How to save a Matplotlib plot in PNG format in Python

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PNG format is perfect for the web. It is a lightweight format that is often used for websites.

But be careful, it comes with a transparent background, which nowadays can be annoying if you have a dark theme.

Anyways, here is how to save a Matplotlib plot in PNG format.

# For our example dataframe
import pandas as pd
# For our plot
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Generating sample data
df = pd.DataFrame({"col1":range(10)})

# Creating a figure and the axes for our plots
# We set the figsize to 12 inches wide and 6 inches tall 
fig, axes = plt.subplots(1,1, figsize=(6,4)) 

# We plot
axes.plot(df["col1"])

# We make our canvas tidy and clean
plt.tight_layout()

# We save the graph in png format
plt.savefig("my_graph.png")

Here you are! You now know how to save a Matplotlib plot in PNG.

More on plots

If you want to know more about how to add labels, plot different types of plots, etc... check out the other articles I wrote on the topic, just here :

Matplotlib - The Python You Need
We gathered the only Python essentials that you will probably ever need.
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