Actions¶

Actions are allow-listed functions with a string syntax you can embed in links and bind to keys. In this chapter we will discuss how to create actions and how to run them.

Action methods¶

Action methods are methods on your app or widgets prefixed with action_. Aside from the prefix these are regular methods which you could call directly if you wished.

Information

Action methods may be coroutines (defined with the async keyword).

Let's write an app with a simple action method.

actions01.py

from textual.app import App
from textual import events


class ActionsApp(App):
    def action_set_background(self, color: str) -> None:
        self.screen.styles.background = color

    def on_key(self, event: events.Key) -> None:
        if event.key == "r":
            self.action_set_background("red")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = ActionsApp()
    app.run()

The action_set_background method is an action method which sets the background of the screen. The key handler above will call this action method if you press the R key.

Although it is possible (and occasionally useful) to call action methods in this way, they are intended to be parsed from an action string. For instance, the string "set_background('red')" is an action string which would call self.action_set_background('red').

The following example replaces the immediate call with a call to run_action() which parses an action string and dispatches it to the appropriate method.

actions02.py

from textual import events
from textual.app import App


class ActionsApp(App):
    def action_set_background(self, color: str) -> None:
        self.screen.styles.background = color

    async def on_key(self, event: events.Key) -> None:
        if event.key == "r":
            await self.run_action("set_background('red')")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = ActionsApp()
    app.run()

Note that the run_action() method is a coroutine so on_key needs to be prefixed with the async keyword.

You will not typically need this in a real app as Textual will run actions in links or key bindings. Before we discuss these, let's have a closer look at the syntax for action strings.

Syntax¶

Action strings have a simple syntax, which for the most part replicates Python's function call syntax.

Important

As much as they look like Python code, Textual does not call Python's eval function to compile action strings.

Action strings have the following format:

The name of an action on its own will call the action method with no parameters. For example, an action string of "bell" will call action_bell().
Action strings may be followed by parenthesis containing Python objects. For example, the action string set_background("red") will call action_set_background("red").
Action strings may be prefixed with a namespace (see below) and a dot.

Parameters¶

If the action string contains parameters, these must be valid Python literals, which means you can include numbers, strings, dicts, lists, etc., but you can't include variables or references to any other Python symbols.

Consequently "set_background('blue')" is a valid action string, but "set_background(new_color)" is not — because new_color is a variable and not a literal.

Links¶

Actions may be embedded as links within console markup. You can create such links with a @click tag.

The following example mounts simple static text with embedded action links.

actions03.pyOutput

actions03.py

from textual.app import App, ComposeResult
from textual.widgets import Static

TEXT = """
[b]Set your background[/b]
[@click=set_background('red')]Red[/]
[@click=set_background('green')]Green[/]
[@click=set_background('blue')]Blue[/]
"""


class ActionsApp(App):
    def compose(self) -> ComposeResult:
        yield Static(TEXT)

    def action_set_background(self, color: str) -> None:
        self.screen.styles.background = color


if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = ActionsApp()
    app.run()

When you click any of the links, Textual runs the "set_background" action to change the background to the given color.

Bindings¶

Textual will run actions bound to keys. The following example adds key bindings for the R, G, and B keys which call the "set_background" action.

actions04.pyOutput

actions04.py

from textual.app import App, ComposeResult
from textual.widgets import Static

TEXT = """
[b]Set your background[/b]
[@click=set_background('red')]Red[/]
[@click=set_background('green')]Green[/]
[@click=set_background('blue')]Blue[/]
"""


class ActionsApp(App):
    BINDINGS = [
        ("r", "set_background('red')", "Red"),
        ("g", "set_background('green')", "Green"),
        ("b", "set_background('blue')", "Blue"),
    ]

    def compose(self) -> ComposeResult:
        yield Static(TEXT)

    def action_set_background(self, color: str) -> None:
        self.screen.styles.background = color


if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = ActionsApp()
    app.run()

If you run this example, you can change the background by pressing keys in addition to clicking links.

See the previous section on input for more information on bindings.

Namespaces¶

Textual will look for action methods in the class where they are defined (App, Screen, or Widget). If we were to create a custom widget it can have its own set of actions.

The following example defines a custom widget with its own set_background action.

actions05.pyactions05.tcss

actions05.py

from textual.app import App, ComposeResult
from textual.widgets import Static

TEXT = """
[b]Set your background[/b]
[@click=set_background('cyan')]Cyan[/]
[@click=set_background('magenta')]Magenta[/]
[@click=set_background('yellow')]Yellow[/]
"""


class ColorSwitcher(Static):
    def action_set_background(self, color: str) -> None:
        self.styles.background = color


class ActionsApp(App):
    CSS_PATH = "actions05.tcss"
    BINDINGS = [
        ("r", "set_background('red')", "Red"),
        ("g", "set_background('green')", "Green"),
        ("b", "set_background('blue')", "Blue"),
    ]

    def compose(self) -> ComposeResult:
        yield ColorSwitcher(TEXT)
        yield ColorSwitcher(TEXT)

    def action_set_background(self, color: str) -> None:
        self.screen.styles.background = color


if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = ActionsApp()
    app.run()

actions05.tcss

Screen {
    layout: grid;
    grid-size: 1;
    grid-gutter: 2 4;
    grid-rows: 1fr;
}

ColorSwitcher {
   height: 100%;
   margin: 2 4;
}

There are two instances of the custom widget mounted. If you click the links in either of them it will change the background for that widget only. The R, G, and B key bindings are set on the App so will set the background for the screen.

You can optionally prefix an action with a namespace, which tells Textual to run actions for a different object.

Textual supports the following action namespaces:

app invokes actions on the App.
screen invokes actions on the screen.

In the previous example if you wanted a link to set the background on the app rather than the widget, we could set a link to app.set_background('red').

Builtin actions¶

Textual supports the following builtin actions which are defined on the app.