How to Get a Tkinter Menu's HMENU on Windows (Fast)

Tkinter doesn’t expose the HMENU handle of a Menu widget directly—it’s a native Windows object managed by the OS, not something you grab right after creation. The winfo_id() gives a dummy HWND, useless for this, and configure() skips the menu background entirely. Your <<MenuSelect>> workaround with FindWindowW('#32768') and MN_GETHMENU is the standard hack, but yeah, that delay sucks because the native menu HWND only pops up when posted.

Contents

• Why Tkinter Hides the HMENU
• Windows Menu Handles Explained
• MN_GETHMENU: The Key to Grabbing HMENU
• Fixing the Post-Menu Delay in Practice
• SetMenuInfo for Custom Backgrounds
• Better Alternatives to Native Menus
• Sources
• Conclusion

Why Tkinter Hides the HMENU

Ever built a slick Tkinter app only to hit a wall with menu styling? You’re not alone. Tkinter menus on Windows aren’t drawn by Tk—they’re handed off to native Win32 widgets for that authentic look. This means no direct Python access to the HMENU, the core handle for Win32 menu ops like SetMenuInfo.

Why the secrecy? Tkinter wraps Tcl/Tk, which prioritizes cross-platform consistency. On Windows, it calls into the shell for real menus, blending with apps like Notepad. As TkDocs explains, platform detection via tk windowingsystem hints at this, but no public API spits out the HMENU at create time. Stack Overflow threads echo this frustration: native rendering blocks simple color tweaks.

Short version? No menu.hmenu() method exists. You wait for the menu to post.

Windows Menu Handles Explained

HMENU isn’t some Tkinter invention—it’s pure Win32. Think of it as the ID for a menu resource, created via CreateMenu() or CreatePopupMenu(). Attach it to a window with SetMenu(), and boom, native behavior.

But Tkinter? It builds the menu structure in Tcl/Tk, then User32.dll takes over at post time, spawning a real HWND (class ‘#32768’ for popups). Your winfo_id()? That’s a placeholder window Tk manages internally—sending MN_GETHMENU there returns garbage.

Popup menus complicate it further. They live transiently, so no pre-post handle. ZetCode’s WinAPI tutorial nails the flow: create HMENU, populate with AppendMenu, track with TrackPopupMenu. Tkinter skips exposing that layer.

MN_GETHMENU: The Key to Grabbing HMENU

Here’s the gold: Windows gives you MN_GETHMENU (0x01E1). Send it to a menu’s HWND via SendMessage, and it coughs up the HMENU. Simple? In native C++, yeah.

import ctypes
user32 = ctypes.windll.user32
MN_GETHMENU = 0x01E1
hwnd = ... # Your menu HWND
hmenu = user32.SendMessageW(hwnd, MN_GETHMENU, 0, 0)

Stack Overflow pros swear by this: one thread shows hooking it, another advises FindWindow first. But for Tkinter menus, snag that HWND at runtime—pre-post? No dice.

Fixing the Post-Menu Delay in Practice

Your code’s spot-on, but laggy because FindWindowW('#32768') hunts globally each select. Menus flicker as SetMenuInfo repaints. Tweak it: cache if possible, or hook earlier.

Try a postcommand—fires just before posting:

import ctypes
from ctypes import wintypes

user32 = ctypes.windll.user32
kernel32 = ctypes.windll.kernel32
MN_GETHMENU = 0x01E1

def get_hmenu():
 hwnd = user32.FindWindowW('#32768', None)
 if hwnd:
 return user32.SendMessageW(hwnd, MN_GETHMENU, 0, 0)
 return 0

def on_post(event):
 hmenu = get_hmenu()
 if hmenu:
 # Apply SetMenuInfo here (see next section)
 pass

menu = tk.Menu(root, postcommand=on_post)
menu.add_command(label="Test")

<<MenuSelect>> works too, but postcommand might shave milliseconds. Still, delay’s baked in—native HWND creation ain’t instant. Test on your rig; modern Windows (post-2026 updates?) might theme-block it anyway.

Pro tip: Bind globally via root.bind('<MenuSelect>', ...) for all menus. Less hunting.

SetMenuInfo for Custom Backgrounds

Got your HMENU? Time for color. Microsoft’s SetMenuInfo takes a MENUINFO struct:

class MENUINFO(ctypes.Structure):
 _fields_ = [
 ("cbSize", wintypes.DWORD),
 ("fMask", wintypes.DWORD),
 ("dwStyle", wintypes.DWORD),
 ("cyMax", wintypes.DWORD),
 ("hbrBack", wintypes.HBRUSH),
 ("dwContextHelpID", wintypes.DWORD),
 ("dwMenuData", ctypes.POINTER(wintypes.ULONG))
 ]

def set_bg(hmenu, color=0xFF0000): # Red-ish
 hbr = user32.CreateSolidBrush(color)
 mi = MENUINFO()
 mi.cbSize = ctypes.sizeof(MENUINFO)
 mi.fMask = 0x00000002 # MIM_BACKGROUND
 mi.hbrBack = hbr
 user32.SetMenuInfo(hmenu, ctypes.byref(mi))
 # Don't forget: user32.DeleteObject(hbr) later!

# In your on_post:
hmenu = get_hmenu()
set_bg(hmenu)

Flags like MIM_APPLYTOSUBMENUS propagate to kids. But caveats: Visual Styles (Aero/DWM) often override brushes. Classic theme? Golden. ActiveState recipe mirrors this.

Better Alternatives to Native Menus

Hate the hack? Ditch native menus.

1. Custom toolbar: Frame with buttons mimicking menu. Full control, no WinAPI.

toolbar = tk.Frame(root, bg='darkblue')
tk.Button(toolbar, text='File', bg='darkblue', fg='white').pack(side='left')

2. Canvas or Ttk: Draw popups yourself. Tedious, but pixel-perfect.

3. ttk.Menu: Themed, but still native underneath. Less flexible.

4. Switch frameworks: CustomTkinter or PyQt for styled menus out-of-box.

Tkinter-discuss mailing list folks push custom UIs too. For quick wins? Toolbar beats flaky HMENU grabs.

Sources

1. MN_GETHMENU message (Microsoft Docs)
2. SetMenuInfo function (Microsoft Docs)
3. TkDocs Tutorial - Menus
4. Select item from popup menu Win32 API (Stack Overflow)
5. Get HMENU from HWND within a Hook (Stack Overflow)
6. Changing the colour of Tkinter menubar (Stack Overflow)
7. Windows API menus (ZetCode)
8. Changing menu background color (ActiveState)
9. Tkinter-discuss - Change menubar color?

Conclusion

No magic bullet—Tkinter keeps HMENU under wraps till post time, so embrace MN_GETHMENU via FindWindowW in a postcommand for minimal lag. Pair it with SetMenuInfo for backgrounds, but test themes. If delays kill UX, pivot to custom toolbars; they’re reliable and modern. Your app’s menus will pop—without the flicker.