vibeUI

vibeUI is a beginner-friendly Python framework for building desktop applications, on top of Tkinter.

• v1: Make Tkinter easier.
• v2: Make Tkinter modern.
• v3: Make building desktop applications pleasant.

No pixel math, no StringVar juggling, no theming headaches — just describe what you want.

import vibe as vi

win = vi.Window("My App", theme="dark", accent="#7c6cf5")

name = vi.State("world")
win.add_label(text=lambda: f"Hello, {name.value}!", size="xl", bold=True)
win.add_input(value=name)

with win.row():
    win.add_button("Say hi", on_click=lambda: vi.alert(f"Hi {name.value}!"))
    win.add_button("Reset", variant="secondary", on_click=lambda: name.set("world"))

win.run()

Why vibeUI over raw Tkinter?

Raw Tkinter makes you: place widgets with manual x, y coordinates or juggle pack/grid/place yourself; manage StringVar/BooleanVar/DoubleVar plumbing for every input; hand-roll hover states and theming; and write your own validation, notifications, and dialogs from scratch. vibeUI does all of that for you, while still being Tkinter underneath — no new runtime, no heavy dependencies, and an escape hatch (.widget) to raw Tkinter whenever you need it.

Installation

pip install vibeUI

Optional, for resizable/JPEG images (add_image(..., width=..., height=...)):

pip install "vibeUI[images]"

Tkinter ships with most Python installs. On some Linux distros you may need sudo apt install python3-tk first.

Quick Start

import vibe as vi

win = vi.Window("Vibe Demo", size=(500, 400), theme="dark", accent="#7c6cf5")

win.add_label("Hello, Vibe!", size="xl", bold=True)
name = win.add_input("Enter your name")

def greet():
    vi.alert(f"Hello {name.get() or 'friend'}!", title="Greeting")

win.add_button("Greet Me", on_click=greet)
win.run()

Run any of the bundled examples:

python examples/hello_world.py
python examples/dashboard.py
python examples/state_demo.py

See examples/ for: hello_world, calculator, login, settings, todo, dashboard, form, file_manager, chat, theme_demo, responsive_demo, state_demo.

Layout

Widgets stack automatically. Group them with row(), column(), grid(), card(), sidebar(), navbar(), modal(), or accordion():

with win.row(gap=12, align="center"):
    win.add_button("Save")
    win.add_button("Cancel")

with win.grid(columns=3, gap=12):
    for i in range(6):
        with win.card(title=f"Item {i}"):
            win.add_label("...")

Full reference: docs/layout.md.

Reactive state

count = vi.State(0)
win.add_label(text=lambda: f"Clicked {count.value} times")
win.add_button("+1", on_click=lambda: count.set(count.value + 1))

Labels re-render automatically when a State they read changes; inputs, checkboxes, sliders, and dropdowns support two-way value=state binding. Full reference: docs/state.md.

Theming

vi.create_theme(name="cyber", background="#0b0b0f", surface="#15151c",
                 text="#ffffff", accent="#00ffcc")
win.set_theme("cyber")   # every widget re-colors instantly, no restart

Built-in: light, dark, ocean. Full reference: docs/themes.md.

Forms & validation

form = vi.Form()
email = win.add_input("Email")
form.add_field("email", email, required=True, pattern=r".+@.+\..+")

if form.is_valid():
    ...
else:
    print(form.errors)

Widgets

Labels, headings, buttons (4 variants + icons), text inputs & search inputs (with real placeholders and password masking), text areas, checkboxes, switches, radio groups, sliders, spinboxes, dropdowns/comboboxes, listboxes, a simple data table, progress bars, images, links, badges, tooltips, tabs, a menu bar, and a status bar. Every interactive widget returns a consistent wrapper with .get()/.set()/.on_change(...). Full reference: docs/widgets.md.

Dialogs & notifications

vi.alert(), vi.confirm(), vi.prompt(), vi.choose_file(), vi.choose_folder(), vi.save_file(), vi.pick_color(), and a non-blocking, stacking vi.toast(message, type="success") (info/success/warning/error).

Keyboard shortcuts

win.bind_shortcut("Ctrl+S", save)
win.bind_shortcut("Escape", win.close)

Window management

win.center(); win.maximize(); win.minimize(); win.fullscreen()
win.set_min_size(400, 300); win.on_close(confirm_before_closing)

Custom widgets

class RatingStars(vi.Widget):
    def build(self, container, theme):
        ...  # build your Tkinter widget tree, return the outer widget

win.add_widget(RatingStars())

Full guide: docs/custom_widgets.md.

Debugging layouts

win.debug_layout()   # outlines every container so you can see how things nest

Off by default; never affects a shipped app unless you call it yourself.

Cross-platform support

vibeUI targets Windows, macOS, and Linux — anywhere Tkinter runs. Window management methods (maximize, fullscreen, etc.) use platform-appropriate Tk calls with graceful fallbacks where window managers differ (notably maximize() on some Linux window managers). If you hit a platform-specific issue, please open an issue with your OS and Python version.

Optional dependencies

vibeUI's only hard requirement is Python's standard library (Tkinter). The images extra (pip install vibeUI[images]) adds Pillow for image resizing and broader format support — without it, add_image() still works for PNG/GIF via Tkinter's built-in PhotoImage.

Migrating from v2

See docs/migration_v2.md — almost everything is backward compatible; the few breaking changes are documented there.

Testing

pip install pytest
pytest                    # Windows/macOS with a desktop session
xvfb-run -a pytest         # Linux without a display

License

vibeUI is released under the MIT License.

Author

Created and maintained by Samarth Chugh (@Sam3360).