How to Use Styles in Matplotlib for Better Plots

In matplotlib, you can use styles by calling plt.style.use() with a style name or path to a style file. Styles change the appearance of plots, including colors, fonts, and grid lines, making your charts look better with minimal effort.

Syntax

To apply a style in Matplotlib, use the function plt.style.use(). You can pass a string with the style name or a list of style names to combine multiple styles.

• plt.style.use('style_name'): Applies a single style.
• plt.style.use(['style1', 'style2']): Combines multiple styles, where later styles override earlier ones.

Common built-in styles include 'ggplot', 'seaborn', 'bmh', and 'classic'.

python

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.style.use('ggplot')  # Apply the 'ggplot' style

# Now any plot will use this style
plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6])
plt.title('Plot with ggplot style')
plt.show()

Example

This example shows how to switch between different styles and how the plot appearance changes. It plots the same data three times with different styles.

python

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

x = np.linspace(0, 10, 100)
y = np.sin(x)

styles = ['classic', 'ggplot', 'seaborn-darkgrid']

for style in styles:
    plt.style.use(style)
    plt.plot(x, y)
    plt.title(f'Sine Wave with {style} style')
    plt.show()

Output

Three separate plots appear, each showing a sine wave with different colors, grid styles, and fonts according to the selected style.

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when using styles include:

• Not calling plt.style.use() before plotting, so the style does not apply.
• Using a style name that does not exist, which causes an error.
• Expecting styles to change plot data or layout beyond appearance (styles only affect visual style).

Also, styles are global and affect all plots after the call, so reset to default with plt.style.use('default') if needed.

python

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Wrong: style applied after plotting
plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6])
plt.style.use('ggplot')  # This won't affect the above plot
plt.show()

# Right: style applied before plotting
plt.style.use('ggplot')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6])
plt.show()

Output

First plot uses default style, second plot uses ggplot style with different colors and grid.

Quick Reference

Command	Description
plt.style.use('style_name')	Apply a built-in or custom style by name
plt.style.use(['style1', 'style2'])	Combine multiple styles, later ones override earlier
plt.style.use('default')	Reset to Matplotlib's default style
plt.style.available	List all available built-in styles
plt.style.context('style_name')	Temporarily apply a style within a with-block

Key Takeaways

Use plt.style.use('style_name') before plotting to apply a style.

Matplotlib has many built-in styles like 'ggplot' and 'seaborn' for quick styling.

Styles affect only the look, not the data or plot structure.

Reset styles with plt.style.use('default') if needed.

Use plt.style.context() to apply styles temporarily.