sparklines

library1.0.0pypypi✓ verified 24d ago

Sparklines is a Python library that generates text-only sparklines using Unicode characters. It's designed for displaying compact, inline visualizations of numerical data, primarily suitable for command-line interfaces or plain text environments. The current version is 0.7.0. Releases are infrequent, focusing on stability and minor enhancements.

data serialization

pip install sparklines

github ↗package ↗docs ↗changelog ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · SPARKLINES

sparklines

datapythonv1.0.0

Install

1.8s avg

Import

15ms

Disk

16MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v1.0.0 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.016s · 17.9MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.8s · import 0.014s · 18MB

16MB installed

● package 16MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

sparklines

✓ from sparklines import sparklines

The `sparklines` function takes a list of numbers and returns an iterable of strings, each representing a line of the sparkline. You can iterate over these lines to print a multi-line sparkline. Optional arguments allow for customization like setting minimum/maximum values, number of output lines, and character styles.

from sparklines import sparklines data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5.0, None, 3, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1] for line in sparklines(data): print(line) # Example with options print('\nSparkline with custom range and fill:') for line in sparklines(data, minimum=0, maximum=5, num_lines=2, fill='█', dot='●'): print(line)

sparklines --version

Debug

Known issues

gotchaSparklines generated by this library are purely text-based using Unicode characters. Their visual representation is heavily dependent on the terminal, console, or font used for display. Inconsistent font support or terminal settings can lead to misaligned or incorrect rendering.

fix

Test rendering in target environments. Ensure a Unicode-compatible font and terminal are used. Consider adjusting `num_lines` for simpler output if display issues persist.

affects: All versions

gotchaWhile negative values are technically supported, the visual representation can be misleading. Since the sparkline uses character heights to denote magnitude, negative values might not intuitively convey 'below zero' compared to graphical charts. The output is optimized for positive ranges.

fix

For data with significant negative values, consider normalizing your data to a positive range before passing it to `sparklines`, or use a different visualization library if precise negative value representation is critical. The library can issue warnings for negative values if configured.

affects: All versions

gotchaAchieving 'true' sparklines that appear as smooth lines rather than character-block patterns is challenging with this text-only approach. Unicode character limitations mean that highly granular or continuous line representations are not possible without dedicated font support, which is outside the scope of this tool.

fix

Adjust expectations for text-based visualizations. If smooth, high-resolution line graphs are required, a graphical plotting library (e.g., Matplotlib, Plotly) should be used instead.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'sparklines'

The 'sparklines' library is not installed in the current Python environment.

fix

pip install sparklines

NameError: name 'sparkline' is not defined

After importing the library as 'import sparklines', the main function must be called using the module prefix, i.e., 'sparklines.sparklines()', not 'sparkline()'.

fix

import sparklines
output = sparklines.sparklines([1, 5, 2, 8])

AttributeError: module 'sparklines' has no attribute 'plot'

Developers often expect a 'plot' or 'render' method from charting libraries, but 'sparklines' uses its main function 'sparklines.sparklines()' directly to generate the string output.

fix

from sparklines import sparklines
output = sparklines([1, 5, 2, 8])

TypeError: 'str' object cannot be interpreted as an integer

The 'sparklines' function expects an iterable of numeric values (like a list or tuple of integers or floats), but it received a single string.

fix

from sparklines import sparklines
output = sparklines([1, 5, 2, 8])

Upgrade

Version history

1.0.0latest on PyPI · released Jun 8, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

pythonrequiredRequires Python 3.9 or newer.

Agent activity

12 hits · last 30 days

node

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/deeplook/sparklines ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/sparklines/ ↗

docshttps://github.com/deeplook/sparklines ↗

changeloghttps://github.com/deeplook/sparklines/releases ↗