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🔗 Build a Professional Link Extractor GUI in Python (Step-by-Step)

#tutorial #linkvault #desktopapplication #python

In this tutorial, we’ll build LinkVault, a professional desktop application that:

✅ Recursively scans folders
✅ Extracts URLs from .txt, .pdf, and .html files
✅ Removes duplicate links automatically
✅ Shows a smooth animated progress bar
✅ Lets users export or copy links
✅ Uses a modern PySide6 GUI

This guide is beginner-friendly and explains why each part exists.

🧰 Requirements

Before starting, install the dependencies:

pip install PySide6 PyPDF2

📁 Project Structure
linkvault/
├── main.py
├── logo.ico

🧠 Step 1: Import Required Modules

We start by importing Python’s built-in modules and PySide6 components.

import os
import sys
import re
import subprocess
import platform
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Why these?

os, sys → file system access

re → extract URLs using regex

platform, subprocess → open links cross-platform

PySide6 GUI Imports
from PySide6.QtWidgets import (
    QApplication, QWidget, QFileDialog, QVBoxLayout, QHBoxLayout,
    QPushButton, QLabel, QLineEdit, QListWidget, QProgressBar,
    QMessageBox, QCheckBox
)
from PySide6.QtCore import Qt, QThread, Signal, QTimer
from PySide6.QtGui import QIcon, QGuiApplication
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These components allow us to build a modern desktop interface.

PDF Support

import PyPDF2
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This library lets us extract text (and links) from PDF files.

📦 Step 2: Handle Bundled App Resources

When packaging with PyInstaller, files like icons need special handling.

def resource_path(file_name):
    base_path = getattr(sys, '_MEIPASS', os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
    return os.path.join(base_path, file_name)
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This ensures logo.ico works both in development and packaged builds.

🧵 Step 3: Create a Worker Thread (Very Important!)
Why a Worker Thread?

If we scan files on the main GUI thread, the app will freeze.
We fix this using QThread.

Worker Thread Skeleton

class LinkExtractWorker(QThread):
    found = Signal(str)
    progress = Signal(int)
    finished = Signal()
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Signals allow safe communication from the worker to the UI.

Worker Initialization

def __init__(self, folder, file_types):
    super().__init__()
    self.folder = folder
    self.file_types = file_types
    self._running = True
    self.seen_links = set()
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seen_links prevents duplicates

_running allows cancellation

Stop the Worker Safely

def stop(self):
    self._running = False
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Walk the Folder Recursively

for root, dirs, files in os.walk(self.folder):
    for f in files:
        ext = os.path.splitext(f)[1].lower()
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We scan every subfolder automatically.

Filter Files by Type

if (ext == '.txt' and self.file_types['txt']) or \
   (ext == '.pdf' and self.file_types['pdf']) or \
   (ext in ['.html', '.htm'] and self.file_types['html']):
    all_files.append(os.path.join(root, f))
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Checkboxes control what gets scanned.

Extract URLs from Text & HTML

urls = re.findall(r'https?://[^\s"\'>]+', text)
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This regex matches most valid web URLs.

Extract URLs from PDFs

reader = PyPDF2.PdfReader(f)
for page in reader.pages:
    text = page.extract_text()
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We scan each page safely.

Emit Found Links

if url not in self.seen_links:
    self.seen_links.add(url)
    self.found.emit(url)
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No duplicates. Clean output.

Update Progress

percent = int((i + 1) / total_files * 100)
self.progress.emit(percent)
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🖥 Step 4: Create the Main Application Window

class LinkExtractorApp(QWidget):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
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This class controls everything the user sees.

Window Setup

self.setWindowTitle("LinkVault – Professional Link Extractor")
self.setMinimumSize(1200, 680)
self.setWindowIcon(QIcon(resource_path("logo.ico")))
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🎛 Step 5: Build the User Interface
Folder Selection

self.path_input = QLineEdit()
self.path_input.setReadOnly(True)
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Users can’t type paths manually—only browse.

Buttons

browse_btn = QPushButton("📂 Browse Folder")
self.start_btn = QPushButton("🚀 Extract Links")
self.cancel_btn = QPushButton("⏹ Cancel")
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Clear, emoji-based UX 👍

File Type Filters

self.txt_checkbox = QCheckBox(".txt")
self.pdf_checkbox = QCheckBox(".pdf")
self.html_checkbox = QCheckBox(".html/.htm")
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Results List

self.results_list = QListWidget()
self.results_list.itemDoubleClicked.connect(self.open_item)
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Double-click opens links in the browser.

✨ Step 6: Animated Progress Bar
Why Not Default?

We want a smooth glowing animation, not a jumpy bar.

Smooth Progress Logic

def update_progress_smooth(self):
    if self.smooth_value < self.target_progress:
        self.smooth_value += 1
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Glowing Gradient Effect

QProgressBar::chunk {
    background: qlineargradient(
        stop:0 #2563eb,
        stop:0.5 #60a5fa,
        stop:1 #2563eb
    );
}
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Looks professional and modern.

📤 Step 7: Export & Clipboard Support
Export to TXT

with open(path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
    f.write(link + "\n")
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Copy to Clipboard

QGuiApplication.clipboard().setText(links)
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Works instantly across platforms.

🌐 Step 8: Open Links Cross-Platform

if platform.system() == "Windows":
    os.startfile(url)
elif platform.system() == "Darwin":
    subprocess.Popen(["open", url])
else:
    subprocess.Popen(["xdg-open", url])
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🎨 Step 9: Apply Modern Styling

QWidget {
    background-color: #0f172a;
    color: #e5e7eb;
}
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Dark mode, rounded buttons, and soft colors.

▶ Step 10: Run the App

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = QApplication(sys.argv)
    window = LinkExtractorApp()
    window.show()
    sys.exit(app.exec())
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✅ Final Features Recap

✔ Recursive folder scanning
✔ URL extraction from multiple formats
✔ Duplicate removal
✔ Cancelable background processing
✔ Animated progress bar
✔ Export & clipboard support
✔ Modern UI

🚀 Next Improvements (Optional)

CSV export

Domain grouping

Regex customization

Drag-and-drop folders

URL validation

LinkVault

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