A progress bar in Python shows how much of a task has completed and useful for loops, file processing, and downloads.It’s a useful way to provide feedback to users, especially in long-running scripts or command-line applications.
The most popular and easiest method is using the tqdm library. However, there are several other libraries and approaches available.
Different Ways to Implement a Progress Bar in Python
Below are five effective ways to implement a progress bar in Python.
Using tqdm (Most Popular)
tqdm is the most popular Python library for adding fast, responsive progress bars to your loops in the terminal or Jupyter Notebook.
Displays progress with percentage, ETA, and iterations.
from tqdm import tqdmimport time# Loop through a range with a tqdm progress bar
for i in tqdm(range(10)):
time.sleep(0.5) # Simulate a task
Install with:
pip install tqdm
Using progressbar2 (Custom Widgets)
If you want more control, progressbar2 offers detailed widgets like percentage, elapsed time, and speed.
import progressbarimport time
# Create a progress bar with a maximum value of 100
bar = progressbar.ProgressBar(maxval=100)
bar.start()
# Simulate work while updating the bar
for i in range(100):
bar.update(i + 1)
time.sleep(0.05) # Simulate task
bar.finish() # Finish the progress bar
Install with:
pip install progressbar2
Using rich (Beautiful Output)
The rich library helps create stunning, colorful progress bars that look great in modern terminal applications.
from rich.progress import trackimport time# Loop with a styled progress bar and label
for task in track(range(100), description="Processing..."):
time.sleep(0.03) # Simulate task
Install with:
pip install rich
Also Read: Top 20 Python Based CMS in 2025
Using alive-progress (Smooth Animations)
alive-progress provides animated, modern progress indicators that work well for dynamic terminal environments.
from alive_progress import alive_barimport time
# Create a progress bar that runs for 100 steps
with alive_bar(100) as bar:
for i in range(100):
time.sleep(0.03) # Simulate task
bar() # Advance the bar by one step
Install with:
pip install alive-progress
Manual Progress Bar (No Libraries)
If you don’t want to use external libraries, you can create a simple text-based progress bar manually:
import sysimport time
# Loop to simulate 100% progress in steps
for i in range(101):
time.sleep(0.05) # Simulate task
sys.stdout.write('\r') # Return to start of line
# Display progress bar with % complete
sys.stdout.write("[%-50s] %d%%" % ('=' * (i // 2), i))
sys.stdout.flush() # Force write to console
Lightweight option for simple CLI scripts, no libraries needed.
Tip
Always test progress bars in the environment where your script will run, behavior may vary between CLI, Jupyter, or Windows/Linux terminals.
