plushie

Build native desktop apps in Python. Pre-1.0

Write your entire application in Python (state, events, UI) and get native windows on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Available on PyPI as plushie. The renderer is built on Iced and ships as a precompiled binary, no Rust toolchain required.

SDKs are also available for Elixir, Gleam, Ruby, and TypeScript.

Quick start

from dataclasses import dataclass, replace

import plushie
from plushie import ui
from plushie.events import Click


@dataclass(frozen=True, slots=True)
class Model:
    count: int = 0


class Counter(plushie.App[Model]):
    def init(self):
        return Model()

    def update(self, model, event):
        match event:
            case Click(id="inc"):
                return replace(model, count=model.count + 1)
            case Click(id="dec"):
                return replace(model, count=model.count - 1)
            case _:
                return model

    def view(self, model):
        return ui.window(
            "main",
            ui.column(
                ui.text("count", f"Count: {model.count}"),
                ui.row(
                    ui.button("inc", "+"),
                    ui.button("dec", "-"),
                    spacing=8,
                ),
                padding=16,
                spacing=8,
            ),
            title="Counter",
        )


if __name__ == "__main__":
    plushie.run(Counter)

Install and run:

pip install plushie
python -m plushie download              # download precompiled binary
python -m plushie run counter:Counter   # run the counter example

The repo includes several examples you can try, from a minimal counter to a full widget catalog. Edit them while the GUI is running and see changes instantly. For complete project demos, including native Rust extensions, see the plushie-demos repo.

How it works

Under the hood, a renderer built on iced handles window drawing and platform integration. Your Python code sends widget trees to the renderer over stdin; the renderer draws native windows and sends user events back over stdout.

You don't need Rust to use plushie. The renderer is a precompiled binary, similar to how your app talks to a database without you writing C. If you ever need custom native rendering, the extension system lets you write Rust for just those parts.

The same protocol works over a local pipe, an SSH connection, or any bidirectional byte stream - your code doesn't need to change.

Features

• Elm architecture - init, update, view. State lives in Python, pure functions, predictable updates
• Built-in widgets - layout, input, display, and interactive widgets out of the box
• Canvas - shapes, paths, gradients, transforms, and interactive elements for custom 2D drawing
• Themes - dark, light, nord, catppuccin, tokyo night, and more, with custom palettes and per-widget style overrides
• Animation - renderer-side transitions, springs, and sequences with no wire traffic per frame
• Multi-window - declare windows in your view; the framework manages the rest
• Platform effects - native file dialogs, clipboard, OS notifications
• Accessibility - keyboard navigation, screen readers, and focus management via AccessKit
• Custom widgets - compose existing widgets in pure Python, draw on the canvas, or extend with native Rust
• Hot reload - edit code, see changes instantly with full state preservation
• Remote rendering - app on a server or embedded device, renderer on a display machine over SSH or any byte stream
• Fault-tolerant - renderer crashes auto-recover; app exceptions are caught and state reverted

Testing and automation

Tests run through the real renderer binary, not mocks. Interact like a user: click, type, find elements, assert on text. Three interchangeable backends:

• Mock - millisecond tests, no display server
• Headless - real rendering via tiny-skia, supports screenshots for pixel regression in CI
• Windowed - real windows with GPU rendering, platform effects, real input

import pytest
from plushie.testing import AppFixture
from todo import TodoApp, Model


@pytest.fixture
def app(plushie_pool):
    with AppFixture(TodoApp, plushie_pool) as f:
        yield f


def test_add_and_complete_todo(app):
    app.type_text("#new-todo", "Buy milk")
    app.submit("#new-todo")

    app.assert_exists("#todo-1")
    assert app.model.items[0].text == "Buy milk"

    app.toggle("#todo-1/done")
    assert app.model.items[0].done is True

    app.select("#filter", "done")
    app.assert_not_exists("#todo-1")

pytest                                    # mock (fast, no display)
PLUSHIE_TEST_BACKEND=headless pytest      # real rendering, no display
PLUSHIE_TEST_BACKEND=windowed pytest      # real windows (needs display)

Status

Pre-1.0. The core works (built-in widgets, event system, themes, multi-window, testing framework, accessibility) but the API is still evolving. Pin to an exact version and read the CHANGELOG when upgrading.

License

MIT