After a day of headache, this worked for me:

$ brew install python-tk
Answer from subtleseeker on Stack Overflow
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Python GUIs
pythonguis.com › installation › install tkinter on macos
How to Install Tkinter on macOS — Python GUI Setup Guide
3 weeks ago - Learn how to install Tkinter on macOS using Homebrew. This step-by-step guide walks you through installing Python 3 and Tkinter so you can start building Python GUI applications on your Mac.
Discussions

python - How to pip install tkinter - Stack Overflow
Tkinter can be installed using pip. The following command is run in the command prompt to install Tkinter. ... This command will start downloading and installing packages related to the Tkinter library. More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
python - How to install tkinter on M1 Mac - Stack Overflow
Apparently on MacOS' python, tkinter is not a built-in and can't be installed with pip. In order to install it you need either MacPorts or Homebrew. More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
How do I run the version of tkinter I brew installed instead of the system version?
tkinter is a standard library included with Python on macOS and Windows, so shouldn't need to be installed using homebrew - it does need to be installed for a lot of linux distributions though as the Python installation is often slimmed down. However, the macOS system installation of Python (no longer the out-of-support Python 2.7) has a buggy Apple-supplied Tcl/Tk 8.5 installation. This is what is imported with the -m switch. See https://www.python.org/download/mac/tcltk/ I prefer to install my own versions of Python using PyEnv (so I can have multiple versions available for testing). I also always use Python virtual environments on a project-by-project basis and don't install in any of the base environments provided by pyenv. When you create a script using import tkinter as tk, and attempt to run it with Python, what error message do you get? I suspect none as that will use a different version of the Tcl/Tk library. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
7
1
September 2, 2022
Tkinter issue on macOS :(
I don't have first-hand experience with modern Apple hardware, but I suggest you try following this thread and run brew install python-tk@3.12 I don't believe you actually need 3.13, especially if you're planning to install packages on it because many aren't compatible yet. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
3
1
November 14, 2024
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › how-to-install-tkinter-on-macos
How to Install Tkinter on MacOS? - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - ... Step 3: Upgrade your pip to avoid errors during installation. ... Step 4: Enter the following command to install Tkinter using pip3. ... Step 1: Download the latest source package of Tkinter for python3 from here.
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GitHub
gist.github.com › txoof › 675e72d43f1bfbade04fdcec99ff4085
Setup python with tkinter under homebrew · GitHub
env \ PATH="$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/bin:$PATH" \ LDFLAGS="-L$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/lib" \ CPPFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/include" \ PKG_CONFIG_PATH="$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/lib/pkgconfig" \ CFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/include" \ PYTHON_CONFIGURE_OPTS="--enable-framework --with-tcltk-includes='-I$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/include' --with-tcltk-libs='-L$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/lib -ltcl8.6 -ltk8.6' " \ pyenv install 3.8.5
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Python
python.org › download › mac › tcltk
IDLE and tkinter with Tcl/Tk on macOS | Python.org
Python's integrated development environment, IDLE, and the tkinter GUI toolkit it uses, depend on the Tk GUI toolkit which is not part of Python itself. For best results, it is important that the proper release of Tcl/Tk is installed on your machine. For recent Python installers for macOS downloadable ...
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Python documentation
docs.python.org › 3 › library › tkinter.html
tkinter — Python interface to Tcl/Tk
February 23, 2026 - Both Tk and tkinter are available on most Unix platforms, including macOS, as well as on Windows systems. Running python -m tkinter from the command line should open a window demonstrating a simple Tk interface, letting you know that tkinter is properly installed on your system, and also showing what version of Tcl/Tk is installed, so you can read the Tcl/Tk documentation specific to that version.
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TkDocs
tkdocs.com › tutorial › install.html
TkDocs Tutorial - Installing Tk
If you want to build Tkinter from Python source, there are four steps: install developer tools, install Tcl/Tk, build Python, and verify Tkinter. If needed, use your package manager to install standard development tools needed to build Tcl and Python: gcc, make, git, etc., including the X11 headers and libraries, which are often in a package named something like libx11-dev. Again, you may wish to install Tcl/Tk using your package manager. But if not, visit www.tcl.tk and download the source code for both Tcl (e.g., tcl8.6.17-src.tar.gz) and Tk (e.g., tk8.6.17-src.tar.gz).
Find elsewhere
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MacPorts
ports.macports.org › port › py-tkinter
Install py-tkinter on macOS with MacPorts
py39-tkinter · Details Add to my watchlist 1 · Quick Links: About · Statistics FAQ · Git Repository · Documentation · API · Issues · MacPorts · MacPorts Home · Install MacPorts · MacPorts FAQ · MacPorts News ·
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TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › how-to-install-tkinter-in-python
How to install Tkinter in Python?
May 31, 2024 - Tkinter is typically included with Python installations by default. Use the import test to verify availability, and install using pip install tk or platform-specific package managers if needed.
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Medium
medium.com › @xogk39 › install-tkinter-on-mac-pyenv-f112bd3f4663
Install tkinter on Mac. (pyenv). Install tcl-tk | by Taeha Hong | Medium
August 5, 2020 - ※ pyenv uninstall 3.6.9 ※ env \ PATH="$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/bin:$PATH" \ LDFLAGS="-L$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/lib" \ CPPFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/include" \ PKG_CONFIG_PATH="$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/lib/pkgconfig" \ CFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/include" \ PYTHON_CONFIGURE_OPTS="--with-tcltk-includes='-I$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/include' --with-tcltk-libs='-L$(brew --prefix tcl-tk)/lib -ltcl8.6 -ltk8.6'" \ pyenv install 3.6.9 ... >>> import tkinter >>> tkinter.TclVersion, tkinter.TkVersion (8.6, 8.6) >>> tkinter._test() # You should get a GUI
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DEV Community
dev.to › doctorx › install-python-tkinter-on-macos-42kp
Install python tkinter on MacOS - DEV Community
December 26, 2022 - Surprise, it is not explicitly installed on mac with homebrew. Tagged with python.
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Python GUIs
pythonguis.com › installation › install tkinter on ubuntu linux
How to Install Tkinter on Ubuntu Linux — Step-by-Step Guide
3 weeks ago - To install Tkinter from the command line, execute the following commands: ... The first command updates the package information from all configured software sources on your Ubuntu system. The second command downloads and installs the Tkinter package for Python 3.
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IncludeHelp
includehelp.com › python › how-to-install-tkinter-in-python.aspx
How to install Tkinter in Python?
September 3, 2023 - To install Tkinter in Python, you can use the pip which is a Python package-management tool to manage and install the libraries/packages in Python. Write the following command to install Tkinter. ... Once you run this command (pip install tk), it will start downloading the related packages ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › how do i run the version of tkinter i brew installed instead of the system version?
r/learnpython on Reddit: How do I run the version of tkinter I brew installed instead of the system version?
September 2, 2022 -

On MacOS 12.5 I have updated to the latest version of Python and pip and I just brew installed tkinter. When I do "python3 -m tkinter", I get the message: DEPRECATION WARNING: The system version of Tk is deprecated and may be removed in a future release. - and the window that launches is buggy.

It seems like the command above is not running the version of tkinter I just installed with brew.

Why is that and how do I get rid of this deprecated system version?

Or in general what is the real issue here?

Thanks very much

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PyPI
pypi.org › project › tkmacosx
tkmacosx · PyPI
Read more about all the classes and methods in the tkmacosx documentation. ... Similarly, for tag specify tag with @v0.x.x. For example to download tag v0.1.0 from Git use: pip install git+https://github.com/Saadmairaj/tkmacosx@v0.1.0
      » pip install tkmacosx
    
Published   May 27, 2022
Version   1.0.5
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
How to Install and Verify Tkinter in Python | Build GUI Apps Easily - YouTube
🖥️ Learn How to Install & Verify Tkinter in Python | GUI Programming Made Easy (2025 Tutorial)Tkinter is the standard GUI library for Python, allowing you t...
Published   June 17, 2025
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Binarystudy
binarystudy.com › 2023 › 07 › how-to-install-tkinter-in-python-step-by-step-guide.html
How to Install Tkinter in Python? A Step-by-Step Guide
October 6, 2023 - Tkinter is included in the standard library of Python versions 3.x, so no additional downloads are required for those versions.