How to Create a Splash Screen in Python with Tkinter (2026 Guide)

How to Create a Splash Screen in Python with Tkinter

Q: How do I create a splash screen using Tkinter?

Create a Tk root window, use a Tkinter Frame subclass to hold your splash content, call overrideredirect(True) to remove the title bar, use PhotoImage to load your logo, add a Progressbar for the loading indicator, and call root.destroy() once the progress completes.

Q: What does overrideredirect(True) do in Tkinter?

overrideredirect(True) removes the window's title bar, borders, and system controls (minimize/maximize/close). This is essential for splash screens because it makes the window look like a seamless popup rather than a regular application window.

Q: How do I center a Tkinter window on the screen?

Get the screen width and height via winfo_screenwidth() and winfo_screenheight(), get the window size via winfo_reqwidth() and winfo_reqheight(), then calculate positionRight and positionDown and call root.geometry("+X+Y").

Q: How do I add a progress bar to a Tkinter splash screen?

Import Progressbar from tkinter.ttk, create it with orient=HORIZONTAL and mode='determinate', pack it, then loop through values 0-100 updating progress['value'] and calling progress.update() to force the UI to refresh.

A splash screen is the temporary window users see while your application is starting up. It displays a logo, progress bar, or loading message, then closes automatically when the main app is ready.

In this tutorial, you will build a complete splash screen in Python using Tkinter — with a centered borderless window, image logo, animated progress bar, and auto-close behavior. All using only Python's built-in libraries.

What is a Splash Screen?

A splash screen is a temporary graphical window shown during application startup. It serves several purposes:

Branding — displays the app logo and name while loading
Progress feedback — shows a progress bar so users know the app is starting
Polished UX — makes the app feel professional instead of appearing frozen
Time-buying — gives the application time to load resources before showing the main window

Splash screens are common in Android, iOS, and desktop applications — including popular IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA and Visual Studio.

Requirements

Python 3.x — installed and added to PATH
Tkinter — comes bundled with Python (no separate installation needed)
A logo image — for example, attendance_image_splash.png

Tkinter supports PNG, GIF, PPM, and PGM image formats out of the box. If you need JPG support, install the Pillow library using pip install Pillow.

Complete Python Code

Save this as splash.py and run it with python splash.py:

from tkinter import *
from tkinter.ttk import Progressbar
import time


class SplashFile(Frame):
    def __init__(self, master=None, width=0.8, height=0.6, useFactor=True):
        Frame.__init__(self, master)
        self.pack(side=TOP, fill=BOTH, expand=NO)

        # Get the window dimensions
        windowWidth = root.winfo_reqwidth()
        windowHeight = root.winfo_reqheight()

        # Calculate center position
        positionRight = int(root.winfo_screenwidth() / 2 - windowWidth / 2)
        positionDown = int(root.winfo_screenheight() / 2 - windowHeight / 2)

        # Position the window in the center of the screen
        root.geometry("+{}+{}".format(positionRight, positionDown))

        # Remove the title bar and window borders
        self.master.overrideredirect(True)
        self.lift()


if __name__ == '__main__':
    root = Tk()

    sp = SplashFile(root)

    # Load the splash image
    photo = PhotoImage(file=r"attendance_image_splash.png")
    photoimage = photo.subsample(2, 2)

    # Display the image
    m = Label(sp, image=photoimage)
    m.pack(side=TOP, expand=YES)

    # Create the progress bar
    progress = Progressbar(root, orient=HORIZONTAL,
                           length=100, mode='determinate')
    progress.pack(side=TOP, fill=X)

    # Animate the progress bar from 0 to 100
    for i in range(101):
        time.sleep(0.05)
        progress['value'] = i
        progress.update()

        if progress['value'] == 100:
            print("close window")
            root.destroy()

    root.mainloop()

Note: Replace attendance_image_splash.png with the path to your own logo image. If the image is in the same folder as your script, just use the filename.

Output

The splash screen appears centered on the screen with the logo on top and a progress bar below:

The window stays on top, shows a splash image, animates a progress bar from 0% to 100%, and then closes itself automatically.

How It Works (Step-by-Step)

Import required modules — tkinter for the GUI, tkinter.ttk.Progressbar for the progress indicator, and time for the loading delay.
Create a Frame subclass — SplashFile extends Frame and packs itself into the root window.
Center the window — reads the screen dimensions via winfo_screenwidth() and winfo_screenheight(), then sets root.geometry("+X+Y") to position the splash in the middle.
Remove the title bar — overrideredirect(True) strips away the OS window frame, making it look like a seamless popup.
Load the logo — PhotoImage loads the image, and subsample(2, 2) halves its size (useful for high-resolution assets).
Display the logo — a Label widget holds the image and is packed at the top of the frame.
Create the progress bar — a Progressbar in determinate mode spans the width of the window.
Animate the progress — a for loop updates progress['value'] from 0 to 100, sleeping 50 ms between updates, and calls progress.update() to force the UI to refresh.
Auto-close — when the progress reaches 100, root.destroy() closes the splash and control returns to the main application.

Customization Ideas

Add a loading message — insert a Label with text="Loading..." above the progress bar.
Change the duration — adjust time.sleep(0.05). Use 0.01 for a fast splash or 0.1 for a slower one.
Change the background color — use sp.config(bg="#3366ff") to give the splash a custom color.
Use Pillow for JPG support — install Pillow and use ImageTk.PhotoImage to load JPG, BMP, and WebP images.
Chain into the main app — after root.destroy(), launch your main window in a separate function or subprocess.
Use a GIF for animation — Tkinter natively supports animated GIFs via PhotoImage(file="loading.gif", format="gif -index 0").

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a splash screen in Python?

A splash screen is a temporary window shown while an application is starting up. It displays a logo, progress bar, or loading message to reassure users that the app is launching, then closes automatically when the main application is ready.

How do I create a splash screen using Tkinter?

Create a Tk root window, use a Tkinter Frame subclass to hold your splash content, call overrideredirect(True) to remove the title bar, use PhotoImage to load your logo, add a Progressbar for the loading indicator, and call root.destroy() once the progress completes.

What does overrideredirect(True) do in Tkinter?

overrideredirect(True) removes the window's title bar, borders, and system controls (minimize/maximize/close). This is essential for splash screens because it makes the window look like a seamless popup rather than a regular application window.

How do I center a Tkinter window on the screen?

Get the screen width and height via winfo_screenwidth() and winfo_screenheight(), get the window size via winfo_reqwidth() and winfo_reqheight(), then calculate positionRight and positionDown and call root.geometry("+X+Y").

How do I add a progress bar to a Tkinter splash screen?

Import Progressbar from tkinter.ttk, create it with orient=HORIZONTAL and mode='determinate', pack it, then loop through values 0-100 updating progress['value'] and calling progress.update() to force the UI to refresh.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you built a complete splash screen in Python using Tkinter — with a centered borderless window, an image logo, a progress bar, and automatic closing. This pattern works for any desktop application where you want to show a polished loading experience.

You can extend this example by adding a loading message, using an animated GIF, or chaining the splash directly into your main application window after it closes.

Related topics: Tkinter Introduction, Python GUI Tutorial, Tkinter Progressbar, Tkinter PhotoImage, Tkinter Event Handling, Python Desktop Application Development

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Splash File with Progress Bar using Python