Save Matplotlib Plot to Image in Python

• Introduction
• Step-by-Step Guide
• Code Example
• Additional Notes
• Summary
• Conclusion
• References

To save your Matplotlib plots as image files instead of displaying them, use the savefig() function. Begin by importing the matplotlib.pyplot module as plt. Then, create your plot using Matplotlib functions. Instead of using plt.show(), call plt.savefig('filename.png') to save your plot as a PNG file, replacing 'filename.png' with your desired file name and extension. Ensure you call savefig() before show() to avoid saving a blank image. To save to a specific directory, provide the full path. Remember to call savefig() after creating each plot to save them individually.

To save a Matplotlib plot as an image file instead of displaying it, you can use the savefig() function.

First, import the matplotlib.pyplot module as plt.

Then, create your plot as usual using Matplotlib functions.

Instead of calling plt.show(), use plt.savefig('filename.png') to save the plot to a PNG file. Replace 'filename.png' with your desired file name and extension (e.g., 'myplot.jpg' for a JPEG file).

Make sure to call savefig() before calling show(), otherwise, the file will be saved as a blank image.

If you want to save the plot to a specific directory, provide the full path to the file name. For example, plt.savefig('/path/to/myplot.png').

Remember that savefig() saves the current figure, so if you create multiple plots, you need to call savefig() after each one to save them individually.

This Python code uses the matplotlib library to create a simple line plot and save it as a PNG image file named 'myplot.png'. It then optionally displays the plot in a viewer window.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Create a simple line plot
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [5, 6, 7, 8])

# Save the plot as a PNG file
plt.savefig('myplot.png')

# Optionally, display the plot
plt.show()

Explanation:

1. Import matplotlib.pyplot: This line imports the necessary module for plotting.
2. Create a plot: This code creates a simple line plot, but you can replace it with any Matplotlib plot you want.
3. Save the plot: plt.savefig('myplot.png') saves the plot to a file named "myplot.png" in the current working directory. You can change the file name and extension as needed.
4. Optional: Display the plot: plt.show() is optional. If you want to see the plot on your screen after saving it, you can include this line.

Saving to a specific directory:

plt.savefig('/path/to/myplot.png')

Replace /path/to/ with the actual path to your desired directory.

Saving multiple plots:

# Plot 1
plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6])
plt.savefig('plot1.png')

# Plot 2
plt.figure()  # Create a new figure
plt.plot([7, 8, 9], [10, 11, 12])
plt.savefig('plot2.png')

This code creates two separate plots and saves them to different files. The plt.figure() line is important to create a new figure before creating the second plot, otherwise, both plots would be drawn on the same axes.

• File Formats: savefig() supports various image file formats like PNG, JPG, PDF, and SVG. Specify the desired format using the file extension in the filename (e.g., 'myplot.pdf', 'myplot.svg').
• Resolution: Control the resolution (dots per inch or DPI) of the saved image using the dpi argument within savefig(). For example: plt.savefig('myplot.png', dpi=300) will save the plot with a resolution of 300 DPI.
• Figure Size: Adjust the size of the saved figure using the figsize argument when creating the figure with plt.figure(figsize=(width, height)). The width and height are in inches.
• Transparency: Save figures with transparent backgrounds using the transparent=True argument in savefig(). This is particularly useful for overlaying plots on other images or documents.
• Tight Layout: Use plt.tight_layout() before savefig() to automatically adjust subplot parameters to prevent overlapping elements and improve the overall appearance of the saved figure.
• Interactive Backends: When using interactive backends like %matplotlib notebook, you might need to call plt.show() after plt.savefig() to display the plot in the interactive environment.
• Context Managers: For more control over the saved figure, use savefig() within a plt.figure() context manager. This allows you to set figure-specific options and ensures the figure is closed properly after saving.

Remember to consult the Matplotlib documentation for a comprehensive list of options and arguments available for savefig().

This table summarizes the key points for saving Matplotlib plots as image files:

By using the savefig() function in Matplotlib, you gain the ability to save your visualizations directly as image files. This offers a significant advantage, allowing you to integrate these plots into reports, presentations, or other documents effortlessly. Remember to utilize the function before displaying your plot with plt.show() and to specify your desired file format through the file extension. With the ability to customize file paths, resolution, and other parameters, savefig() provides the flexibility needed to manage and share your Matplotlib creations effectively.

• How can I save a plot to an image file instead of displaying it using ... | I’m trying to save a plot generated using Matplotlib to an image file instead of displaying it on the screen. I’m using the plt.show() function to display the plot, but I’m not sure how to save the plot to a file instead. Can someone please provide me with some guidance on how to do this? Here’s the code that generates a scatter plot: I would like to save this plot as a PNG image file named “scatter_plot.png”. Can someone please help me modify this code to achieve this? Thank you in advance ...
• python - Save plot to image file instead of displaying it - Stack Overflow | Mar 8, 2012 ... plt.savefig() or fig1.savefig() is indeed the way to save an image. However I've found that in certain cases the figure is always shown.
• Save Plot to Image File Instead of Displaying It? | Better Stack ... | Better Stack lets you see inside any stack, debug any issue, and resolve any incident.
• python - Pandas save plot to file and don't show on the screen ... | Feb 8, 2016 ... If you only don't want the pop ups you can do %matplotlib inline otherwise before you define ax just do: plt.ioff().
• Saving SHAP plots programmatically in Python · Issue #153 · shap ... | First off, thanks a lot for such an awesome tool! I think I might be missing something obvious, but I'm trying to save SHAP plots from Python, that I'm displaying with the shap plotting functions. ...
• How to Save a Plot to a File Using Matplotlib | Atlassian | Learn how to save a plot to a file using Matplotlib, a plotting library for Python. In this tutorial, we’ll show you to to use Matplotlib.
• How can I save the plotly graphs as image(png,jpg etc.) offline in ... | I want to save plotly offline graphs as static images(jpg,png…) in python. Could you help me about it? Thanks in advance. I tried but It doesn’t generate the “test” file. The codes : plotly.offline.plot({“data”: dataPanda, “layout”: layout1}, image=‘jpeg’, image_filename=“test”, auto_open=False,output_type=‘file’
• How to save figures directly to a folder without having them display ... | I have a set of plots, in other words figures, that need to be saved directly to the folder. I have the code set up where it saves the figures to a folder, but they display and then close. I don't ...
• Cell magic to save image output as a .png file - ipynb - Jupyter ... | It would be great if there was an easy option to save Jupyter cell output to .png files. Let’s say I have: import matplotlib.pyplot as plt x= range(0,10) fig, ax = plt.subplots() ax.plot(x, x) plt.show() In this example, I could use fig.savefig("img/foo.png"), however this syntax is tied to Matplotlib, and there are many other libraries that produce images in Jupyter. In my most comfortable scenario, one would only have to add the cell magic %%capture_png img/foo.png which would work for any...