How to Create a Python and GTK Application on MS Windows

Today, we will learn how to set up the development environment for creating applications with the Python programming language (PyGObject) and the GTK graphical toolkit on Microsoft Windows.

MSYS2

MSYS2 allows Linux packages, tools, and libraries to be installed and run natively on Microsoft Windows.

For package installation and management, MSYS2 uses the Pacman package manager.

Installation

Installing MSYS2 is very straightforward.

First, access the official website https://www.msys2.org/ and download the installer.

Once the download is complete, double-click the downloaded installer.

The installer is very simple, and there's no need to change the default settings displayed on the screens.

Click Next and proceed until the installation is finished.

After the installation is complete:

pacman -Syu
````

Once the updates are finished, it **may be** necessary to close and reopen the terminal.

## GTK

The command shown in **this section** will install the GTK libraries, the [Python](https://www.python.org/) programming language, and the [PyGObject](https://pypi.org/project/PyGObject/) binding.

### Dependencies

```bash
pacman -S \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-gtk4 \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-libadwaita \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-blueprint-compiler \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-gettext \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-libxml2 \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-librsvg \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-pkgconf \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-gcc \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-python3 \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-python-pip \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-python-autopep8 \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-python-isort \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-python-pylint \
mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-python-gobject

After installing the dependencies, we need to add a few folders to the operating system's PATH.

Access Settings -> search for Advanced system settings -> click Environment variables.
select Path -> and click Edit -> Add the following paths:

C:\msys64\ucrt64\bin

After configuring the above directories in the Microsoft Windows environment variables, open the MSYS2 UCRT64 (C:\msys64\ucrt64.exe) terminal and type:

python3 -c "import gi"

Or:

c:\msys64\ucrt64\bin\python3.exe -c "import gi"

To test via PowerShell or other terminals:

c:\msys64\ucrt64\bin\python3.exe -c "import gi"

If no error is returned when executing the command, the installation and configuration are correct 👍👋👋.

Example Code

To test the configuration, create a file and type the following code into it:

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""Python - PyGObject - GTK."""

import gi

gi.require_version(namespace='Gtk', version='4.0')
gi.require_version(namespace='Adw', version='1')

from gi.repository import Adw, Gio, Gtk

Adw.init()


class ExampleWindow(Gtk.ApplicationWindow):

    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(**kwargs)

        self.set_title(title='Python - PyGObject - GTK')
        self.set_default_size(width=int(1366 / 2), height=int(768 / 2))
        self.set_size_request(width=int(1366 / 2), height=int(768 / 2))

        headerbar = Gtk.HeaderBar.new()
        self.set_titlebar(titlebar=headerbar)

        menu_button_model = Gio.Menu()
        menu_button_model.append('Preferences', 'app.preferences')

        menu_button = Gtk.MenuButton.new()
        menu_button.set_icon_name(icon_name='open-menu-symbolic')
        menu_button.set_menu_model(menu_model=menu_button_model)
        headerbar.pack_end(child=menu_button)

        # Your code here:
        # ...


class ExampleApplication(Adw.Application):

    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(application_id='br.com.justcode.Example',
                         flags=Gio.ApplicationFlags.FLAGS_NONE,
                         **kwargs) # Added **kwargs for consistency

        self.create_action('quit', self.exit_app, ['<primary>q'])
        self.create_action('preferences', self.on_preferences_action)

    def do_activate(self):
        win = self.props.active_window
        if not win:
            win = ExampleWindow(application=self)
        win.present()

    def do_startup(self):
        Gtk.Application.do_startup(self)

    def do_shutdown(self):
        Gtk.Application.do_shutdown(self)

    def on_preferences_action(self, action, param):
        print('app.preferences action was activated.') # Translated comment

    def exit_app(self, action, param):
        self.quit()

    def create_action(self, name, callback, shortcuts=None):
        action = Gio.SimpleAction.new(name, None)
        action.connect('activate', callback)
        self.add_action(action)
        if shortcuts:
            self.set_accels_for_action(f'app.{name}', shortcuts)


if __name__ == '__main__':
    import sys

    app = ExampleApplication()
    app.run(sys.argv)