Mom's Canning Timer — FAQ¶
Does it need anything installed besides Python?¶
No. There are no third-party dependencies — tkinter is part of the standard library. On some Linux distributions tkinter is packaged separately from Python, which is the one thing worth checking.
Nothing happens when I run it¶
Almost always missing tkinter:
See Troubleshooting.
Do I need Python at all?¶
Not on Windows — the latest release includes a built executable.
Can I run more than one timer at once?¶
Yes, that is the point. Four burners, each with its own independent state — different lengths, started at different moments, paused independently.
Are the timers accurate enough for canning?¶
They count down in a GUI event loop, so they are kitchen-timer accurate rather than laboratory accurate. For processing times where a minute matters, treat it as you would any kitchen timer and give yourself margin.
Processing times come from your recipe or canning guide, not from this program.
What happens when a timer finishes?¶
A bell sounds and a popup appears. The popup has to be dismissed, so a finished timer is still obvious if you were out of the room.
Can I set seconds rather than minutes?¶
The input is minutes. See Configuration.
Why are there three ways to start it?¶
main.py runs from a clone with nothing installed; canning-timer is the console script from
pip install; python -m moms_canning_timer is the module form. All three reach the same
program — the first exists so you can use it on a machine you would rather not install
packages onto.
Does it save anything?¶
No. Timers are in-memory and reset when the window closes. There is no state file and nothing to back up.
Which branch is the default?¶
master, not main.