Other Notable Toolkits

Overview

Beyond the main Python GUI libraries, several toolkits fill specific niches: Linux-native development, mobile via BeeWare, or hybrid approaches that embed web technology in a desktop window. This page covers the most notable alternatives and when each makes sense.

Toga (BeeWare)

Toga is part of the BeeWare project — an effort to let Python developers write native apps for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux from one codebase. Unlike Kivy, Toga uses each platform's native widgets.

• Packaging: briefcase creates platform-specific installers.
• Best for: BeeWare ecosystem adopters wanting native mobile + desktop.

pip install toga briefcase
briefcase new
briefcase dev
briefcase build android

PyGObject (GTK)

PyGObject binds GTK, the GNOME desktop toolkit. GTK apps are fully native on Linux; Windows/macOS support exists but Linux is the primary target.

• Widgets: Gtk.Window, Gtk.Button, Gtk.Entry, Gtk.ListBox
• Best for: Linux-first desktop apps and GNOME integration.

import gi
gi.require_version("Gtk", "4.0")
from gi.repository import Gtk

class App(Gtk.Application):
    def on_activate(self, app):
        win = Gtk.ApplicationWindow(application=app)
        win.set_child(Gtk.Button(label="Hello GTK"))
        win.present()
App().run()

Eel & pywebview — Web UI on the desktop

Embed a browser engine in a native window; Python is the backend, HTML/CSS/JS is the front-end.

pip install eel
@eel.expose
def greet(n): return f"Hi {n}"
eel.start("index.html")

pip install pywebview
webview.create_window("App", "ui/index.html")
webview.start()

Remi

Pure-Python widgets rendered in the browser — no HTML required. Good for localhost tools.

pip install remi

Comparison at a glance