Creating Modern GUIs & Apps with Python Kivy Tutorial #1

Python Kivy is an open-source Python library for rapid development of applications that make use of innovative user interfaces, such as multi-touch apps. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of setting up Kivy and creating your first GUI application.

Installing Kivy

The first step to getting started with Python Kivy is to install the library. You can do so using pip, the Python package manager. Simply open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command:

pip install kivy

Once Kivy is installed, you can start creating your first GUI application.

Creating Your First GUI Application

To create a simple GUI application with Kivy, you will need to write Python code and also create a Kivy language file. This language file describes the layout of your user interface.

Here is a basic example of a Kivy language file:

  #:kivy 1.0.9

  :
    text: "Click Me!"
  

This code defines a simple button with the text “Click Me!”. Save this code in a file with a .kv extension, such as myapp.kv.

Now, let’s write the Python code that will use this Kivy language file to create a GUI application:

  from kivy.app import App
  from kivy.uix.button import Button
  from kivy.uix.boxlayout import BoxLayout

  class MyApp(App):
    def build(self):
      return Button()

  if __name__ == '__main__':
    MyApp().run()
  

Save this code in a file with a .py extension, such as myapp.py.

Running Your GUI Application

To run your GUI application, open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory where your myapp.py and myapp.kv files are located. Then, run the following command:

kivy myapp.py

You should see a window pop up with a button that says “Click Me!”. Congratulations, you have just created your first GUI application with Python Kivy!

Conclusion

Python Kivy is a powerful library for creating modern GUIs and apps with Python. In this tutorial, we have covered the basics of setting up Kivy and creating your first GUI application. We hope you found this tutorial helpful, and we encourage you to continue exploring the capabilities of Kivy for developing innovative user interfaces.