Hide the console of an .exe file created with PyInstaller in Tkinter

When creating executable files from Tkinter applications using PyInstaller, you may notice a command console window appears alongside your GUI. This console can be hidden using the --windowed flag in PyInstaller.

The Problem

By default, PyInstaller creates executables that show a console window. For GUI applications like Tkinter apps, this console is unnecessary and can look unprofessional.

Solution: Using the --windowed Flag

To hide the console window, use the following PyInstaller command ?

pyinstaller --onefile app.py --windowed

The --windowed flag tells PyInstaller to create a windowed application without a console.

Example Application

Let's create a simple Tkinter application to demonstrate this ?

app.py

# Import the required libraries
from tkinter import *

# Create an instance of Tkinter Frame
win = Tk()

# Set the geometry
win.geometry("700x350")

# Set the default color of the window
win.config(bg='#aad5df')

def display_text():
    Label(win, text="Hello World!", background='white', foreground='purple1').pack()

Button(win, text="Click Me", background="white", foreground="black", 
       font=('Helvetica', 13, 'bold'), command=display_text).pack(pady=50)

win.mainloop()

Creating the Executable

Open terminal in the same directory as your Python file and run ?

pyinstaller --onefile app.py --windowed

This command creates:

• --onefile: Single executable file
• --windowed: No console window

PyInstaller will generate an app.exe file in the dist folder.

Alternative Flags

You can also use these equivalent options ?

pyinstaller --onefile app.py --noconsole
pyinstaller --onefile app.py -w

All three flags (--windowed, --noconsole, -w) achieve the same result.

Output

When you run the executable from the dist folder, it opens directly as a GUI application without showing any console window ?

Conclusion

Use the --windowed flag with PyInstaller to hide the console window when creating executable files from Tkinter applications. This creates a cleaner, more professional user experience for GUI applications.