Skip to main content
St Louis

Back to all posts

How to Handle the Window Close Event In Tkinter?

Published on
5 min read
How to Handle the Window Close Event In Tkinter? image

Best Tkinter Programming Guides to Buy in October 2025

1 Python GUI Programming with Tkinter: Design and build functional and user-friendly GUI applications, 2nd Edition

Python GUI Programming with Tkinter: Design and build functional and user-friendly GUI applications, 2nd Edition

BUY & SAVE
$25.62 $49.99
Save 49%
Python GUI Programming with Tkinter: Design and build functional and user-friendly GUI applications, 2nd Edition
2 Modern Tkinter for Busy Python Developers: Quickly learn to create great looking user interfaces for Windows, Mac and Linux using Python's standard GUI toolkit

Modern Tkinter for Busy Python Developers: Quickly learn to create great looking user interfaces for Windows, Mac and Linux using Python's standard GUI toolkit

BUY & SAVE
$30.05 $39.99
Save 25%
Modern Tkinter for Busy Python Developers: Quickly learn to create great looking user interfaces for Windows, Mac and Linux using Python's standard GUI toolkit
3 Python and Tkinter Programming

Python and Tkinter Programming

  • AFFORDABLE PRICES FOR QUALITY READS-SAVE BIG ON YOUR FAVORITES!
  • ECO-FRIENDLY CHOICE: EXTEND THE LIFE OF LITERATURE AND SAVE TREES!
  • THOROUGHLY INSPECTED FOR QUALITY-YOUR SATISFACTION IS GUARANTEED!
BUY & SAVE
$43.96 $49.95
Save 12%
Python and Tkinter Programming
4 Building Modern GUIs with tkinter and Python: Building user-friendly GUI applications with ease (English Edition)

Building Modern GUIs with tkinter and Python: Building user-friendly GUI applications with ease (English Edition)

BUY & SAVE
$34.95
Building Modern GUIs with tkinter and Python: Building user-friendly GUI applications with ease (English Edition)
5 Python Tkinter 35 Mini Projects: Practical guide for begineer (Python Made Practical: 125 GUI Creative Projects and 500 Assignments)

Python Tkinter 35 Mini Projects: Practical guide for begineer (Python Made Practical: 125 GUI Creative Projects and 500 Assignments)

BUY & SAVE
$12.99
Python Tkinter 35 Mini Projects: Practical guide for begineer (Python Made Practical: 125 GUI Creative Projects and 500 Assignments)
6 A Simple Guide to Python GUI: Using the Standard Tkinter Library

A Simple Guide to Python GUI: Using the Standard Tkinter Library

BUY & SAVE
$14.00
A Simple Guide to Python GUI: Using the Standard Tkinter Library
7 Tkinter GUI Application Development Blueprints: Master GUI programming in Tkinter as you design, implement, and deliver 10 real-world applications

Tkinter GUI Application Development Blueprints: Master GUI programming in Tkinter as you design, implement, and deliver 10 real-world applications

BUY & SAVE
$21.46 $48.99
Save 56%
Tkinter GUI Application Development Blueprints: Master GUI programming in Tkinter as you design, implement, and deliver 10 real-world applications
8 Python GUI Programming with Tkinter: Develop responsive and powerful GUI applications with Tkinter

Python GUI Programming with Tkinter: Develop responsive and powerful GUI applications with Tkinter

BUY & SAVE
$28.76 $48.99
Save 41%
Python GUI Programming with Tkinter: Develop responsive and powerful GUI applications with Tkinter
9 PYTHON TKINTER GUI PROJECTS: PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR BEGINNERS (Python Made Practical: 125 GUI Creative Projects and 500 Assignments)

PYTHON TKINTER GUI PROJECTS: PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR BEGINNERS (Python Made Practical: 125 GUI Creative Projects and 500 Assignments)

BUY & SAVE
$12.99
PYTHON TKINTER GUI PROJECTS: PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR BEGINNERS (Python Made Practical: 125 GUI Creative Projects and 500 Assignments)
10 Tkinter GUI Application Development Cookbook: A practical solution to your GUI development problems with Python and Tkinter

Tkinter GUI Application Development Cookbook: A practical solution to your GUI development problems with Python and Tkinter

BUY & SAVE
$38.68 $43.99
Save 12%
Tkinter GUI Application Development Cookbook: A practical solution to your GUI development problems with Python and Tkinter
+
ONE MORE?

In Tkinter, you can handle the window close event by binding a function to the "" event of the main window. This event is triggered when the window is closed by the user, either by clicking the close button or pressing Alt+F4.

To handle the window close event, you can create a function that will be called when the "" event is triggered. Inside this function, you can put the code that you want to execute before the window is actually closed. This can include saving data, confirming with the user, or performing any other necessary actions.

To bind the function to the window close event, you can use the bind() method on the main window object. For example, if your main window object is called "root", you can bind the function "on_window_close" to the "" event like this:

root.bind("", on_window_close)

By doing this, the "on_window_close" function will be called whenever the window close event is triggered, allowing you to handle the event and execute your desired actions before the window is closed.

How to prompt the user before closing the window in tkinter?

You can prompt the user before closing the window in tkinter by creating a function that will display a message asking for confirmation. Here is an example code snippet that demonstrates how to implement this:

import tkinter as tk from tkinter import messagebox

def on_closing(): if messagebox.askokcancel("Close", "Are you sure you want to close this window?"): root.destroy()

root = tk.Tk() root.protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW", on_closing)

root.mainloop()

In this code snippet, we define a function on_closing() that will be called when the user tries to close the window. Inside this function, we use the messagebox.askokcancel() method to display a message asking for confirmation. If the user clicks on the "OK" button, the window will be closed using the destroy() method.

What is the purpose of setting a custom close behavior for a tkinter window?

Setting a custom close behavior for a tkinter window allows you to define specific actions that should be taken when the user tries to close the window. This can be useful for prompting the user to confirm if they really want to close the window, saving any unsaved data before closing, or performing any other necessary operations before the window is closed. Custom close behavior can enhance the user experience and ensure that all necessary actions are taken before the window is closed.

How to perform cleanup tasks before closing a tkinter window?

To perform cleanup tasks before closing a tkinter window, you can create a function that is called when the window is being closed. This can be done by adding a binding to the <Destroy> event of the main window. Here's an example of how to do this:

import tkinter as tk

def on_closing(): # Perform cleanup tasks here print("Cleaning up before closing...")

# Close the window
root.destroy()

root = tk.Tk() root.protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW", on_closing)

Add your tkinter widgets and code here

root.mainloop()

In this example, the on_closing function is called when the window is being closed. You can put your cleanup tasks inside this function. The protocol method is used to detect when the window is being closed, and it binds the on_closing function to the close button of the window.

Make sure to replace # Add your tkinter widgets and code here with your actual tkinter widgets and code.

How to ask for user confirmation before closing a tkinter window?

You can ask for user confirmation before closing a tkinter window by using the protocol method to bind the window closing event to a function that displays a confirmation dialog. Here's an example code:

import tkinter as tk from tkinter import messagebox

def on_closing(): if messagebox.askokcancel("Confirmation", "Are you sure you want to close this window?"): root.destroy()

root = tk.Tk() root.protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW", on_closing)

root.mainloop()

In this code, the on_closing function is bound to the window closing event using the protocol method. When the user tries to close the window, a confirmation dialog asking for their confirmation is displayed. If the user clicks "OK", the window is closed, otherwise it remains open.

The recommended approach to handling the window close event in a tkinter application is to use the protocol method of the Tk class to register a function that will be called when the user attempts to close the window.

Here is an example of how to handle the window close event in a tkinter application:

import tkinter as tk

def on_closing(): if tk.messagebox.askokcancel("Quit", "Do you want to quit?"): root.destroy()

root = tk.Tk()

Register the on_closing function to be called when the user attempts to close the window

root.protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW", on_closing)

root.mainloop()

In this example, the on_closing function will display a confirmation dialog asking the user if they want to quit when they try to close the window. If the user confirms, the destroy method is called to close the window.