[python] How to make IPython notebook matplotlib plot inline

I am trying to use IPython notebook on MacOS X with Python 2.7.2 and IPython 1.1.0.

I cannot get matplotlib graphics to show up inline.

import matplotlib
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline  

I have also tried %pylab inline and the ipython command line arguments --pylab=inline but this makes no difference.

x = np.linspace(0, 3*np.pi, 500)
plt.plot(x, np.sin(x**2))
plt.title('A simple chirp')
plt.show()

Instead of inline graphics, I get this:

<matplotlib.figure.Figure at 0x110b9c450>

And matplotlib.get_backend() shows that I have the 'module://IPython.kernel.zmq.pylab.backend_inline' backend.

You can simulate this problem with a syntax mistake, however, %matplotlib inline won't resolve the issue.

First an example of the right way to create a plot. Everything works as expected with the imports and magic that eNord9 supplied.

df_randNumbers1 = pd.DataFrame(np.random.randint(0,100,size=(100, 6)), columns=list('ABCDEF'))

df_randNumbers1.ix[:,["A","B"]].plot.kde()

However, by leaving the () off the end of the plot type you receive a somewhat ambiguous non-error.

Erronious code:

df_randNumbers1.ix[:,["A","B"]].plot.kde

Example error:

<bound method FramePlotMethods.kde of <pandas.tools.plotting.FramePlotMethods object at 0x000001DDAF029588>>

Other than this one line message, there is no stack trace or other obvious reason to think you made a syntax error. The plot doesn't print.

I have to agree with foobarbecue (I don't have enough recs to be able to simply insert a comment under his post):

It's now recommended that python notebook isn't started wit the argument --pylab, and according to Fernando Perez (creator of ipythonnb) %matplotlib inline should be the initial notebook command.

See here: http://nbviewer.ipython.org/github/ipython/ipython/blob/1.x/examples/notebooks/Part%203%20-%20Plotting%20with%20Matplotlib.ipynb

Ctrl + Enter

%matplotlib inline

Magic Line :D

See: Plotting with Matplotlib.

I did the anaconda install but matplotlib is not plotting

It starts plotting when i did this

import matplotlib
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline  

Use the %pylab inline magic command.

If your matplotlib version is above 1.4, it is also possible to use

IPython 3.x and above

%matplotlib notebook

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

older versions

%matplotlib nbagg

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

Both will activate the nbagg backend, which enables interactivity.

To make matplotlib inline by default in Jupyter (IPython 3):

1. Edit file ~/.ipython/profile_default/ipython_config.py

2. Add line c.InteractiveShellApp.matplotlib = 'inline'

Please note that adding this line to ipython_notebook_config.py would not work. Otherwise it works well with Jupyter and IPython 3.1.0

I found a workaround that is quite satisfactory. I installed Anaconda Python and this now works out of the box for me.

I had the same problem when I was running the plotting commands in separate cells in Jupyter:

In [1]:  %matplotlib inline
         import matplotlib
         import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
         import numpy as np
In [2]:  x = np.array([1, 3, 4])
         y = np.array([1, 5, 3])
In [3]:  fig = plt.figure()
         <Figure size 432x288 with 0 Axes>                      #this might be the problem
In [4]:  ax = fig.add_subplot(1, 1, 1)
In [5]:  ax.scatter(x, y)
Out[5]:  <matplotlib.collections.PathCollection at 0x12341234>  # CAN'T SEE ANY PLOT :(
In [6]:  plt.show()                                             # STILL CAN'T SEE IT :(

The problem was solved by merging the plotting commands into a single cell:

In [1]:  %matplotlib inline
         import matplotlib
         import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
         import numpy as np
In [2]:  x = np.array([1, 3, 4])
         y = np.array([1, 5, 3])
In [3]:  fig = plt.figure()
         ax = fig.add_subplot(1, 1, 1)
         ax.scatter(x, y)
Out[3]:  <matplotlib.collections.PathCollection at 0x12341234>
         # AND HERE APPEARS THE PLOT AS DESIRED :)