# lava/matplotlib-cpp

Extremely simple yet powerful header-only C++ plotting library built on the popular matplotlib

Repository: https://github.com/lava/matplotlib-cpp
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/matplotlib-cpp
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2023-11-21T15:07:11+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4347, "days_push": 1016, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4772, forks 1183 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:59.444306+00:00)

## What it is
A header-only C++ plotting library that wraps Python's matplotlib, exposing a Matlab/matplotlib-like API. It lets C++ programs create, style, and save plots by linking against an embedded Python interpreter.

## Use cases
- plot data from a C++ program
- generate charts as png images from C++
- visualize simulation results in C++
- matlab-style plotting in C++
- quick scientific plotting without leaving C++

## When to choose
- you want simple plotting from C++ with minimal setup
- you already have Python/matplotlib available
- you need quick figures for algorithms or research code

## When to avoid
- you need a pure C++ solution with no Python dependency
- you need high-performance or real-time rendering
- you need interactive GUI plotting in a native C++ app

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: data-visualization, charts
- domain: data-visualization, developer-tools
- platform: cpp, python, cross-platform
- tags: header-only, matplotlib, plotting, cpp-bindings

## Member repositories
- lava/matplotlib-cpp (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:59.444306+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:18:47.301508+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/lava/matplotlib-cpp (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:59.444306+00:00, sha 545c4c1f4eac)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.