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What is plotly.js?

plotly/plotly.js — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-21

★ 18,188JavaScriptAudience · dataComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

In one sentence

Plotly.js is an open-source JavaScript library for interactive charts, 3D graphs, maps, financial charts, statistical plots, where users can hover, zoom, and pan out of the box with no extra code.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Interactive charts
      3D and map plots
      Financial charts
    Chart types
      Statistical plots
      Scientific graphs
      Geographic maps
    Use cases
      Web dashboards
      Data exploration
      R and Python backend
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Node.js
      JSON config
    Audience
      Data scientists
      Web developers
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Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Add an interactive chart to a webpage using a JSON config and a single CDN script tag, with no build tools or JavaScript expertise needed.

USE CASE 2

Build a Python or R data dashboard that uses Plotly.js under the hood for browser-native interactive visualizations.

USE CASE 3

Create a custom Plotly.js build that includes only the chart types your app needs to keep the bundle size small.

What is it built with?

JavaScriptNode.jsnpmJSON

How does it compare?

plotly/plotly.jslllyasviel/style2paintsalyssaxuu/screenity
Stars18,18818,18618,191
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity2/52/51/5
Audiencedatadesignergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Free to use for any purpose, including commercial, as long as you keep the MIT copyright notice.

So what is it?

Plotly.js is an open-source JavaScript library for creating interactive data visualizations in web browsers. It can produce dozens of chart types including statistical charts, 3D graphs, maps, financial charts, scientific plots, and more. Charts created with Plotly.js are interactive by default: users can hover to see data values, zoom in and out, pan around, and toggle data series on and off, all without writing additional code. The library is also the engine behind the Python and R packages named Plotly, so familiarity with it carries across programming languages. It can be loaded into a webpage either as a script tag from a content delivery network, as a module in a Node.js project, or bundled into custom builds that include only the chart types you need (reducing file size). Basic usage requires only JSON-like configuration objects describing the data and layout, no deep JavaScript knowledge is needed to get started. Plotly.js is maintained by Plotly and is available under the MIT license. It supports current versions of major browsers. Consulting, dashboard development, and custom feature work is available commercially from Plotly. The project also powers Dash, a framework for building data applications in Python.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I have monthly sales data as a JSON array. Show me the Plotly.js config to create an interactive line chart with hover tooltips, zoom, and a title.
Prompt 2
How do I create a 3D scatter plot in Plotly.js using data I have in a JavaScript array with x, y, and z coordinates?
Prompt 3
I need to add a financial candlestick chart with a range slider and OHLC data to my web dashboard. Show me the full Plotly.js config.
Prompt 4
How do I install Plotly.js via npm and render a bar chart in a Next.js component without it breaking during server-side rendering?

Frequently asked questions

What is plotly.js?

Plotly.js is an open-source JavaScript library for interactive charts, 3D graphs, maps, financial charts, statistical plots, where users can hover, zoom, and pan out of the box with no extra code.

What language is plotly.js written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, Node.js, npm.

What license does plotly.js use?

Free to use for any purpose, including commercial, as long as you keep the MIT copyright notice.

How hard is plotly.js to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is plotly.js for?

Mainly data.

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