tkinter-unblur

Note: hdpitkinter has been reborn as tkinter-unblur with modern features. See migration guide.

Fix blurry Tkinter applications on Windows 10/11 high-DPI displays.

The Problem

Tkinter applications look blurry and pixelated on modern high-resolution displays with scaling enabled (125%, 150%, 200%, etc.). This is because Tkinter is not DPI-aware by default on Windows.

The Solution

# Before (blurry)
from tkinter import Tk

# After (crystal clear)
from tkinter_unblur import Tk

That's it. One import change, and your Tkinter app renders sharply.

Visual Comparison

Left: Standard Tkinter (blurry) | Right: tkinter-unblur (sharp)

Installation

pip install tkinter-unblur

Usage

from tkinter_unblur import Tk

root = Tk()
root.title("My App")
root.geometry("800x600")
root.mainloop()

That's all you need! For advanced usage, see API Reference.

API Reference

Tk Class

A drop-in replacement for tkinter.Tk with DPI awareness.

Attributes

• dpi_x: int | None - Horizontal DPI (96 = 100% scaling)
• dpi_y: int | None - Vertical DPI (96 = 100% scaling)
• dpi_scaling: float - Scaling factor (1.0 = 100%, 1.5 = 150%)

Example:

root = Tk()
print(f"DPI: {root.dpi_x}x{root.dpi_y}")
print(f"Scaling: {root.dpi_scaling:.0%}")  # e.g., "Scaling: 150%"

Methods

scale_value(value: int) -> int

Scale a numeric value by the DPI factor.

Example:

from tkinter import Label

root = Tk()
# Scale font size to maintain physical size across different DPI settings
label = Label(root, text="Hello", font=("Arial", root.scale_value(12)))

scale_geometry(geometry: str) -> str

Scale a geometry string ("WxH+X+Y") by the DPI factor.

Example:

root = Tk()
# Scale window geometry (width x height + x + y)
root.geometry(root.scale_geometry("800x600+100+50"))

Exceptions

• TkinterUnblurError - Base exception
• UnsupportedPlatformError - Platform doesn't support DPI awareness
• DPIDetectionError - DPI detection failed

How It Works

On Windows, this library:

1. Calls SetProcessDpiAwareness(1) to enable system DPI awareness
2. Queries the monitor's DPI using GetDpiForMonitor
3. Provides scaling utilities for your application

On non-Windows platforms, the library is a simple passthrough to tkinter.Tk.

The implementation is based on this Stack Overflow answer.

Compatibility

Migrating from hdpitkinter

This package was formerly known as hdpitkinter. To migrate:

pip uninstall hdpitkinter
pip install tkinter-unblur

# Old
from hdpitkinter import HdpiTk
root = HdpiTk()

# New
from tkinter_unblur import Tk
root = Tk()

The HdpiTk name is still available as an alias for backwards compatibility:

from tkinter_unblur import HdpiTk  # Works, but Tk is preferred

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.