termplotlib

What it is and what it does

termplotlib is a Python library that generates plots and charts as text-based visualizations for display in the terminal. It provides a matplotlib-like interface with support for line plots (via gnuplot), histograms, and horizontal bar charts, rendering them using ASCII or Unicode box-drawing characters. The library depends only on numpy for numerical operations.

The package is in Beta status and has been abandoned since late 2021, with no updates or maintenance since then. While it remains functional for basic terminal plotting tasks, it receives no bug fixes, security updates, or feature development. Users should be aware that compatibility with newer Python versions or changes in terminal environments is not guaranteed.

Use it for:

• Quick data visualization in SSH sessions or remote servers where graphical displays are unavailable
• Embedding plots in terminal-based dashboards or monitoring tools that run in the console
• Generating simple histograms and bar charts for log analysis or data summaries in scripts
• Educational demonstrations of plotting concepts without requiring a full graphical environment
• Prototyping visualizations in notebooks or REPL sessions before moving to a full plotting library

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

termplotlib renders line plots, histograms, and bar charts directly in the terminal using ASCII or Unicode characters, with a matplotlib-like API.

Yes, if you need lightweight terminal plotting for one-off analysis or educational purposes and can accept the copyleft license. No, if you require active maintenance, security updates, or plan to use this in production or proprietary code—the package is abandoned and GPL-licensed, making it unsuitable for closed-source projects.

Install

termplotlib on PyPI

pip install termplotlib

uv add termplotlib

poetry add termplotlib

Installing termplotlib

Before you install

Low install friction with a single runtime dependency (numpy). However, the package is abandoned—last commit was 2021-12-09 and no releases since 2021-09-23. Line plots require gnuplot to be installed separately on your system.

License in practice

Licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later (copyleft). Any derivative work or distribution must also be licensed under GPL-3.0 or a compatible later version; proprietary or closed-source projects cannot use this package without separate licensing.

Quickstart

pip install termplotlib

import termplotlib as tpl
import numpy as np

x = np.linspace(0, 2 * np.pi, 10)
y = np.sin(x)
fig = tpl.figure()
fig.plot(x, y, label="data", width=50, height=15)
fig.show()

gnuplot must be installed on your system for line plots to work

Verify before relying

• Whether gnuplot must be pre-installed on the system or if termplotlib can install it as a dependency
• Current compatibility with Python versions beyond 3.10 given the package's abandoned status

Package facts

Evidence: termplotlib-0.3.9-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: graphics, plotting, terminal, ascii, matplotlib

Tags

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