Tkinter LabelFrame: A Friendly, Practical Guide

1 What is a LabelFrame?

LabelFrame is a container widget in Tkinter that draws a border and title around a group of related controls. It’s the standard way to organize sections—think of it as a labeled card that collects related settings.

You’ll see it in settings dialogs, preferences panels, and data-entry screens. It groups widgets visually and semantically, so users see what goes together and what doesn’t.

Goal: build a clean settings window using LabelFrame to hold Personal Information, Application Preferences, and Notification Settings.

2 Prerequisites

LabelFrame is part of Tkinter’s ttk module, included with Python. You only need Python 3.7+ and the standard library—no extra packages.

Confirm your version:

python --version

3 Create the Application Window

Start by subclassing Tk to build a minimal settings window. This gives you a tidy entry point for later components.

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import ttk

class SettingsApp(tk.Tk):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.title("Application Settings (LabelFrame Demo)")
        self.geometry("600x400")
        self.configure(bg='#f0f0f0')

        # Main container with padding
        main_container = ttk.Frame(self, padding="20")
        main_container.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = SettingsApp()
    app.mainloop()

4 First LabelFrame: Personal Information

Create a LabelFrame for “Personal Information,” then add two labeled fields. Configure the grid so the entry fields expand horizontally.

    def create_personal_info_frame(self, parent: ttk.Frame) -> None:
        personal_frame = ttk.LabelFrame(
            parent,
            text="Personal Information",
            padding="10"
        )
        personal_frame.pack(fill=tk.X, pady=(0, 10))

        ttk.Label(personal_frame, text="Name:").grid(row=0, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=5)
        ttk.Entry(personal_frame).grid(row=0, column=1, sticky=tk.EW, padx=(10, 0))

        ttk.Label(personal_frame, text="Email:").grid(row=1, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=5)
        ttk.Entry(personal_frame).grid(row=1, column=1, sticky=tk.EW, padx=(10, 0))

        personal_frame.columnconfigure(1, weight=1)

5 Second LabelFrame: Application Preferences

Add a second LabelFrame for preferences. Use Combobox for Theme and Language. Setting state="readonly" prevents free-form edits.

    def create_preferences_frame(self, parent: ttk.Frame) -> None:
        pref_frame = ttk.LabelFrame(parent, text="Application Preferences", padding="10")
        pref_frame.pack(fill=tk.X, pady=(0, 10))

        ttk.Label(pref_frame, text="Theme:").grid(row=0, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=5)
        theme_combo = ttk.Combobox(pref_frame, values=["Light", "Dark", "System"], state="readonly")
        theme_combo.set("Light")
        theme_combo.grid(row=0, column=1, sticky=tk.EW, padx=(10, 0))

        ttk.Label(pref_frame, text="Language:").grid(row=1, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=5)
        lang_combo = ttk.Combobox(pref_frame, values=["English", "Spanish", "French", "German"], state="readonly")
        lang_combo.set("English")
        lang_combo.grid(row=1, column=1, sticky=tk.EW, padx=(10, 0))

        pref_frame.columnconfigure(1, weight=1)

6 Third LabelFrame: Notification Settings

Create a third LabelFrame for toggles. Use Checkbutton for On/Off style options. This frame does not require expanding columns.

    def create_notification_frame(self, parent: ttk.Frame) -> None:
        notif_frame = ttk.LabelFrame(parent, text="Notification Settings", padding="10")
        notif_frame.pack(fill=tk.X)

        ttk.Checkbutton(notif_frame, text="Enable email notifications").grid(row=0, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=2)
        ttk.Checkbutton(notif_frame, text="Enable desktop notifications").grid(row=1, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=2)
        ttk.Checkbutton(notif_frame, text="Enable sound notifications").grid(row=2, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=2)

7 Assemble the Frames in init

Now call the three helper methods from __init__ to lay out the sections in order.

    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.title("Application Settings (LabelFrame Demo)")
        self.geometry("600x400")
        self.configure(bg='#f0f0f0')

        main_container = ttk.Frame(self, padding="20")
        main_container.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

        self.create_personal_info_frame(main_container)
        self.create_preferences_frame(main_container)
        self.create_notification_frame(main_container)

8 Styling and Padding

The padding argument adds space inside each LabelFrame, which keeps the content from hugging the border. Keep titles short and descriptive.

On macOS and Windows, the LabelFrame appearance follows the native theme; on Linux with ttk it can vary. Avoid relying on exact colors across platforms.

9 Layout: grid vs. pack

Inside a LabelFrame, grid is great for labeled forms. Configure column 1 with weight=1 so entries stretch to fill available width. For toggles that don’t need columns, pack or single-row grid works fine.

Use pady and sticky consistently so rows align and feel cohesive. Sticky=EW ensures fields expand horizontally when the window resizes.

10 Full Source Code

Copy the complete example and run it to see the three labeled sections.

Note: We also have a video walkthrough for this lesson.

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import ttk

class SettingsApp(tk.Tk):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()

        # Configure the main window
        self.title("Application Settings (LabelFrame Demo)")
        self.geometry("600x400")
        self.configure(bg='#f0f0f0')

        # Create the main container with padding
        main_container = ttk.Frame(self, padding="20")
        main_container.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

        # Create and pack the personal info section
        self.create_personal_info_frame(main_container)

        # Create and pack the preferences section
        self.create_preferences_frame(main_container)

        # Create and pack the notification settings
        self.create_notification_frame(main_container)

    def create_personal_info_frame(self, parent: ttk.Frame) -> None:
        """Creates a LabelFrame for personal information settings."""
        personal_frame = ttk.LabelFrame(
            parent,
            text="Personal Information",
            padding="10"
        )
        personal_frame.pack(fill=tk.X, pady=(0, 10))

        # Create and pack the form elements
        ttk.Label(personal_frame, text="Name:").grid(row=0, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=5)
        ttk.Entry(personal_frame).grid(row=0, column=1, sticky=tk.EW, padx=(10, 0))

        ttk.Label(personal_frame, text="Email:").grid(row=1, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=5)
        ttk.Entry(personal_frame).grid(row=1, column=1, sticky=tk.EW, padx=(10, 0))

        # Configure grid column weights
        personal_frame.columnconfigure(1, weight=1)

    def create_preferences_frame(self, parent: ttk.Frame) -> None:
        """Creates a LabelFrame for application preferences."""
        pref_frame = ttk.LabelFrame(
            parent,
            text="Application Preferences",
            padding="10"
        )
        pref_frame.pack(fill=tk.X, pady=(0, 10))

        # Theme selection
        ttk.Label(pref_frame, text="Theme:").grid(row=0, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=5)
        theme_combo = ttk.Combobox(
            pref_frame, 
            values=["Light", "Dark", "System"],
            state="readonly"
        )
        theme_combo.set("Light")
        theme_combo.grid(row=0, column=1, sticky=tk.EW, padx=(10, 0))

        # Language selection
        ttk.Label(pref_frame, text="Language:").grid(row=1, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=5)
        lang_combo = ttk.Combobox(
            pref_frame,
            values=["English", "Spanish", "French", "German"],
            state="readonly"
        )
        lang_combo.set("English")
        lang_combo.grid(row=1, column=1, sticky=tk.EW, padx=(10, 0))

        # Configure grid column weights
        pref_frame.columnconfigure(1, weight=1)

    def create_notification_frame(self, parent: ttk.Frame) -> None:
        """Creates a LabelFrame for notification settings."""
        notif_frame = ttk.LabelFrame(
            parent,
            text="Notification Settings",
            padding="10"
        )
        notif_frame.pack(fill=tk.X)

        # Email notifications
        ttk.Checkbutton(
            notif_frame,
            text="Enable email notifications"
        ).grid(row=0, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=2)

        # Desktop notifications
        ttk.Checkbutton(
            notif_frame,
            text="Enable desktop notifications"
        ).grid(row=1, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=2)

        # Sound notifications
        ttk.Checkbutton(
            notif_frame,
            text="Enable sound notifications"
        ).grid(row=2, column=0, sticky=tk.W, pady=2)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = SettingsApp()
    app.mainloop()

Run with: python settings_app.py

11 Video & Takeaways

If you prefer watching, here’s a short walkthrough of LabelFrame usage and basic layout.

Wrap-up: LabelFrame organizes UI sections, gives them a name, and improves clarity. Use padding, clear titles, and column weights to keep forms consistent and responsive.