Cursors

Every widget takes a cursor option that sets the mouse pointer shown while it is over the widget. Pass one of the names below; an empty string resets it so the widget inherits its parent’s cursor.

entry = ttk.Entry(app, cursor="xterm")     # text I-beam over this entry
app.configure(cursor="watch")              # busy pointer over the whole window
app.configure(cursor="")                   # back to the default

Note

The names come from Tk’s cursor command, whose reference lives in a C-oriented Tk manual page. A cursor’s appearance is platform-dependent — the same name can look different on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and several names map to the same system pointer. For a busy pointer over a whole window, prefer the busy helper — see Mark a window busy.

Common cursors

The pointers you will actually reach for, and what each conventionally means.

Name	Meaning / typical use
arrow left_ptr	The default pointer.
xterm	Text I-beam — over editable text.
hand2	Pointing hand — a clickable link or hotspot.
hand1	Open hand — a draggable / grabbable area.
fleur	Four-way move arrows — drag to reposition.
watch	Busy / working (an arrow + hourglass on Windows).
crosshair tcross	Precise selection or drawing.
sizing	Resize from a corner.
sb_h_double_arrow	Horizontal resize (↔) — a vertical split or column edge.
sb_v_double_arrow	Vertical resize (↕) — a horizontal split or row edge.
question_arrow	Context help.
plus	Add, or cell selection.
pencil	Draw or edit.
circle	Action not allowed.
pirate	Delete / kill (a skull-and-crossbones).
dotbox target dot	Miscellaneous marking pointers.

Setting a cursor while busy

A common use is showing a wait pointer during a slow operation, then restoring it. Force the pointer to update before the work starts:

app.configure(cursor="watch")
app.update_idletasks()        # show the cursor before blocking
do_slow_work()
app.configure(cursor="")      # restore

See Mark a window busy for the busy helper, which does this for a whole window (and disables input) in one call.

All portable names

These names come from the X11 cursor font and are accepted on all platforms. Many are legacy or decorative shapes (gumby, coffee_mug, spraycan) that map to a generic pointer outside X11 — the common set above is what renders distinctly everywhere.

X_cursor arrow based_arrow_down based_arrow_up boat bogosity bottom_left_corner bottom_right_corner bottom_side bottom_tee box_spiral center_ptr circle clock coffee_mug cross cross_reverse crosshair diamond_cross dot

dotbox double_arrow draft_large draft_small draped_box exchange fleur gobbler gumby hand1 hand2 heart icon iron_cross left_ptr left_side left_tee leftbutton ll_angle

lr_angle man middlebutton mouse pencil pirate plus question_arrow right_ptr right_side right_tee rightbutton rtl_logo sailboat sb_down_arrow sb_h_double_arrow sb_left_arrow sb_right_arrow sb_up_arrow

sb_v_double_arrow shuttle sizing spider spraycan star target tcross top_left_arrow top_left_corner top_right_corner top_side top_tee trek ul_angle umbrella ur_angle watch xterm

Platform-specific names

Windows and macOS add native pointers on top of the portable set. Windows provides:

no starting size

size_ne_sw size_ns

size_nw_se size_we

uparrow wait

macOS adds its own native cursors (copy, alias, contextual-menu, and resize variants, among others). Because these are not portable, see the Tk cursor manual page for the exact platform lists.

Warning

Tk on Windows accepts any of these names without error, but a name outside what the platform supports falls back to a generic pointer rather than raising — so an unsupported cursor fails silently. Stick to the common set for a consistent result across platforms.