Streamlit Autorefresh

1.0.1 · active · verified Tue Apr 14

Streamlit Autorefresh is a Python library that provides a simple way to automatically refresh Streamlit applications. It works by implementing a frontend-based timer that periodically pings the Streamlit server, triggering a rerun of the application script. This component helps in building dashboards or real-time applications that need to display regularly updated information without relying on problematic infinite loops in the backend. The current version is 1.0.1, with releases typically tied to bug fixes or minor enhancements.

Warnings

gotcha Using a very small `interval` can lead to high CPU utilization on the server, as it constantly pings Streamlit to rerun the script. This can consume significant computing resources.
Fix: Use a reasonable `interval` (e.g., several seconds or more) based on your application's actual data update frequency. Monitor server resource usage during development.
gotcha If the `key` parameter is not provided or changed, `st_autorefresh` might remount on the Streamlit frontend, leading to a loss of its internal state (like the refresh count).
Fix: Always provide a unique `key` parameter to `st_autorefresh`. If you intend to reset the refresh count, change the `key` to a new unique string.
gotcha User interactions (e.g., button clicks, widget changes) within the set refresh interval will cause a full Streamlit rerun and effectively reset the `st_autorefresh` timer. This means refreshes might not occur at perfectly fixed intervals from the app's initial load if user interaction is frequent.
Fix: This is expected behavior due to Streamlit's rerun model. If strict timing is critical, consider making `st_autorefresh` less susceptible to user interaction by adjusting its placement or using Streamlit's session state more carefully for critical timers.
gotcha The `streamlit-autorefresh` component works by having the browser ping the server. If the user's browser tab is closed, goes to sleep, or loses its WebSocket connection to the server (e.g., due to network issues or deployment environment timeouts), the auto-refresh mechanism will stop working.
Fix: Ensure stable network connectivity for clients. For deployed apps, configure server/proxy timeouts to be sufficiently long to maintain WebSocket connections. This component is not designed for server-side-initiated push updates or unattended refreshes when the client is disconnected.

Install

pip install streamlit-autorefresh Install latest version

Imports

st_autorefresh

from streamlit_autorefresh import st_autorefresh

Quickstart

This example demonstrates how to use `st_autorefresh` to trigger reruns of your Streamlit app at a specified interval (2 seconds) and limit the number of refreshes (100 times). It also shows how to use the returned count to display dynamic content.

import streamlit as st
from streamlit_autorefresh import st_autorefresh
import datetime

st.set_page_config(layout='centered', initial_sidebar_state='auto', page_title='Autorefresh Demo')

st.title("Streamlit Autorefresh Demo")

# Run the autorefresh every 2000 milliseconds (2 seconds) and stop after 100 refreshes
count = st_autorefresh(interval=2000, limit=100, key="myautocounter")

if count == 0:
    st.write("Count is zero")
elif count % 3 == 0 and count % 5 == 0:
    st.write("FizzBuzz")
elif count % 3 == 0:
    st.write("Fizz")
elif count % 5 == 0:
    st.write("Buzz")
else:
    st.write(f"Current Count: {count}")

st.write(f"Last refreshed at: {datetime.datetime.now().strftime('%H:%M:%S')}")

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