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Entry

Entry is the low-level, single-line text input primitive in bootstack.

It wraps bs.Entry and integrates bootstack styling plus reactive text support. Entry is also the building block used by higher-level controls like TextEntry, NumericEntry, DateEntry, and PasswordEntry.

Quick start

import bootstack as bs

app = bs.App()

entry = bs.Entry(app)
entry.pack(padx=20, pady=20)

app.mainloop()

When to use

Use Entry when:

  • you need direct, low-level access to bs.Entry options

  • you are building your own composite control

  • you want Tk's validate / validatecommand behavior

Consider a different control when...

  • you want labels, helper text, and standardized events - prefer TextEntry

  • you want commit-based validation with messages - prefer TextEntry

  • you are building application forms - prefer TextEntry or specialized input controls

Appearance

accent / style

Use semantic tokens via accent, or provide a concrete ttk style via style=.

bs.Entry(app, accent="primary")
bs.Entry(app, accent="secondary")

Design System

See the Design System for available color tokens.

Examples and patterns

Value model

Entry works with raw text:

  • entry.get() returns the current string

  • textvariable= or textsignal= keeps the text synchronized with your state

Unlike field controls such as TextEntry, Entry does not define "text vs committed value" semantics on its own.

textvariable

Bind to a Tk variable.

name = bs.StringVar(value="Ada")
bs.Entry(app, textvariable=name).pack()

textsignal

Bind to a reactive signal (no Tk variable needed).

entry = bs.Entry(app, textsignal=my_signal)

show

Mask input characters (useful for basic password-style entry).

bs.Entry(app, show="*")

Password input

For a full-featured password field (reveal toggle, validation, messages), prefer PasswordEntry.

Tk validation (validate / validatecommand)

Use Tk's validation when you need per-keystroke constraints.

def validate_text(new_value: str) -> bool:
    return new_value.isdigit() or new_value == ""

vcmd = (app.register(validate_text), "%P")

entry = bs.Entry(app, validate="key", validatecommand=vcmd)
entry.pack(padx=20, pady=20)

Prefer field controls for forms

For most form UX, prefer TextEntry (commit-time parsing + validation messages + consistent events).

Behavior

Entry follows standard Tk/ttk behavior:

  • keyboard focus and caret navigation

  • standard widget states (normal, readonly, disabled)

  • standard Tk events like <KeyRelease> and <FocusOut>

entry.bind("<KeyRelease>", lambda e: print(entry.get()))

Events

Entry emits standard Tk events, not structured v2 field events.

If you want standardized field events like on_input / on_changed, use TextEntry.

Validation and constraints

Use Entry validation when you need low-level, immediate constraints while typing.

If you want user-friendly validation messages and commit-based validation, prefer TextEntry (or a specialized *Entry control).

Additional resources

Framework concepts

API reference