GTK Python Dashboard Starter Template

Demo

A modular template for rapid dashboard development using Python and GTK3, designed specifically for native Linux desktop applications.

Overview

This template provides a production-ready foundation for building Linux desktop applications with GTK3. It features a clean dark theme, modular architecture, and 7 professional theme options.

Linux Distribution Support

Built with GTK3, this template runs natively across all major Linux distributions including:

• Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint
• Fedora, CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS
• openSUSE, SUSE Linux Enterprise
• Pop!_OS, Elementary OS, Zorin OS
• MX Linux, Solus, Gentoo
• Any Linux distribution with GTK3 support

Features

• Clean Dark Theme - Modern flat design with 7 theme variations
• Modular Architecture - Easy to extend with new pages and features
• Theme Selector - Switch between 7 professional dark themes
• Fixed Sidebar - 150px sidebar with logo and navigation
• Page-Based Routing - Independent pages with individual scroll states
• GTK3 Native - No web dependencies, pure GTK widgets
• Virtual Environment - Isolated Python environment
• Production Ready - Clean codebase, well-documented

Themes

Seven professional dark themes included:

1. Default Blue (#0078D7) - Windows-style blue accent
2. Adapta (#00bcd4) - Cyan accent
3. Materia (#8ab4f8) - Light blue accent
4. Dracula (#bd93f9) - Purple accent
5. Nord (#88c0d0) - Nordic blue accent
6. Gruvbox (#fe8019) - Orange warmth accent
7. Monokai (#f92672) - Pink highlight accent

Project Structure

gtk-python-dashboard-starter/
├── src/                     # Application source code
│   ├── main.py              # Entry point
│   ├── config/              # Configuration modules
│   │   ├── config_theme.py  # Theme colors/fonts
│   │   ├── config_layout.py # Layout dimensions
│   │   └── config_themes.py # Theme definitions
│   ├── ui/                  # UI components
│   │   ├── dashboard_window.py
│   │   ├── sidebar.py
│   │   ├── content_area.py
│   │   └── components/      # UI widgets
│   │       └── component_theme_selector.py
│   ├── pages/               # Page modules
│   │   ├── page_base.py     # Base page class
│   │   ├── page_home.py
│   │   ├── page_about.py
│   │   ├── page_button03.py
│   │   ├── page_button04.py
│   │   ├── page_button05.py
│   │   ├── page_button06.py
│   │   └── page_settings.py
│   ├── modules/             # Feature modules
│   │   ├── manager_navigation.py
│   │   └── manager_theme_applicator.py
│   └── utils/               # Utility functions
│       └── manager_theme.py # CSS loader
├── resources/               # Static resources
│   ├── css/                 # Stylesheets
│   │   └── style.css
│   ├── fonts/               # Custom fonts
│   ├── images/              # Images and icons
│   │   └── logo.png
│   └── videos/              # Demo videos
│       └── gtk-starter-dashboard-demo.gif
├── docs/                    # Documentation
├── tests/                   # Test files
├── README.md                # This file
├── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies
├── setup.py                 # Installation script
└── run.sh                   # Quick launch script

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• GTK+ 3.0
• pip (Python package manager)

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/mikesdatawork/gtk-python-dashboard-starter.git
   cd gtk-python-dashboard-starter

2. Run the application

   ./run.sh

   The run.sh script will:

   • Create a virtual environment (if needed)
   • Install dependencies
   • Launch the application

Manual Installation

If you prefer to set up manually:

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run application
python3 src/main.py

Usage

Adding New Pages

1. Create a new page module in src/pages/:

   from pages.page_base import BasePage
   
   class MyNewPage(BasePage):
       def build_content(self):
           self.add_title("My New Page")
           self.add_paragraph("Page content here...")

2. Register the page in src/ui/content_area.py:

   from pages.my_new_page import MyNewPage
   
   # In register_pages():
   my_page = MyNewPage()
   self.register_page("mypage", my_page)

3. Add navigation button in src/ui/sidebar.py:

   nav_items = [
       ("My Page", "mypage"),
       # ... other items
   ]

Customizing Themes

Themes are defined in src/config/config_themes.py. Each theme includes:

• Accent color
• Sidebar background
• Window background
• Hover color

To add a new theme, add an entry to the DARK_THEMES dictionary.

Modifying Layout

Layout dimensions are centralized in src/config/config_layout.py:

• Sidebar width
• Logo dimensions
• Button heights
• Spacing values

Technical Specifications

• GTK Version: GTK+ 3.0
• Python: 3.8+
• Dependencies: PyGObject, pycairo, Pillow
• Architecture: Modular with page-based routing
• Sidebar: 150px fixed width
• Logo: 150x150px square
• Navigation Buttons: 28px height
• Pages: 7 navigation pages
• Themes: 7 dark themes

Development

Running Tests

pytest tests/

Code Structure

• config/ - Centralized configuration (themes, colors, layout)
• ui/ - User interface components (window, sidebar, content area)
• pages/ - Individual page modules inheriting from BasePage
• modules/ - Feature modules (navigation, theme application)
• utils/ - Utility functions (CSS loading, etc.)

License

Free for personal and educational use.

Contributing

This is a template project. Fork it and customize for your needs.

Repository

https://github.com/mikesdatawork/gtk-python-dashboard-starter

Author

mikesdatawork

---

Note: This template is designed as a starting point. Customize the pages, themes, and functionality to match your project requirements.