Because it's literally the least impressive thing you can build and in a world where I don't write the code anyway, a "hello world" example has lost its place (at least for human viewers).
It demonstrates CRUD at a small scale and is familiar, so we don't need to figure out what it's trying to demonstrate. It allows us to see how large the final product is and how much memory and CPU it uses.
It's not meant to be a showcase of what you can build with it; it's meant to give you the smallest complete application so you can get a good idea of what you need to know.
The thing that's meant to be a showcase is usually referred to as a Showcase or a Gallery.
I genuinely have no idea what this comment is about. Why is a to do list a bad example? It's common precisely because it's ideal: it shows a few different basic widgets, and it shows how to update state in a way that keeps them in sync.
Is it because it's clichéd? That doesn't matter so long as it gets the point across.
Is it because you object to having desktop applications that do a simple task like this? I remember when simple single-purpose desktop apps were common e.g. Card File in Windows 3.1. Also this is meant to be an example for both desktop and mobile. Are only SPA web pages allowed to do things like this now? What a depressing world if so.
Or is your comment satire? I honestly can't tell.
Edit: What would you allow as a first example of a new UI toolkit. (Not that Flet is new, it's had plenty of 0.x releases.)
I don't think there is demand for this framework in the first place.
- Cross platform frameworks are starting to become an anti pattern these days
- Hello world examples are losing relevance when I'm not the one writing code
- A To Do list is just the absolute least impressive thing you can showcase
From a marketing perspective, I want to showcase something that other frameworks cannot do and "this only took 10 lines of Python code" is a very weak sales pitch in 2026.
OK, I think your main objection is really that you don't like the idea of a cross platform UI toolkit. I don't share that view, but fair enough. But your first comment, complaining about a to-do list example, is a very confusing way of expressing that.
And you think the front page shouldn't show a basic example because you just vibe code everything anyway. That is a very odd objection - it would be very concerning if a code library didn't include a basic usage example on its front page. Also, guess what, some of us do actually write (or at least look at!) some of the code in the programs we work on. And even AI benefits from a clean API.
And your complaint about a to do list is that it's not "impressive"? It's not meant to be! It's a basic illustration of the API. It's like reading the Rust tutorial and objecting, "ugh, another programming language with for loops".
My main argument is that if you want my attention in a world where an AI agent can build me a native iPhone app in 30min, you need to do better than showing me a to do list app in the hero of your landing page. Your comparison doesn't hold at all. This is not a tutorial page called "first steps", it is the first showcase of what is possible with it.
Anyway, it's fine for us to just disagree here. You just sound like someone that likes to argue for the sake of arguing, and just like to do apps, I don't have time for that.
> My main argument is that if you want my attention in a world where an AI agent can build me a native iPhone app in 30min, you need to do better than showing me a to do list app in the hero of your landing page.
That's a lie. It got your attention enough to post here, talk about it, and as a result, help push it up the front page. It's held your attention for so long, advertisers pay good money for that sort of attention. And you are just giving it out for free.
Do I just like to do apps? No. I've built serious business application with a graphically complex client area and a bunch of supporting chrome around it and dialogue boxes on top, using Flet. It's nothing like a to do app. But if the first example I saw on the Flet website was that complex I would never have figured out if it was useful!
(Do I just like arguing? Not really but I really did have no idea what your first comment was about, and your follow up was too odd not to reply to, so I got hooked.)
Flet (and that to-do example) has been out for years before this AI rage. And even of it came out early this year I and many other would still very much appreciate that basic example. If you want something more complex, vibe it.
ehh, it is pretty standard. in fact, todo app is the standard hello world for any GUI framework. it has been standard for js frameworks from before js fatigue started
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It's not meant to be a showcase of what you can build with it; it's meant to give you the smallest complete application so you can get a good idea of what you need to know.
The thing that's meant to be a showcase is usually referred to as a Showcase or a Gallery.
LoganDark · · focus · HN ↗
No clue why it's being done here.
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quietbritishjim · · focus · HN ↗
Is it because it's clichéd? That doesn't matter so long as it gets the point across.
Is it because you object to having desktop applications that do a simple task like this? I remember when simple single-purpose desktop apps were common e.g. Card File in Windows 3.1. Also this is meant to be an example for both desktop and mobile. Are only SPA web pages allowed to do things like this now? What a depressing world if so.
Or is your comment satire? I honestly can't tell.
Edit: What would you allow as a first example of a new UI toolkit. (Not that Flet is new, it's had plenty of 0.x releases.)
pietz · · focus · HN ↗
- Cross platform frameworks are starting to become an anti pattern these days
- Hello world examples are losing relevance when I'm not the one writing code
- A To Do list is just the absolute least impressive thing you can showcase
From a marketing perspective, I want to showcase something that other frameworks cannot do and "this only took 10 lines of Python code" is a very weak sales pitch in 2026.
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quietbritishjim · · focus · HN ↗
And you think the front page shouldn't show a basic example because you just vibe code everything anyway. That is a very odd objection - it would be very concerning if a code library didn't include a basic usage example on its front page. Also, guess what, some of us do actually write (or at least look at!) some of the code in the programs we work on. And even AI benefits from a clean API.
And your complaint about a to do list is that it's not "impressive"? It's not meant to be! It's a basic illustration of the API. It's like reading the Rust tutorial and objecting, "ugh, another programming language with for loops".
pietz · · focus · HN ↗
Anyway, it's fine for us to just disagree here. You just sound like someone that likes to argue for the sake of arguing, and just like to do apps, I don't have time for that.
jasonlotito · · focus · HN ↗
That's a lie. It got your attention enough to post here, talk about it, and as a result, help push it up the front page. It's held your attention for so long, advertisers pay good money for that sort of attention. And you are just giving it out for free.
All because it used a Todo app.
quietbritishjim · · focus · HN ↗
(Do I just like arguing? Not really but I really did have no idea what your first comment was about, and your follow up was too odd not to reply to, so I got hooked.)
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