CTKFileDialog-plus 0.5.5

A modern file dialog for CustomTkinter

CTkFileDialog

A modern and fully customizable File Dialog for CustomTkinter — a must-have extension pack!

[!WARNING] Unfortunately parameters like video_preview, preview_img, and tooltip are not compatible with the mini dialog and will not be applied. View modes and sorting are exclusive to the Default dialog.

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🚀 Features

• 🔍 Autocomplete in the path entry field (with Tab, Up, and Down)
• 🧩 Flexible filetype filters: accepts simple extensions or tkinter-style (label, pattern) tuples (patterns may contain multiple space‑separated globs). Wildcards like */*.* are treated as match‑all.
• � Search/filter files in real-time
• 🖼️ Live image preview
• 🎥 Video thumbnail preview
• 📁 Directory selection
• 💾 Save file dialog (return path or open file)
• ❔ Tooltip support
• 🖥️ Shell Path Syntax Support
• ⌨️ Backspace using Alt + Left Arrow shortcut
• 👀 Multiple view modes (Grid and List view in Default dialog)
• 📊 Sort files by name, date, size, type, or last modified
• 💡 Data type validation at runtime and for static type analyzers

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📦 Installation

# Using bash 
git clone https://github.com/hmidani-abdelilah/CTkFileDialog-plus
cd CTkFileDialog-plus
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

# On Windows 
git clone https://github.com/hmidani-abdelilah/CTkFileDialog-plus 
cd CTkFileDialog-plus
python3 -m venv .venv 
.\.venv\Scripts\activate.ps1 # In Powershell
pip3 install -r requirements.txt 

# Or ussing pip 

python3 -m venv .venv 
source .venv/bin/activate # In powershell -> .\.venv\Scripts\activate.ps1
pip3 install CTkFileDialog-plus

[!WARNING] You should install the Hack Nerd Fonts if u wanna see the icons without problems :)

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🧪 Demo — All Methods

🗂️ Open File

import customtkinter as ctk
from CTkFileDialog import askopenfilename

ctk.set_appearance_mode("Dark")
ctk.set_default_color_theme("blue")

def open_file():
    # you can pass simple extensions...
    # path = askopenfilename(preview_img=True, autocomplete=True)
    # or tkinter‑style tuples with labels and multiple globs:
    path = askopenfilename(
        filetypes=[
            ("Text files","*.txt"),
            ("Python","*.py *.pyw"),
            ("All","*.*"),
        ],
        preview_img=True,
        autocomplete=True,
    )
    if path:
        result_label.configure(text=f"Selected file:\n{path}")

app = ctk.CTk()
app.title("askopenfilename Demo")
app.geometry("500x200")

ctk.CTkButton(app, text="Open File", command=open_file).pack(pady=20)
result_label = ctk.CTkLabel(app, text="Waiting for file selection...")
result_label.pack()

app.mainloop()

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🗂️ Open Multiple Files

import customtkinter as ctk
from CTkFileDialog import askopenfilenames

ctk.set_appearance_mode("Dark")
ctk.set_default_color_theme("blue")

def open_files():
    paths = askopenfilenames(
        filetypes=[("Images","*.jpg *.png"), ("All","*.*")],
        preview_img=True,
        autocomplete=True,
    )
    if paths:
        result_label.configure(text="Selected files:\n" + "\n".join(paths))

app = ctk.CTk()
app.title("askopenfilenames Demo")
app.geometry("500x300")

ctk.CTkButton(app, text="Open Multiple Files", command=open_files).pack(pady=20)
result_label = ctk.CTkLabel(app, text="Waiting for file selection...", wraplength=450)
result_label.pack()

app.mainloop()

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📁 Select Directory

import customtkinter as ctk
from CTkFileDialog import askdirectory

ctk.set_appearance_mode("Dark")
ctk.set_default_color_theme("blue")

def select_directory():
    folder = askdirectory(autocomplete=True)
    if folder:
        result_label.configure(text=f"Selected directory:\n{folder}")

app = ctk.CTk()
app.title("askdirectory Demo")
app.geometry("500x200")

ctk.CTkButton(app, text="Select Directory", command=select_directory).pack(pady=20)
result_label = ctk.CTkLabel(app, text="Waiting for directory selection...")
result_label.pack()

app.mainloop()

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💾 Save As (get path only)

import customtkinter as ctk
from CTkFileDialog import asksaveasfilename

ctk.set_appearance_mode("Dark")
ctk.set_default_color_theme("blue")

def save_as_filename():
    path = asksaveasfilename(autocomplete=True)
    if path:
        result_label.configure(text=f"Save file as:\n{path}")

app = ctk.CTk()
app.title("asksaveasfilename Demo")
app.geometry("500x200")

ctk.CTkButton(app, text="Save As (Filename Only)", command=save_as_filename).pack(pady=20)
result_label = ctk.CTkLabel(app, text="Waiting for filename...")
result_label.pack()

app.mainloop()

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💾 Save As (write to file)

import customtkinter as ctk
from CTkFileDialog import asksaveasfile

ctk.set_appearance_mode("Dark")
ctk.set_default_color_theme("blue")

def save_as_file():
    file = asksaveasfile(autocomplete=True)
    if file:
        file.write("This file was created using the demo.")
        file.close()
        result_label.configure(text=f"File saved:\n{file.name}")

app = ctk.CTk()
app.title("asksaveasfile Demo")
app.geometry("500x200")

ctk.CTkButton(app, text="Save As (Real File)", command=save_as_file).pack(pady=20)
result_label = ctk.CTkLabel(app, text="Waiting for save location...")
result_label.pack()

app.mainloop()

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📂 Open File as Object

import customtkinter as ctk
from CTkFileDialog import askopenfile

ctk.set_appearance_mode("Dark")
ctk.set_default_color_theme("blue")

def open_file_obj():
    f = askopenfile(mode='rb', 
                    filetypes=[("Binary","*.bin"), ("All","*.*")])
    if f:
        data = f.read()
        f.close()
        result_label.configure(text=f"Read {len(data)} bytes from {f.name}")

app = ctk.CTk()
app.title("askopenfile Demo")
app.geometry("500x200")

ctk.CTkButton(app, text="Open File Object", command=open_file_obj).pack(pady=20)
result_label = ctk.CTkLabel(app, text="Waiting for file selection...")
result_label.pack()

app.mainloop()

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📂 Open Multiple Files as Objects

import customtkinter as ctk
from CTkFileDialog import askopenfiles

ctk.set_appearance_mode("Dark")
ctk.set_default_color_theme("blue")

def open_files_obj():
    files = askopenfiles(mode='r', filetypes=[("Text","*.txt")])
    if files:
        for f in files:
            content = f.read()
            f.close()
            print(f"{f.name}: {len(content)} chars")
        result_label.configure(text=f"Opened {len(files)} files, see console output.")

app = ctk.CTk()
app.title("askopenfiles Demo")
app.geometry("500x200")

ctk.CTkButton(app, text="Open Files Objects", command=open_files_obj).pack(pady=20)
result_label = ctk.CTkLabel(app, text="Waiting for file selection...")
result_label.pack()

app.mainloop()

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🧩 Parameters

Parameter	Description
filetypes	Optional filter list: either ['.txt', '.md'] or [('Text','*.txt'),('Py','*.py *.pyw'),('All','*.*')]. Wildcards are normalized internally.
hidden	Show hidden files or directories (False by default).
preview_img	Enable image preview in the file dialog.
video_preview	Show first frame of video files as thumbnail (experimental).
autocomplete	Enable path autocompletion with Tab, Up, and Down.
initial_dir	Set the initial directory when opening the dialog.
tool_tip	Enable the tool tip.
style	Defines the dialog style, by default it will be 'Default' but you can choose a small one ('Mini').
geometry	You define the geometry string in a tuple: Example ('NormalGM', 'MiniGeometry').
title	Define the title from the app, default will be "CTkFileDialog".

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🌙 Dark Mode Preview

☀️ Light Mode Preview

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🎯 Using New Features

🔎 Search/Filter Files

Both Default and Mini dialogs include a search bar. Simply type in the search field to filter files and directories in real-time:

file = askopenfilename(style='Default')
# Use the search bar in the dialog to filter results

👀 View Modes (Default Dialog Only)

The Default dialog supports two view modes:

• Grid View: Icon-based grid layout (default)
• List View: Detailed list with file info (size, date modified, type)

Toggle between modes using the view buttons in the toolbar.

📊 Sorting Options (Default Dialog Only)

Sort files by:

• Name (alphabetical)
• Date (creation/modification time)
• Type (file extension)
• Size (file size)
• Last Modified (most recent first)

Select a sort option from the sort menu in the toolbar.

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This module has constants that can be used outside or inside the dialog, they are used to obtain paths like /home/user or /home/user/.config/ Here is a basic example

#!/usr/bin/env python3 
import customtkinter as ctk 
from CTkFileDialog import askopenfilename
from CTkFileDialog.Constants import HOME

root = ctk.CTk()

def open_file(): 
    f = askopenfilename(initial_dir=HOME, autocomplete=True)
    if f: 
        print(f"file selected: {f}")

ctk.CTkButton(master=root, command=open_file, text="Open File").pack(padx=10, pady=10, anchor=ctk.CENTER)

root.mainloop()

And here are the constants available from the package

Parameter	Description
PWD	Current working directory (e.g., where the program was launched)
HOME	User's home directory (e.g., /home/user or C:\Users\user)
TEMP	Temporary directory (fallback to /tmp if no env vars are set)
CONFIG_DIR	XDG-compliant user configuration directory (default: ~/.config)
CACHE_DIR	XDG-compliant user cache directory (default: ~/.cache)
PATH	System PATH split into a list of directories
DATA_DIR	XDG-compliant user data directory (default: ~/.local/share)
VENV	Active Python virtual environment (venv or conda), fallback to PWD

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Mini Dialog

This is a parameter of the file dialog, but it's more powerful than the default one. As I mentioned earlier, it doesn't support parameters like tooltip, preview_img, or video_preview.

🌙 Dark Mode Preview

☀️ Light Mode Preview

The mini design created by user, and the default design created by user and all credit goes to them. I also want to thank them for creating that design in advance.