In this tutorial, we'll build MateTools - a modern countdown timer using Python's tkinter library. The app features:
Flexible input for hours, minutes, and seconds
Start, pause, and reset controls
Dark/light mode toggle
Live countdown display
We'll also use sv_ttk for sleek, modern UI themes.
Let's dive in!
Prerequisites
You'll need Python 3.x installed. We also use the sv_ttk package for theming:
pip install sv_ttk
Full Source Code
import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import ttk, messagebox
import sv_ttk
# =========================
# App Setup
# =========================
root = tk.Tk()
root.title("MateTools - Countdown Timer")
root.geometry("900x500")
sv_ttk.set_theme("light") # Default theme
# =========================
# Globals
# =========================
timer_running = False
hours_var = tk.StringVar(value="0")
minutes_var = tk.StringVar(value="0")
seconds_var = tk.StringVar(value="0")
time_left_var = tk.StringVar(value="00:00:00")
dark_mode_var = tk.BooleanVar(value=False)
status_var = tk.StringVar(value="Ready")
# =========================
# Helper Functions
# =========================
def set_status(msg):
status_var.set(msg)
root.update_idletasks()
def toggle_theme():
if dark_mode_var.get():
root.configure(bg="#2E2E2E")
style.configure("TLabel", background="#2E2E2E", foreground="white")
style.configure("TFrame", background="#2E2E2E")
style.configure("TLabelframe", background="#2E2E2E", foreground="white")
style.configure("TCheckbutton", background="#2E2E2E", foreground="white")
else:
root.configure(bg="#FFFFFF")
style.configure("TLabel", background="#FFFFFF", foreground="black")
style.configure("TFrame", background="#FFFFFF")
style.configure("TLabelframe", background="#FFFFFF", foreground="black")
style.configure("TCheckbutton", background="#FFFFFF", foreground="black")
set_status(f"Theme switched to {'Dark' if dark_mode_var.get() else 'Light'} mode")
# =========================
# Custom Styles
# =========================
style = ttk.Style()
style.theme_use("clam")
style.configure("Action.TButton", font=("Segoe UI", 11, "bold"),
foreground="white", background="#4CAF50", padding=8)
style.map("Action.TButton", background=[("active", "#45a049"), ("disabled", "#a5d6a7")])
style.configure("Reset.TButton", font=("Segoe UI", 11, "bold"),
foreground="white", background="#f44336", padding=8)
style.map("Reset.TButton", background=[("active", "#d32f2f"), ("disabled", "#ef9a9a")])
# =========================
# Status Bar
# =========================
ttk.Label(root, textvariable=status_var, anchor="w", font=("Segoe UI", 10)).pack(side=tk.BOTTOM, fill="x")
# =========================
# Notebook for Tabs
# =========================
tabs = ttk.Notebook(root)
tabs.pack(expand=True, fill="both", padx=20, pady=20)
# =========================
# Dashboard Tab
# =========================
dash_tab = ttk.Frame(tabs, padding=20)
tabs.add(dash_tab, text="🏠 Dashboard")
ttk.Label(dash_tab, text="MateTools - Countdown Timer", font=("Segoe UI", 20, "bold")).pack(anchor="w")
ttk.Label(dash_tab, text="A simple, modern countdown timer tool with flexible input and live display.",
font=("Segoe UI", 11)).pack(anchor="w", pady=(5,15))
# Feature Cards
features_frame = ttk.Frame(dash_tab)
features_frame.pack(fill="x", pady=5)
def create_feature_card(parent, title, desc):
card = ttk.LabelFrame(parent, text=title, padding=15)
ttk.Label(card, text=desc, wraplength=250, font=("Segoe UI", 10)).pack(anchor="w")
return card
create_feature_card(features_frame, "⏱ Flexible Timer Input", "Set hours, minutes, and seconds easily.").grid(row=0, column=0, padx=10, pady=10, sticky="nsew")
create_feature_card(features_frame, "▶️ Start / ⏸ Pause / 🔄 Reset", "Control your countdown easily with intuitive buttons.").grid(row=0, column=1, padx=10, pady=10, sticky="nsew")
create_feature_card(features_frame, "🌙 Dark / Light Mode", "Switch themes to match your preference.").grid(row=0, column=2, padx=10, pady=10, sticky="nsew")
features_frame.columnconfigure((0,1,2), weight=1)
ttk.Label(dash_tab, text="About This Tool", font=("Segoe UI", 13, "bold")).pack(anchor="w", pady=(15,5))
about_text = (
"MateTools Countdown Timer is built for productivity and simplicity. "
"It allows you to set a countdown for any task, keep track of remaining time, "
"and customize your experience with light/dark mode. "
"\n\nBuilt by MateTools - https://matetools.gumroad.com"
)
ttk.Label(dash_tab, text=about_text, wraplength=850, justify="left", font=("Segoe UI", 10)).pack(anchor="w")
# =========================
# Timer Tab
# =========================
timer_tab = ttk.Frame(tabs, padding=20)
tabs.add(timer_tab, text="⏱ Countdown Timer")
# Timer Logic
def update_timer_display():
time_left_var.set(f"{int(hours_var.get()):02d}:{int(minutes_var.get()):02d}:{int(seconds_var.get()):02d}")
def countdown():
global timer_running
if not timer_running:
return
try:
h, m, s = int(hours_var.get()), int(minutes_var.get()), int(seconds_var.get())
except ValueError:
messagebox.showerror("Invalid Input", "Please enter valid integers for hours, minutes, and seconds.")
timer_running = False
return
total_seconds = h*3600 + m*60 + s
if total_seconds <= 0:
timer_running = False
messagebox.showinfo("Time's up!", "Countdown finished.")
return
total_seconds -= 1
hours_var.set(str(total_seconds // 3600))
minutes_var.set(str((total_seconds % 3600) // 60))
seconds_var.set(str(total_seconds % 60))
update_timer_display()
root.after(1000, countdown)
def start_timer():
global timer_running
timer_running = True
countdown()
set_status("Countdown started.")
def pause_timer():
global timer_running
timer_running = False
set_status("Countdown paused.")
def reset_timer():
global timer_running
timer_running = False
hours_var.set("0")
minutes_var.set("0")
seconds_var.set("0")
update_timer_display()
set_status("Countdown reset.")
# Timer UI
ttk.Label(timer_tab, text="Countdown Timer", font=("Segoe UI", 20, "bold")).pack(anchor="w", pady=(0,15))
time_frame = ttk.Frame(timer_tab)
time_frame.pack(pady=10)
ttk.Label(time_frame, text="Hours:", font=("Segoe UI", 11)).grid(row=0, column=0, padx=5)
ttk.Entry(time_frame, textvariable=hours_var, width=5, font=("Segoe UI", 12)).grid(row=0, column=1, padx=5)
ttk.Label(time_frame, text="Minutes:", font=("Segoe UI", 11)).grid(row=0, column=2, padx=5)
ttk.Entry(time_frame, textvariable=minutes_var, width=5, font=("Segoe UI", 12)).grid(row=0, column=3, padx=5)
ttk.Label(time_frame, text="Seconds:", font=("Segoe UI", 11)).grid(row=0, column=4, padx=5)
ttk.Entry(time_frame, textvariable=seconds_var, width=5, font=("Segoe UI", 12)).grid(row=0, column=5, padx=5)
ttk.Label(timer_tab, textvariable=time_left_var, font=("Consolas", 40, "bold")).pack(pady=20)
btn_frame = ttk.Frame(timer_tab)
btn_frame.pack(pady=10)
ttk.Button(btn_frame, text="Start", command=start_timer, style="Action.TButton").pack(side="left", padx=5)
ttk.Button(btn_frame, text="Pause", command=pause_timer, style="Action.TButton").pack(side="left", padx=5)
ttk.Button(btn_frame, text="Reset", command=reset_timer, style="Reset.TButton").pack(side="left", padx=5)
ttk.Checkbutton(timer_tab, text="Dark Mode", variable=dark_mode_var, command=toggle_theme).pack(pady=15)
# =========================
# Run App
# =========================
update_timer_display()
root.mainloop()
Features Explained
Flexible Input: Users can enter hours, minutes, and seconds.
Timer Controls: Start, pause, and reset buttons for intuitive control.
Dark/Light Mode: Toggle between dark and light themes using a checkbox.
Live Display: The countdown updates every second and shows time remaining in HH:MM:SS format.
Conclusion
With Python and Tkinter, building modern desktop tools like this countdown timer is simple and fun. You can extend it by adding notifications, sounds, or even saving timer presets.
Top comments (1)
This is a great tutorial, but it isn’t very modern :)