Cannot close plot generated with matplotlib in ipython notebook

Question

I am trying to make a plot using matplotlib in ipython notebook.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.plot(range(10))
plt.show()

I get the desired plot, but when I try to close it, it hangs. I then have to force quit it, and restart the kernel.

If I run the same code from terminal, I can safely close the plot. The error is when using ipython notebook.

I am on OS X El Capitan (10.11.2), python 2.7. The issue began after updating to El Capitan.

Thanks in advance.

Mike Müller · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-13 11:29:31Z

1

When your work in a notebook, it is better to display the plots inline. Turn on the inline mode:

In: [1] %matplotlib inline

Now, plot without the plt.show():

In: [2]import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
In: [3]plt.plot(range(10))

The plot should appear right in the notebook.

For interactive plots in the notebook use mpld3. Just add these lines to your notebook:

import mpld3
mpld3.enable_notebook()

answered Dec 13, 2015 at 7:10

Mike Müller

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2 Comments

But then I lose the interactivity, I might need to zoom and so on.

@user104493 Not necessarily. See the addition to my answer.