Switch Widget in Kivy - Python
Last Updated :
08 Oct, 2025
A Switch is a two-state widget (On/Off) that represents a boolean value (True/False) and can be bound to callbacks to react to state changes. Let's add a simple Switch to a Kivy window.
Below example shows a single Switch with a short label near the top of the window (no callback).
Python
from kivy.app import App
from kivy.uix.switch import Switch
from kivy.uix.label import Label
from kivy.uix.widget import Widget
from kivy.core.window import Window
Window.clearcolor = (1, 1, 1, 1)
class BasicSwitch(Widget):
def __init__(self, **kwargs):
super().__init__(**kwargs)
cx = Window.width / 2
self.lbl = Label(text='Switch', color=(0,0,0,1),pos=(cx - 120, Window.height - 120))
self.add_widget(self.lbl)
self.sw = Switch(active=False, pos=(cx + 40, Window.height - 135))
self.add_widget(self.sw)
class SwitchApp(App):
def build(self):
return BasicSwitch()
if __name__ == '__main__':
SwitchApp().run()
Output
Explanation:
- Window.clearcolor = (1,1,1,1): sets a white background.
- Label(...): displays a short message near the top.
- Switch(active=False): places the switch beside the label.
- add_widget(): adds both widgets to the window.
Syntax
Switch(active=False, disabled=False, size_hint=(None, None), pos=(x,y))
Parameters:
- active: True if the switch starts ON, False if OFF.
- disabled: True to disable interaction.
- size_hint, pos: use size_hint=(None,None) and pos for manual placement.
Common usage: sw.bind(active=callback) -> responds when user toggles the switch. Read the state using sw.active.
Examples
Example 1: This example updates a Label and prints to console when the switch changes
Python
Window.clearcolor = (0.98, 0.98, 1, 1)
class CallbackSwitch(Widget):
def __init__(self, **kwargs):
super().__init__(**kwargs)
cx = Window.width / 2
self.lbl = Label(text='Switch is OFF', color=(0,0,0,1),pos=(cx - 120, Window.height - 140))
self.add_widget(self.lbl)
self.sw = Switch(active=False, pos=(cx + 60, Window.height - 155))
self.sw.bind(active=self.on_active)
self.add_widget(self.sw)
def on_active(self, instance, value):
self.lbl.text = 'Switch is ON' if value else 'Switch is OFF'
print('Switch state:', 'ON' if value else 'OFF')
class SwitchApp(App):
def build(self):
return CallbackSwitch()
if __name__ == '__main__':
SwitchApp().run()
Output
Explanation:
- Create a label to show the current state.
- Create a Switch(active=False) and position it slightly lower than the label.
- Bind the switch to a callback using sw.bind(active=self.on_active).
- Update the label and print the switch state in the callback.
Example 2: This program changes the window background color when the switch is toggled
Python
Window.clearcolor = (1, 1, 1, 1)
class BgToggleSwitch(Widget):
def __init__(self, **kwargs):
super().__init__(**kwargs)
cx = Window.width / 2
self.lbl = Label(text='Background: White', color=(0,0,0,1),pos=(cx - 160, Window.height - 140))
self.add_widget(self.lbl)
self.sw = Switch(active=False, pos=(cx + 60, Window.height - 155))
self.sw.bind(active=self.toggle_bg)
self.add_widget(self.sw)
def toggle_bg(self, instance, value):
if value:
Window.clearcolor = (0.88, 1, 0.88, 1)
self.lbl.text = 'Background: Light Green'
else:
Window.clearcolor = (1, 1, 1, 1)
self.lbl.text = 'Background: White'
class SwitchApp(App):
def build(self):
return BgToggleSwitch()
if __name__ == '__main__':
SwitchApp().run()
Output
Explanation:
- Display a label showing current background color.
- Create a switch below and bind it to toggle_bg().
- When toggled ON, background changes to green; when OFF, returns to white.
- Label text updates accordingly.
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