A simple, pgfplots-like function plotting library for Typst. Create beautiful mathematical plots with minimal code.

Note: This package is built on top of CeTZ v0.4.2.

Gallery

Click on an image to see the source code.

Parabola	Trigonometric Functions	Scatter Plot
Exponential & Logarithmic	Data with Model Fit	Marker Types
Extended Axes

Features

• Simple API - Plot functions with just a few lines of code
• Multiple plot types - Functions, scatter plots, line plots with markers
• Customizable axes - Position, labels, ticks, and tick labels
• Axis extension - Extend axes beyond plot area for cleaner appearance
• Grid support - Major and minor grids with custom styling
• 14 marker types - Circles, squares, triangles, diamonds, stars, and more
• Origin label control - Toggle origin ‘0’ label display
• Global defaults - Set defaults for all plots in your document
• Full styling - Customize colors, strokes, backgrounds, and more

Quick Start

#import "@preview/simple-plot:0.2.0": plot

#plot(
  xmin: -3, xmax: 3,
  ymin: -1, ymax: 9,
  xlabel: $x$,
  ylabel: $y$,
  show-grid: true,
  (fn: x => calc.pow(x, 2), stroke: blue + 1.5pt),
)

Basic Usage

Plotting Functions

#import "@preview/simple-plot:0.2.0": plot

// Single function
#plot(
  xmin: -5, xmax: 5,
  ymin: -5, ymax: 5,
  xlabel: $x$, ylabel: $y$,
  show-grid: "major",
  (fn: x => calc.sin(x), stroke: blue + 1.5pt),
)

// Multiple functions
#plot(
  xmin: -2 * calc.pi, xmax: 2 * calc.pi,
  ymin: -1.5, ymax: 1.5,
  (fn: x => calc.sin(x), stroke: blue + 1.2pt, label: $sin(x)$),
  (fn: x => calc.cos(x), stroke: red + 1.2pt, label: $cos(x)$),
)

Scatter Plots

#import "@preview/simple-plot:0.2.0": plot, scatter

#plot(
  xmin: 0, xmax: 10,
  ymin: 0, ymax: 10,
  show-grid: true,
  scatter(
    ((1, 2), (2, 3.5), (3, 2.8), (4, 5.2), (5, 4.8)),
    mark: "*",
    mark-fill: blue,
  ),
)

Line Plots with Markers

#import "@preview/simple-plot:0.2.0": plot, line-plot

#plot(
  xmin: 0, xmax: 10,
  ymin: 0, ymax: 12,
  axis-x-pos: "bottom",
  axis-y-pos: "left",
  line-plot(
    ((0, 0), (1, 0.5), (2, 1.8), (3, 4.2), (4, 5.1)),
    stroke: blue + 1.2pt,
    mark: "*",
    mark-fill: blue,
  ),
)

Function Labels with Positioning

Control the placement of function labels to avoid overlapping with your graphs using label-pos and label-side:

#import "@preview/simple-plot:0.2.0": plot

#plot(
  xmin: -5, xmax: 5,
  ymin: -3, ymax: 5,
  show-grid: true,
  // Label positioned at 90% along the curve, to the right
  (fn: x => 0.2 * calc.pow(x, 2) - 2,
   stroke: blue + 1.5pt,
   label: $f(x)$,
   label-pos: 0.9,           // Position along curve (0-1)
   label-side: "below-right" // Placement relative to point
  ),
  // Label positioned at 20% along the curve, above and to the right
  (fn: x => -0.5 * x + 1,
   stroke: red + 1.5pt,
   label: $g(x)$,
   label-pos: 0.2,
   label-side: "above-right"
  ),
)

Available label-side options:

• "above", "below", "left", "right" - Basic 4 directions
• "above-left", "above-right", "below-left", "below-right" - Diagonal positions

The label-pos parameter (0-1) determines where along the function curve the label appears, while label-side controls the anchor point to prevent overlapping with the graph line.

Parameters Reference

Plot Parameters

Axis Label Placement

Tick Configuration

Function Specification

Each function is a dictionary with:

(
  fn: x => ...,           // Required: the function
  stroke: blue + 1.2pt,   // Line style
  domain: (min, max),     // Optional: restrict domain
  samples: 100,           // Number of sample points
  label: $f(x)$,          // Optional label
  label-pos: 0.8,         // Label position (0-1)
  label-side: "above",    // Label placement: "above", "below", "left", "right",
                          // "above-left", "above-right", "below-left", "below-right"
  mark: "o",              // Marker type
  mark-size: 0.1,         // Marker size
  mark-fill: white,       // Marker fill color
  mark-stroke: blue,      // Marker stroke
  mark-interval: 10,      // Show marker every N points
)

Marker Types

Custom Styling

#plot(
  // ...
  style: (
    background: (
      fill: white,
      stroke: black + 0.5pt,
    ),
    axis: (
      stroke: black + 1pt,
      arrow: "stealth",
    ),
    grid: (
      major: (stroke: gray + 0.6pt),
      minor: (stroke: gray.lighten(50%) + 0.3pt),
    ),
    ticks: (
      length: 0.1,
      stroke: black + 0.6pt,
      label-offset: 0.15,
      label-size: 0.8em,
    ),
    plot: (
      stroke: blue + 1.2pt,
      samples: 100,
    ),
    marker: (
      size: 0.12,
      stroke: black + 0.8pt,
      fill: black,
    ),
  ),
)

Setting Global Defaults

Set defaults that apply to all subsequent plots:

#import "@preview/simple-plot:0.2.0": plot, set-plot-defaults, reset-plot-defaults

// Set defaults
#set-plot-defaults(
  width: 6,
  height: 4,
  show-grid: "major",
  xlabel: $x$,
  ylabel: $y$,
)

// All plots now use these defaults
#plot(xmin: -2, xmax: 2, ymin: 0, ymax: 4,
  (fn: x => calc.pow(x, 2)))

#plot(xmin: -3, xmax: 3, ymin: -1, ymax: 1,
  (fn: x => calc.sin(x)))

// Override specific values
#plot(width: 10, xlabel: $t$,
  xmin: 0, xmax: 5,
  (fn: x => 2*x))

// Reset all defaults
#reset-plot-defaults()

Examples

Trigonometric Functions

#plot(
  xmin: -2 * calc.pi, xmax: 2 * calc.pi,
  ymin: -2, ymax: 2,
  width: 10, height: 5,
  show-grid: "major",
  xtick: (-2*calc.pi, -calc.pi, 0, calc.pi, 2*calc.pi),
  xtick-labels: ($-2pi$, $-pi$, $0$, $pi$, $2pi$),
  (fn: x => calc.sin(x), stroke: blue + 1.2pt),
  (fn: x => calc.cos(x), stroke: red + 1.2pt),
)

Exponential and Logarithmic

#plot(
  xmin: -2, xmax: 3,
  ymin: -2, ymax: 5,
  show-grid: true,
  (fn: x => calc.exp(x), stroke: green + 1.5pt, label: $e^x$),
  (fn: x => if x > 0 { calc.ln(x) } else { float.nan },
   domain: (0.01, 3), stroke: orange + 1.5pt, label: $ln(x)$),
)

Piecewise Functions

#plot(
  xmin: -3, xmax: 4,
  ymin: -1, ymax: 5,
  show-grid: true,
  (fn: x => if x < 0 { calc.pow(x, 2) } else { calc.sqrt(x) },
   stroke: blue + 1.5pt),
)

Experimental Data with Fit

#import "@preview/simple-plot:0.2.0": plot, line-plot

#plot(
  xmin: 0, xmax: 10,
  ymin: 0, ymax: 12,
  xlabel: [Time (s)],
  ylabel: [Distance (m)],
  show-grid: true,
  axis-x-pos: "bottom",
  axis-y-pos: "left",
  // Experimental data
  line-plot(
    ((0, 0), (1, 0.5), (2, 1.8), (3, 4.2), (4, 5.1), (5, 6.8)),
    mark: "*",
    mark-fill: blue,
    label: [Data],
  ),
  // Theoretical fit
  (fn: x => 0.15 * calc.pow(x, 2) + 0.3 * x,
   stroke: red + 1pt, label: [Model]),
)

Extended Axes

Make axes extend beyond the plot area for a cleaner look:

#plot(
  xmin: -5, xmax: 5,
  ymin: -5, ymax: 5,
  show-grid: true,
  // Extend axes by 0.5 units in each direction
  axis-x-extend: 0.5,
  axis-y-extend: 0.5,
  (fn: x => calc.pow(x, 2) / 5, stroke: blue + 1.5pt),
)

// Asymmetric extension: (left/bottom, right/top)
#plot(
  xmin: 0, xmax: 10,
  ymin: 0, ymax: 8,
  axis-x-pos: "bottom",
  axis-y-pos: "left",
  axis-x-extend: (0, 1),  // Only extend right
  axis-y-extend: (0, 1),  // Only extend top
  (fn: x => calc.sqrt(x) * 2, stroke: green + 1.5pt),
)

Comparison with Other Plotting Libraries

When to use simple-plot

simple-plot is designed for mathematical function plotting with a focus on simplicity and ease of use. Choose simple-plot when you need to:

• Plot mathematical functions quickly with minimal boilerplate code
• Create publication-quality plots for math, physics, or engineering documents
• Use a familiar API similar to pgfplots/matplotlib for straightforward plotting tasks
• Get started fast with sensible defaults and intuitive parameter names

Alternatives

• cetz-plot: A comprehensive charting library for data visualization including pie charts, bar charts, pyramid charts, and process diagrams. Better suited for business charts and general data visualization than mathematical function plotting.

• lilaq: A powerful, feature-rich plotting library with advanced capabilities like colormesh, contour plots, multi-axis support, and quiver plots. Ideal for complex scientific visualizations, but has a steeper learning curve and requires more setup code.

In summary: Use simple-plot for straightforward mathematical function plotting, cetz-plot for business charts and data visualization, and lilaq for advanced scientific plotting with complex multi-axis layouts.

Dependencies

• CeTZ (v0.4.2+)

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Changelog

All notable changes to simple-plot are documented here.

[0.2.0] - 2026-01-15

Added

• axis-x-extend parameter to extend X-axis beyond plot area (symmetric or asymmetric)
• axis-y-extend parameter to extend Y-axis beyond plot area (symmetric or asymmetric)
• show-origin parameter to control display of “0” label at origin
• label-side parameter for function labels with 8 positioning options: “above”, “below”, “left”, “right”, “above-left”, “above-right”, “below-left”, “below-right”
• Line segment clipping using Liang-Barsky algorithm for cleaner plot rendering
• New gallery example: extended-axes.typ demonstrating axis extension

Fixed

• Tick numbering algorithm now generates more intuitive automatic tick intervals
• Function label positioning now correctly uses visible area instead of extended sampling domain

[0.1.0] - 2026-01-13

Added

• Initial release with core plotting functionality
• Function plotting with customizable domains and sampling
• Scatter plots and line plots with markers
• 14 marker types (circles, squares, triangles, diamonds, stars, plus, cross, bars)
• Customizable axes with flexible positioning
• Grid support (major, minor, both)
• Tick configuration with auto-generation and custom labels
• Function labels with flexible positioning
• Global defaults system with set/reset functions
• Full styling customization for all plot elements
• Built on CeTZ v0.4.2