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Gooey

Turn (almost) any Python command line program into a full GUI application with one line

Install / Use

/learn @chriskiehl/Gooey
About this skill

Quality Score

0/100

Supported Platforms

Universal

README

Gooey

Turn (almost) any Python 3 Console Program into a GUI application with one line

<p align="center"> <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/1-0-4-title-card.png" /> </p>

Table of Contents


Quick Start

Installation instructions

The easiest way to install Gooey is via pip

pip install Gooey 

Alternatively, you can install Gooey by cloning the project to your local directory

git clone https://github.com/chriskiehl/Gooey.git

run setup.py

python setup.py install

Usage

Gooey is attached to your code via a simple decorator on whichever method has your argparse declarations (usually main).

from gooey import Gooey

@Gooey      <--- all it takes! :)
def main():
  parser = ArgumentParser(...)
  # rest of code

Different styling and functionality can be configured by passing arguments into the decorator.

# options
@Gooey(advanced=Boolean,          # toggle whether to show advanced config or not 
       language=language_string,  # Translations configurable via json
       auto_start=True,           # skip config screens all together
       target=executable_cmd,     # Explicitly set the subprocess executable arguments
       program_name='name',       # Defaults to script name
       program_description,       # Defaults to ArgParse Description
       default_size=(610, 530),   # starting size of the GUI
       required_cols=1,           # number of columns in the "Required" section
       optional_cols=2,           # number of columns in the "Optional" section
       dump_build_config=False,   # Dump the JSON Gooey uses to configure itself
       load_build_config=None,    # Loads a JSON Gooey-generated configuration
       monospace_display=False)   # Uses a mono-spaced font in the output screen
)
def main():
  parser = ArgumentParser(...)
  # rest of code
        

See: How does it Work section for details on each option.

Gooey will do its best to choose sensible widget defaults to display in the GUI. However, if more fine tuning is desired, you can use the drop-in replacement GooeyParser in place of ArgumentParser. This lets you control which widget displays in the GUI. See: GooeyParser

from gooey import Gooey, GooeyParser

@Gooey
def main():
  parser = GooeyParser(description="My Cool GUI Program!") 
  parser.add_argument('Filename', widget="FileChooser")
  parser.add_argument('Date', widget="DateChooser")
  ...

Examples

Gooey downloaded and installed? Great! Wanna see it in action? Head over the the Examples Repository to download a few ready-to-go example scripts. They'll give you a quick tour of all Gooey's various layouts, widgets, and features.

Direct Download

What is it?

Gooey converts your Console Applications into end-user-friendly GUI applications. It lets you focus on building robust, configurable programs in a familiar way, all without having to worry about how it will be presented to and interacted with by your average user.

Why?

Because as much as we love the command prompt, the rest of the world looks at it like an ugly relic from the early '80s. On top of that, more often than not programs need to do more than just one thing, and that means giving options, which previously meant either building a GUI, or trying to explain how to supply arguments to a Console Application. Gooey was made to (hopefully) solve those problems. It makes programs easy to use, and pretty to look at!

Who is this for?

If you're building utilities for yourself, other programmers, or something which produces a result that you want to capture and pipe over to another console application (e.g. *nix philosophy utils), Gooey probably isn't the tool for you. However, if you're building 'run and done,' around-the-office-style scripts, things that shovel bits from point A to point B, or simply something that's targeted at a non-programmer, Gooey is the perfect tool for the job. It lets you build as complex of an application as your heart desires all while getting the GUI side for free.

How does it work?

Gooey is attached to your code via a simple decorator on whichever method has your argparse declarations.

@Gooey
def my_run_func():
  parser = ArgumentParser(...)
  # rest of code

At run-time, it parses your Python script for all references to ArgumentParser. (The older optparse is currently not supported.) These references are then extracted, assigned a component type based on the 'action' they provide, and finally used to assemble the GUI.

Mappings:

Gooey does its best to choose sensible defaults based on the options it finds. Currently, ArgumentParser._actions are mapped to the following WX components.

| Parser Action | Widget | Example | |:----------------------|-----------|------| | store | TextCtrl | <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f54e9f5e-07c5-11e5-86e5-82f011c538cf.png"/>| | store_const | CheckBox |<img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f538c850-07c5-11e5-8cbe-864badfa54a9.png"/>| | store_true | CheckBox | <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f538c850-07c5-11e5-8cbe-864badfa54a9.png"/>| | store_False | CheckBox| <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f538c850-07c5-11e5-8cbe-864badfa54a9.png"/> | | version | CheckBox| <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f538c850-07c5-11e5-8cbe-864badfa54a9.png"/> | | append | TextCtrl | <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f54e9f5e-07c5-11e5-86e5-82f011c538cf.png"/> | | count | DropDown                  | <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f53ccbe4-07c5-11e5-80e5-510e2aa22922.png"/> | | Mutually Exclusive Group | RadioGroup | <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f553feb8-07c5-11e5-9d5b-eaa4772075a9.png"/> |choice                                             | DropDown | <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f54e4da6-07c5-11e5-9e66-d8e6d7f18ac6.png"/> |

GooeyParser

If the above defaults aren't cutting it, you can control the exact widget type by using the drop-in ArgumentParser replacement GooeyParser. This gives you the additional keyword argument widget, to which you can supply the name of the component you want to display. Best part? You don't have to change any of your argparse code to use it. Drop it in, and you're good to go.

Example:

from argparse import ArgumentParser
....

def main(): 
    parser = ArgumentParser(description="My Cool Gooey App!")
    parser.add_argument('filename', help="name of the file to process") 

Given then above, Gooey would select a normal TextField as the widget type like this:

<p align="center"> <img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f5393e20-07c5-11e5-88e9-c153fc3ecfaa.PNG"> </p>

However, by dropping in GooeyParser and supplying a widget name, you can display a much more user friendly FileChooser

from gooey import GooeyParser
....

def main(): 
    parser = GooeyParser(description="My Cool Gooey App!")
    parser.add_argument('filename', help="name of the file to process", widget='FileChooser') 
    
<p align="center"><img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f53ae23e-07c5-11e5-8757-c8aa6f3013b5.PNG"></p>

Custom Widgets:

| Widget | Example | |----------------|------------------------------| | DirChooser, FileChooser, MultiFileChooser, FileSaver, MultiFileSaver | <p align="center"><img src="https://github.com/chriskiehl/GooeyImages/raw/images/readme-images/f5483b28-07c5-11e5-9d01-1935635fc22d.gif" width="400"></p> | | DateChooser/TimeChooser                                             | <p align="center"><img src="https://github.com/

Related Skills

View on GitHub
GitHub Stars22.0k
CategoryDevelopment
Updated5h ago
Forks1.0k

Languages

Python

Security Score

95/100

Audited on Mar 25, 2026

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