py (after_apk_build) injects the <receiver> entries into the dist's AndroidManifest.xml before aapt compiles it, so no manual manifest editing.

DSL Reference

• HomeWidget — name, description, layout, min_width_dp, min_height_dp, target_cells, max_cells, resize_mode, widget_category, update_period_ms, preview_image, preview_layout, tap_to_open, background (Color), radius, padding
• AWColumn, AWRow — spacing, children
• AWFrame — single child, ideal for cards
• AWText — text, size, color, bold, italic, align, max_lines, id
• AWImage — resource, path, scale_type, content_description, id
• AWButton — text, id
• AWProgressBar — style, max, id

Layout children with an id become runtime handles: the generated Java loads images from context.getFilesDir()/app/assets/... for AWImage(path=...) at add-time. tap_to_open=True wires @+id/widget_root to a PendingIntent opening the app (with the API-23 FLAG_IMMUTABLE guard).

Runtime updates

Add widgets to the home screen from Python at runtime (see using-python-to-update-widget.md for the manual version). update_period_ms cannot go below 1 800 000 ms on Android.

Widget & feature recipes: examples.md (clock, battery meter, photo, button, card layouts, multiple widgets per app, and the runtime update API).

Tests

python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v

Manual fallback

Prefer the DSL above. If you need full control, the original manual method still works: hand-write the layout/provider XML, the Java AppWidgetProvider and the manifest hook (see below).

Step 1: Design the layout

Store in res/layout/simple_widget.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:padding="10dp"
    android:background="#FFFFFF"
    android:gravity="center"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content">

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/widget_text"
        android:text="Loading..."
        android:textSize="18sp"
        android:textColor="#000"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>

</LinearLayout>

Step 2: Create the widget info XML

Path: res/xml/widgetproviderinfo.xml

<appwidget-provider xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:minWidth="120dp"
    android:minHeight="60dp"
    android:updatePeriodMillis="1800000"
    android:initialLayout="@layout/simple_widget"
    android:previewImage="@drawable/ic_launcher_foreground"
    android:resizeMode="horizontal|vertical"
    android:widgetCategory="home_screen">
</appwidget-provider>

Create the preview image at res/drawable/ic_launcher_foreground.png.

Step 3: Create an AppWidgetProvider

Path: src/SimpleWidget.java

package org.wally.waller; // Change here from buildozer.spec package.domain+package.name

import android.appwidget.AppWidgetManager;
import android.appwidget.AppWidgetProvider;
import android.content.Context;
import android.widget.RemoteViews;

import org.wally.waller.R; // Change here from buildozer.spec package.domain+package.name
import android.app.PendingIntent;
import android.content.Intent;

public class SimpleWidget extends AppWidgetProvider {

    @Override
    public void onUpdate(Context context, AppWidgetManager appWidgetManager, int[] appWidgetIds) {
        for (int appWidgetId : appWidgetIds) {

            RemoteViews views = new RemoteViews(context.getPackageName(), R.layout.simple_widget);

            // Example: Set text
            views.setTextViewText(R.id.widget_text, "Hello Widget!");

            // Update widget
            appWidgetManager.updateAppWidget(appWidgetId, views);
        }
    }
}

Step 4: Inject the receiver with a p4a hook

Path: p4a/hook.py

from pathlib import Path
from pythonforandroid.toolchain import ToolchainCL


def after_apk_build(toolchain: ToolchainCL):
    manifest_file = Path(toolchain._dist.dist_dir) / "src" / "main" / "AndroidManifest.xml"
    text = manifest_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")

    package = "org.wally.waller"
    receiver_xml = f'''
    <receiver android:name="{package}.SimpleWidget"
              android:enabled="true"
              android:exported="false">
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.appwidget.action.APPWIDGET_UPDATE" />
        </intent-filter>
        <meta-data android:name="android.appwidget.provider"
               android:resource="@xml/widgetproviderinfo" />
    </receiver>
    '''

    if receiver_xml.strip() not in text:
        if "</application>" in text:
            text = text.replace("</application>", f"{receiver_xml}\n</application>")
            print("Receiver added")
        else: 
            print("Could not find </application> to insert receiver")
    else: 
        print("Receiver already exists in manifest")

    manifest_file.write_text(text, encoding="utf-8")
    print("Successfully_101: Manifest update completed successfully!")

Step 5: Wire into buildozer.spec

android.add_resources = res
android.add_src = src
p4a.hook = p4a/hook.py

Sample Image:

For more widget customisation check: How to Customise.md