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I have recently installed the Ubuntu app for Windows 10 so that I can use it for a class.

I am following some cryptic assignment directions to "try out tkinter".

I installed the package python3-tk in the Ubuntu terminal window following instructions located here: How to install and use Tkinter in ubuntu / Debian / Linux mint.

So then I execute

~$ python3

with the result

Python 3.5.2 (default, Aug 18 2017, 17:48:00)
[GCC 5.4.0 20160609] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

then the following commands:

>>> import tkinter
>>> tkinter.Tk()

With the resulting error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/usr/lib/python3.5/tkinter/__init__.py", line 1871, in __init__
    self.tk = _tkinter.create(screenName, baseName, className, interactive, 
wantobjects, useTk, sync, use)
_tkinter.TclError: no display name and no $DISPLAY environment variable
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6
  • might this help you? stackoverflow.com/questions/19309085/… Commented Jan 14, 2018 at 21:57
  • The situations are different, since I am not using ssh. Everything is on my own machine. I updated my post to better clarify. There might be some insight to be gained from that post (have read multiple which are similar) but I do not know enough to figure out how to apply the information in those posts to my situation. Commented Jan 14, 2018 at 23:55
  • 1
    Well, at the risk of asking the obvious, do you have an environment variable called $DISPLAY? Commented Jan 15, 2018 at 0:45
  • The error message comes when tcl/tk for linux tries to connect to an X server. My guess is that you must tell Ubuntu to do so or tell tcl/tk to not look for one. I have no idea either way. (The solution to previous questions was to tell matplotlib to not look for X server.) Say more about what you actually did. You should be running Python directly, not through IDLE. Perhaps you did the former, in spite of the tag, because I suspect that IDLE should fail when it calls tkinter.Tk(). Commented Jan 15, 2018 at 6:39
  • I use Linux and has DISPLAY=:0. I can change this in command line DISPLAY=:0 or export DISPLAY=:0. Or I can put this in file .bashrc which is executed everytime I login - so I don't have to do it manually. Commented Jan 15, 2018 at 7:56

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
35

Solved:

Note: This is when using the Ubuntu App inside Windows 10

Install Xming X server for Windows.

During installation there is an option to set the display to 0.

Add the line export DISPLAY=:0; to .bashrc as suggested.

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2 Comments

had issue while running gitk command. Now working fine thanks for your answer
I didn't get any option to set display on windows side. On linux ssh side I added your export comand to .bashrc. I get no error now, but I see no window.
8

I was having the same problem. I recently installed the 'Bash on Ubuntu on Windows' app from the store, and I was getting the following error when running my python script that tries to create a python UI: 

_tkinter.TclError: no display name and no $DISPLAY environment variable

I followed @Zach instructions however my problem still remained. This is how I fixed my issue after following @Zach.

  1. I first installed Xming X Server for Windows.
  2. I then went into my home directory ~ on the Ubuntu terminal, and opened my .bashrc file by executing vim .bashrc.
  3. At the end of the file, I added the following line: export DISPLAY=:0;. Instead of 'execute', I used 'export'.

Make sure to close all terminal instances before trying to execute the python script.

And that worked for me!

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1 Comment

Yep. I can't type. Or apparently, don't know the difference between "export" and "execute". Drrrrr.
1

If you don't want to install Xming X Server For Windows

Then use CMD in windows and it will work fine.

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2 Comments

I don't want to install Xming, but I have no idea what this answer means. Can you explain?
This answer makes some sense for gitk, which gives the same error. WSL gitk requires Xming, but Git for Windows (GfW) gitk (which can be run from GfW bash shell or from Windows cmd shell) doesn't require it...

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