Start an applet in Python, Go or Rust

Create a project, run it in your panel, and change it. The todo tutorial walks through the same steps in TypeScript.

Install the toolchain

You need a running glimpse panel and just, plus:

Language	Needs
Python	Python 3.14 and uv, which fetches the SDK on first run
Go	Go 1.24 or newer
Rust	Rust with the 2024 edition

Create the project

Python

glimpsectl applet new --language py --id me.aresa.GlimpseTodo --yes

Go

glimpsectl applet new --language go --id me.aresa.GlimpseTodo --yes

Rust

glimpsectl applet new --language rs --id me.aresa.GlimpseTodo --yes

This creates glimpse-todo/ with the name "Glimpse Todo". Leave out --yes to be asked for the name, description, icon and directory.

File	What it is
applet.py, main.go or src/main.rs	Your applet
me.aresa.GlimpseTodo.desktop	The desktop entry: name, icon and the command that runs it
devconfig.toml	options and env for development runs
justfile	dev, build, test, lint, package, install
pyproject.toml, go.mod or Cargo.toml	The project and its SDK dependency
test_applet.py (Python)	A test that builds the applet and checks its indicator
README.md, .gitignore	How to run and package the project, and the files git ignores

Run it in the panel

cd glimpse-todo
just dev

A "Glimpse Todo" chip appears at the left of your bar. Click it to see an "It works" row. Keep the terminal open: your applet's errors print there, and Ctrl C removes it from the bar. just dev right puts it in the right zone instead.

Change it

The generated applet:

Python

#!/usr/bin/env -S uv run --script
# /// script
# requires-python = ">=3.14"
# dependencies = ["glimpse-applet-sdk>=0.13"]
# ///
from glimpse_sdk import BaseApplet, Context, Indicator, Popover, Row, Section, State, W


class App(BaseApplet[State]):
    state = State()

    def build(self, ctx: Context) -> list[W]:
        return [
            Indicator(
                icon="application-x-addon-symbolic",
                tooltip="Glimpse Todo",
                children=["Glimpse Todo"],
            ),
            Popover(
                icon="application-x-addon-symbolic",
                title="Glimpse Todo",
                children=[
                    Section(
                        title="Glimpse Todo",
                        children=[Row(title="It works")],
                    )
                ],
            ),
        ]


if __name__ == "__main__":
    App.main()

Go

package main

import sdk "github.com/alex-oleshkevich/glimpse/sdk/sdk-go/sdk"

type state struct{}

type app struct {
	sdk.Applet[state]
}

func (a *app) Build(ctx *sdk.Context) []sdk.Widget {
	return []sdk.Widget{
		sdk.Indicator(
			sdk.IndicatorProps{
				Icon: "application-x-addon-symbolic",
				Tooltip: "Glimpse Todo",
			},
			"Glimpse Todo",
		),
		sdk.Popover(
			sdk.PopoverProps{
				Icon: "application-x-addon-symbolic",
				Title: "Glimpse Todo",
			},
			sdk.Section(
				sdk.SectionProps{
					Title: "Glimpse Todo",
				},
				sdk.Row(sdk.RowProps{
					Title: "It works",
				}),
			),
		),
	}
}

func main() {
	sdk.Main(&app{})
}

Rust

use glimpse_sdk::*;
use std::process::ExitCode;

struct App;

enum Msg {}

impl glimpse_sdk::App for App {
    type Msg = Msg;

    fn update(&mut self, _ctx: &Ctx, msg: Msg) {
        match msg {}
    }

    fn build(&self, _ctx: &Ctx) -> Vec<Widget<Msg>> {
        vec![
            indicator()
                .icon("application-x-addon-symbolic")
                .tooltip("Glimpse Todo")
                .text("Glimpse Todo")
                .into(),
            popover()
                .icon("application-x-addon-symbolic")
                .title("Glimpse Todo")
                .child(section().title("Glimpse Todo").child(row().title("It works")))
                .into(),
        ]
    }
}

fn main() -> ExitCode {
    run(App)
}

Rename the row. Saving rebuilds the applet and restarts it in the bar.

Python

                     Section(
                         title="Glimpse Todo",
-                        children=[Row(title="It works")],
+                        children=[Row(title="Buy groceries")],
                     )

Go

 				sdk.Row(sdk.RowProps{
-					Title: "It works",
+					Title: "Buy groceries",
 				}),

Rust

-                .child(section().title("Glimpse Todo").child(row().title("It works")))
+                .child(section().title("Glimpse Todo").child(row().title("Buy groceries")))

Next

• The SDK pages: Python, Go, Rust. Every element is in Elements.
• Keep data between restarts, test it, then install and share it.