How to create a directly-executable cross-platform GUI app using Python(Tkinter)?

Python is a programming language that can create cross-platform applications for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. To build GUI applications, we use the Tkinter library, and to convert them into executable files, we use packaging tools.

Available Tools for Creating Executables

Different tools are available for different operating systems ?

• For Windows executables ? PyInstaller, py2exe

• For Linux executables ? Freeze

• For Mac executables ? py2app

PyInstaller is the most popular choice as it works across all platforms.

Installing PyInstaller

First, install PyInstaller using pip ?

pip install pyInstaller

Creating a Sample GUI Application

Let's create a simple Tkinter application that allows users to select a day from a dropdown menu ?

# Import the required libraries
from tkinter import *

# Create an instance of tkinter frame
win = Tk()

# Set the size of the tkinter window
win.geometry("700x350")

# Add a Label
Label(win, text="Select a Day from the Menu",
      font=('Arial', 13)).pack(pady=10)

# Create a Variable to store the selection
var = StringVar()

# Create an OptionMenu Widget and add choices to it
days = ["Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"]
option = OptionMenu(win, var, *days)
option.config(bg="gray81", fg="white")
option['menu'].config(bg="green3")
option.pack(padx=20, pady=30)

# Add a button to show selected day
def show_selection():
    if var.get():
        result_label.config(text=f"You selected: {var.get()}")

Button(win, text="Show Selection", command=show_selection).pack(pady=10)
result_label = Label(win, text="", font=('Arial', 11))
result_label.pack()

win.mainloop()

Save this code as app.py.

Converting to Executable File

Open the command prompt in the directory containing your Python file and run ?

pyinstaller app.py

This command creates several folders ?

• dist/app/ ? Contains the executable file and all dependencies

• build/ ? Contains temporary build files

• app.spec ? Configuration file for PyInstaller

Creating a Single File Executable

To create a single executable file instead of a folder, use the --onefile option ?

pyinstaller --onefile app.py

This creates a single app.exe file in the dist/ folder that can be run independently.

Additional PyInstaller Options

Complete Build Command Example

pyinstaller --onefile --windowed --name=DaySelector app.py

Conclusion

PyInstaller makes it easy to convert Python Tkinter applications into executable files that run on any system without requiring Python installation. Use --onefile for single-file distribution and --windowed for GUI applications.