anywidget-generator

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Translated

Generate anywidget components for marimo notebooks.

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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add marimo-team/skills anywidget-generator
When writing an anywidget use vanilla javascript in
_esm
and do not forget about
_css
. The css should look bespoke in light mode and dark mode. Keep the css small unless explicitly asked to go the extra mile. When you display the widget it must be wrapped via
widget = mo.ui.anywidget(OriginalAnywidget())
. You can also point
_esm
and
_css
to external files if needed using pathlib. This makes sense if the widget does a lot of elaborate JavaScript or CSS.
<example title="Example of simple anywidget implementation"> import anywidget import traitlets
class CounterWidget(anywidget.AnyWidget): _esm = """ // Define the main render function function render({ model, el }) { let count = () => model.get("number"); let btn = document.createElement("b8utton"); btn.innerHTML =
count is ${count()}
; btn.addEventListener("click", () => { model.set("number", count() + 1); model.save_changes(); }); model.on("change:number", () => { btn.innerHTML =
count is ${count()}
; }); el.appendChild(btn); } // Important! We must export at the bottom here! export default { render }; """ _css = """button{ font-size: 14px; }""" number = traitlets.Int(0).tag(sync=True)
widget = mo.ui.anywidget(CounterWidget()) widget

Grabbing the widget from another cell,
.value
is a dictionary.

print(widget.value["number"]) </example>
The above is a minimal example that could work for a simple counter widget. In general the widget can become much larger because of all the JavaScript and CSS required. Unless the widget is dead simple, you should consider using external files for
_esm
and
_css
using pathlib.
When sharing the anywidget, keep the example minimal. No need to combine it with marimo ui elements unless explicitly stated to do so.

Best Practices

Unless specifically told otherwise, assume the following:
  1. Use vanilla JavaScript in
    _esm
    :
    • Define a
      render
      function that takes
      { model, el }
      as parameters
    • Use
      model.get()
      to read trait values
    • Use
      model.set()
      and
      model.save_changes()
      to update traits
    • Listen to changes with
      model.on("change:traitname", callback)
    • Export default with
      export default { render };
      at the bottom
    • All widgets inherit from
      anywidget.AnyWidget
      , so
      widget.observe(handler)
      remains the standard way to react to state changes.
    • Python constructors tend to validate bounds, lengths, or choice counts; let the raised
      ValueError/TraitError
      guide you instead of duplicating the logic.
  2. Include
    _css
    styling
    :
    • Keep CSS minimal unless explicitly asked for more
    • Make it look bespoke in both light and dark mode
    • Use CSS media query for dark mode:
      @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) { ... }
  3. Wrap the widget for display:
    • Always wrap with marimo:
      widget = mo.ui.anywidget(OriginalAnywidget())
    • Access values via
      widget.value
      which returns a dictionary
  4. Keep examples minimal:
    • Add a marimo notebook that highlights the core utility
    • Show basic usage only
    • Don't combine with other marimo UI elements unless explicitly requested
Dumber is better. Prefer obvious, direct code over clever abstractions—someone new to the project should be able to read the code top-to-bottom and grok it without needing to look up framework magic or trace through indirection.