🍩 Quickly view graphs in the terminal with termcharts in Python

When working from the command line, having an immediate view of your data can make a big difference. In this context, termcharts was born, a Python library designed to create graphs directly in the terminal in a simple, fast and intuitive way.

termcharts can be seen as a simplification of termgraph (we talked about it in the article 📊 View charts in the terminal with termgraph using Python): it maintains the philosophy of text display, but drastically reduces the complexity of the API, making it quick to understand and use, even for those who have never worked with graphs in the terminal.

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Why use termcharts

The main advantages of the library are:

📦 No complex dependencies
⚡ Immediate setup
🧠 Minimal and intuitive API
🖥️ Readable output directly in the terminal
🔄 Ideal for scripts, CLI tools, and quick reports

No graphics configuration required: everything is rendered as ASCII text.

Installation

pip install termcharts

After installation, the library is ready for use.

Library Import

import termcharts

A single import is sufficient: all the main functions are exposed directly by the module.

🍰 Pie Chart

chart_pie = termcharts.pie(
   {'Bugs': 30, 'Tasks': 60, 'Other': 10},
   title='Activities'
)
print(chart_pie)

Step-by-Step Explanation

Data
Provided as a dictionary label → value
Each key represents a category.
pie() Function
Creates a text pie chart.
Automatically calculates percentages.
title parameter>
Adds a title to the chart for easier readability.
print(chart_pie)
The chart is only rendered when printed.

This chart type is ideal for showing the percentage distribution of data.

🍩 Doughnut Chart

chart_doughnut = termcharts.doughnut(
   {'High impact': 10, 'Medium impact': 20, 'Low impact': 30},
   title='Priority tasks'
)
print(chart_doughnut)

Difference from the pie chart

The doughnut chart is a variant of the pie chart:

Same input logic
More compact representation
More readable when there are many categories

Here too, simplicity is the strong point: just change the function.

📊 Bar Charts

Horizontal Bar Chart

chart1 = termcharts.bar(
   {'Task1': 54, 'Task2': 20, 'Task3': 30, 'Task4': 15, 'Task5': 5},
   title='Status'
)
print(chart1)

Explanation

The dictionary keys are the labels
The values determine the length of the bars
The horizontal layout is the default

Vertical bar chart

chart2 = termcharts.bar(
   {'Task1': 54, 'Task2': 20, 'Task3': 30, 'Task4': 15, 'Task5': 5},
   title='Status (vertical)',
   mode='v'
)
print(chart2)

This is where the parameter comes in:

mode='v' → forces vertical display

This is especially useful when you want to compare values in a more "graphical" way.

Bar chart from list

chart3 = termcharts.bar(
   [54, 20, 30, 15, 5],
   title='Status (list)'
)
print(chart3)

In this case:

The data is passed as a list
The labels are automatically generated
It's perfect for simple or temporary datasets

🎯 All examples in a single script

To get a complete overview of the potential of termcharts, you can collect all the examples seen so far in a Single Python script.

This approach is particularly useful for:

quickly testing the library
comparing different chart types
generating complete output to display in documentation or articles
adding a screenshot of the result in the terminal

Here is the complete script, as it can be run directly:

import termcharts

'''
=== PIE CHART ===
'''
chart_pie = termcharts.pie(
   {'Bugs': 30, 'Tasks': 60, 'Other': 10},
   title='Activities'
)
print(chart_pie)

'''
=== DOUGHNUT CHART ===
'''
chart_doughnut = termcharts.doughnut( 
   {'High impact': 10, 'Medium impact': 20, 'Low impact': 30}, 
   title='Priority tasks'
)
print(chart_doughnut)

'''
=== BAR CHARTS ===
'''
chart1 = termcharts.bar( 
   {'Task1': 54, 'Task2': 20, 'Task3': 30, 'Task4': 15, 'Task5': 5}, 
   title='Status'
)

chart2 = termcharts.bar( 
   {'Task1': 54, 'Task2': 20, 'Task3': 30, 'Task4': 15, 'Task5': 5}, 
   title='Status (vertical)', 
   mode='v' # vertical
)

chart3 = termcharts.bar( 
   [54, 20, 30, 15, 5], 
   title='Status (list)' # from list
)

print(chart1)
print(chart2)
print(chart3)

Output

How to use the script

Save the code to a file, for example termcharts_demo.py
Run it from the terminal:
```
python termcharts_demo.py
```
The output will show, in sequence:
- a pie chart
- a doughnut chart
- a horizontal bar chart
- a vertical bar chart
- a bar chart generated from a list

At this point, you can take a screenshot terminal output and insert it into the article to visually display the final result.

Termcharts Philosophy

The real strength of termcharts lies in its philosophy:

“Display data in the simplest way possible, without forcing the developer to learn a complex API.”

Compared to termgraph, termcharts:

✅ Reduces the number of parameters
✅ Hidesnde internal complexity
✅ Offers out-of-the-box functions
✖️ The price you pay for this simplicity is the lack of customization (e.g., you can't show labels for bar charts)

When to use termcharts

Monitoring scripts
CLI tools
Fast dataset debugging
Text-based reports
GUI-free environments

Conclusion

termcharts is a small but extremely effective library: an intelligent simplification of termgraph that allows you to create graphs in the terminal in seconds.

If you're looking for a quick way to visualize data without leaving the terminal, termcharts is an excellent choice.

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