Args Class API Documentation

September 18, 2025 · View on GitHub

The Args class manages chart configuration options and arguments. It provides a centralized way to control chart appearance, behavior, and formatting.

Constructor

from termgraph import Args

# Default args
args = Args()

# Custom args
args = Args(
    width=60,
    title="My Chart",
    colors=["red", "blue"],
    suffix=" units"
)

Parameters

All parameters are optional and provided as keyword arguments. If not specified, default values are used.

Configuration Options

Chart Dimensions

`width` (int, default: 50)

The width of the chart in characters.

args = Args(width=80)  # Wide chart
args = Args(width=30)  # Narrow chart

Chart Appearance

`title` (str, default: None)

Chart title displayed at the top.

args = Args(title="Monthly Sales Report")

`colors` (list, default: None)

List of color codes for chart series. Use color names or ANSI codes.

from termgraph import Colors

args = Args(colors=[Colors.Blue, Colors.Green, Colors.Red])
# Or use color names
args = Args(colors=["blue", "green", "red"])

Available color constants:

Colors.Black
Colors.Red
Colors.Green
Colors.Yellow
Colors.Blue
Colors.Magenta
Colors.Cyan

`custom_tick` (str, default: "")

Custom character to use for chart bars instead of the default block character.

args = Args(custom_tick="*")   # Use asterisks
args = Args(custom_tick="=")   # Use equals signs
args = Args(custom_tick="█")   # Use solid blocks

Value Formatting

`format` (str, default: "{:<5.2f}")

Python format string for numeric values.

args = Args(format="{:<6.1f}")    # 6 chars wide, 1 decimal
args = Args(format="{:>8.0f}")    # Right-aligned, no decimals
args = Args(format="{:+.2f}")     # Always show sign

`suffix` (str, default: "")

Text appended to each value.

args = Args(suffix=" units")      # Append units
args = Args(suffix="K")           # Thousands
args = Args(suffix="$")           # Currency

`percentage` (bool, default: False)

Format values as percentages.

# Convert 0.75 to 75%
args = Args(percentage=True)

`no_readable` (bool, default: False)

Disable automatic conversion of large numbers to readable format (e.g., 1000 → 1K).

args = Args(no_readable=True)  # Show raw numbers

Label and Value Display

`no_labels` (bool, default: False)

Hide row labels.

args = Args(no_labels=True)  # Hide all labels

`no_values` (bool, default: False)

Hide numeric values next to bars.

args = Args(no_values=True)  # Show only bars

`label_before` (bool, default: False)

Display labels before the bars instead of to the left with colons.

args = Args(label_before=True)
# Changes "Label: ████" to "Label ████"

Chart Layout

`space_between` (bool, default: False)

Add blank lines between chart rows.

args = Args(space_between=True)  # More readable spacing

`vertical` (bool, default: False)

Create vertical/column charts instead of horizontal bars.

args = Args(vertical=True)  # Column chart

Multi-Series Options

`different_scale` (bool, default: False)

Use different scales for each data series in multi-series charts.

# Useful when series have very different ranges
args = Args(different_scale=True)

`stacked` (bool, default: False)

Create stacked bar charts for multi-series data.

args = Args(stacked=True)  # Stack series on top of each other

Histogram Options

`histogram` (bool, default: False)

Enable histogram mode.

args = Args(histogram=True, bins=10)

`bins` (int, default: 5)

Number of bins for histogram charts.

args = Args(bins=8)   # 8 histogram bins
args = Args(bins=15)  # Fine-grained histogram

Data Input Options

`filename` (str, default: "-")

Input filename (used by CLI, usually not needed for API usage).

`delim` (str, default: "")

Custom delimiter for data parsing.

Calendar Options

`calendar` (bool, default: False)

Enable calendar heatmap mode.

`start_dt` (date, default: None)

Start date for calendar charts.

Debugging

`verbose` (bool, default: False)

Enable verbose output for debugging.

args = Args(verbose=True)  # Show debug information

Methods

`get_arg(arg: str) -> Union[int, str, bool, None]`

Get the value of a specific argument.

args = Args(width=60, title="Test")

width = args.get_arg("width")    # Returns 60
title = args.get_arg("title")    # Returns "Test"

`update_args(**kwargs) -> None`

Update multiple arguments after initialization.

args = Args(width=50)
args.update_args(width=80, title="Updated Chart")

Examples

Basic Configuration

from termgraph import Args, Colors

# Simple configuration
args = Args(
    width=50,
    title="Sales Data",
    colors=[Colors.Blue],
    suffix=" units"
)

Advanced Formatting

from termgraph import Args

# Detailed formatting options
args = Args(
    width=70,
    title="Financial Performance Q4 2023",
    format="{:>8.2f}",      # Right-aligned, 2 decimals
    suffix="K USD",         # Thousands of dollars
    space_between=True,     # Better readability
    no_readable=True        # Show exact numbers
)

Multi-Series Configuration

from termgraph import Args, Colors

# Multi-series with different colors
args = Args(
    width=60,
    title="Product Comparison",
    colors=[Colors.Green, Colors.Blue, Colors.Red],
    different_scale=False,  # Use same scale
    space_between=True
)

Stacked Chart Configuration

from termgraph import Args, Colors

# Stacked chart setup
args = Args(
    width=50,
    title="Market Share Evolution",
    colors=[Colors.Blue, Colors.Green, Colors.Yellow],
    stacked=True,
    format="{:<4.0f}",
    suffix="%"
)

Histogram Configuration

from termgraph import Args, Colors

# Histogram settings
args = Args(
    width=60,
    title="Data Distribution",
    histogram=True,
    bins=10,
    colors=[Colors.Cyan],
    format="{:<3.0f}"
)

Minimal Bar Chart

from termgraph import Args

# Clean, minimal appearance
args = Args(
    width=40,
    no_values=True,     # Hide numbers
    custom_tick="▓",    # Custom bar character
    colors=["green"]
)

Percentage Chart

from termgraph import Args, Colors

# Percentage display
args = Args(
    width=50,
    title="Completion Status",
    percentage=True,
    colors=[Colors.Green],
    format="{:<3.0f}",
    suffix="%"
)

Vertical Chart Configuration

from termgraph import Args, Colors

# Column chart setup
args = Args(
    width=30,
    title="Vertical Sales Chart",
    vertical=True,
    colors=[Colors.Blue],
    no_labels=False
)

Default Values Reference

# All default values
default_args = {
    "filename": "-",
    "title": None,
    "width": 50,
    "format": "{:<5.2f}",
    "suffix": "",
    "no_labels": False,
    "no_values": False,
    "space_between": False,
    "colors": None,
    "vertical": False,
    "stacked": False,
    "histogram": False,
    "bins": 5,
    "different_scale": False,
    "calendar": False,
    "start_dt": None,
    "custom_tick": "",
    "delim": "",
    "verbose": False,
    "label_before": False,
    "percentage": False,
    "no_readable": False,
}

Error Handling

The Args class validates argument names:

from termgraph import Args

try:
    # Invalid argument name
    args = Args(invalid_option=True)
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")  # "Invalid Argument: invalid_option"

try:
    # Invalid argument in get_arg
    args = Args()
    value = args.get_arg("nonexistent")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")  # "Invalid Argument: nonexistent"

Integration with Charts

The Args object is passed to chart constructors:

from termgraph import Data, BarChart, Args, Colors

# Create data and args
data = Data([10, 20, 30], ["A", "B", "C"])
args = Args(
    width=40,
    title="Sample Chart",
    colors=[Colors.Green]
)

# Create and draw chart
chart = BarChart(data, args)
chart.draw()

For more information about chart types, see Chart Classes Documentation. For data preparation, see Data Class Documentation.