dotlinux blog

Create Your Own ‘Web Browser’ and ‘Desktop Recorder’ Applications Using PyGobject

In the world of Python programming, there are numerous libraries that allow developers to create powerful and user - friendly applications. PyGobject is one such library that provides a set of Python bindings for GObject-based libraries, including GTK, which is a popular toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs). In this blog post, we will explore how to use PyGobject to create two interesting applications: a simple web browser and a desktop recorder.

2026-06

Table of Contents#

  1. Prerequisites
  2. Setting Up the Environment
  3. Creating a Simple Web Browser
    • Importing Necessary Libraries
    • Initializing GTK
    • Creating the Main Window
    • Adding a WebKit View
    • Loading a Web Page
    • Running the Application
  4. Creating a Desktop Recorder
    • Importing Libraries
    • Initializing GTK
    • Creating the Main Window
    • Setting up the Recording Logic
    • Starting and Stopping the Recording
    • Running the Application
  5. Conclusion
  6. References

Prerequisites#

  • Basic knowledge of Python programming.
  • Familiarity with the concepts of graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
  • Understanding of how to install Python packages.

Setting Up the Environment#

Before we start creating our applications, we need to set up our development environment. We will need to install PyGobject and some related libraries.

For Ubuntu/Debian#

sudo apt-get install python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-3.0 gir1.2-webkit2-4.0

For Fedora#

sudo dnf install python3-gobject gtk3-devel webkit2gtk3-devel

For macOS#

You can use Homebrew to install the necessary packages:

brew install pygobject3 gtk+3 webkit2gtk

Creating a Simple Web Browser#

Importing Necessary Libraries#

We need to import the Gtk and WebKit2 modules from the gi.repository package.

import gi
gi.require_version('Gtk', '3.0')
gi.require_version('WebKit2', '4.0')
from gi.repository import Gtk, WebKit2

Initializing GTK#

We need to initialize the GTK framework before creating any GUI elements.

Gtk.init()

Creating the Main Window#

We create a Gtk.Window object and set its title, size, and behavior when the close button is clicked.

window = Gtk.Window(title="Simple Web Browser")
window.set_default_size(800, 600)
window.connect("destroy", Gtk.main_quit)

Adding a WebKit View#

We create a WebKit2.WebView object and add it to the main window.

webview = WebKit2.WebView()
window.add(webview)

Loading a Web Page#

We can load a web page by calling the load_uri method on the WebView object.

webview.load_uri("https://www.google.com")

Running the Application#

Finally, we show all the GUI elements and start the GTK main loop.

window.show_all()
Gtk.main()

Creating a Desktop Recorder#

Importing Libraries#

We need to import Gtk, Gst (GStreamer), and some other necessary modules.

import gi
gi.require_version('Gtk', '3.0')
gi.require_version('Gst', '1.0')
from gi.repository import Gtk, Gst

Initializing GTK and GStreamer#

We initialize both GTK and GStreamer frameworks.

Gtk.init()
Gst.init(None)

Creating the Main Window#

Similar to the web browser, we create a Gtk.Window object.

window = Gtk.Window(title="Desktop Recorder")
window.set_default_size(300, 200)
window.connect("destroy", Gtk.main_quit)

Setting up the Recording Logic#

We create a GStreamer pipeline to record the desktop.

pipeline_str = (
    "ximagesrc use-damage=0 show-pointer=1 ! "
    "video/x-raw,framerate=30/1 ! "
    "x264enc ! "
    "mp4mux ! "
    "filesink location=desktop_record.mp4"
)
pipeline = Gst.parse_launch(pipeline_str)

Starting and Stopping the Recording#

We create two buttons to start and stop the recording.

start_button = Gtk.Button(label="Start Recording")
stop_button = Gtk.Button(label="Stop Recording")
 
def start_recording(widget):
    pipeline.set_state(Gst.State.PLAYING)
 
def stop_recording(widget):
    pipeline.set_state(Gst.State.NULL)
 
start_button.connect("clicked", start_recording)
stop_button.connect("clicked", stop_recording)
 
box = Gtk.Box(orientation=Gtk.Orientation.VERTICAL, spacing=10)
box.pack_start(start_button, True, True, 0)
box.pack_start(stop_button, True, True, 0)
window.add(box)

Running the Application#

We show all the GUI elements and start the GTK main loop.

window.show_all()
Gtk.main()

Conclusion#

In this blog post, we have learned how to use PyGobject to create two interesting applications: a simple web browser and a desktop recorder. PyGobject provides a powerful and flexible way to create GUI applications in Python, leveraging the capabilities of GObject-based libraries such as GTK and GStreamer. With further development and enhancement, these applications can be made more feature - rich and user - friendly.

References#