Pyplot-style API

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For a quick sketch you can skip the TikzFigure object. The functions of the tikzfigure module draw on an implicit current figure, created the first time one is called, much like matplotlib.pyplot. Every method of TikzFigure has a module-level function of the same name.

import numpy as np

import tikzfigure as tf

Drawing on the current figure

tf.draw([(0, 0), (1, 1), (2, 0)], arrows="->")
tf.circle((1, 1), radius=0.3, fill="cyan!40")
apex = tf.add_node(1, 1.6, label="apex", content="apex")
tf.show()

/home/runner/work/tikzfigure/tikzfigure/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/fitz/__init__.py:17: FutureWarning: The `fitz` API is deprecated and will be removed in future. Use `import pymupdf` instead.
  warnings.warn(

tf.gcf() returns the current figure, a normal TikzFigure, and the export functions work on it too:

print(type(tf.gcf()).__name__)
print(tf.generate_tikz())

TikzFigure
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \draw[->] (0, 0) to (1, 1) to (2, 0);
    \draw[fill=cyan!40] ({1}, {1}) circle (0.3);
    \node (apex) at ({1}, {1.6}) {apex};
\end{tikzpicture}

Starting a new figure

Unlike matplotlib.pyplot.show, tf.show() does not start a new figure: the next drawing call adds to the same one. tf.figure() starts a new figure and makes it current (with the arguments of TikzFigure), and tf.close() throws the current one away.

tf.figure()
tf.rectangle((0, 0), (2, 1), fill="orange!30")
tf.square((3, 0.5), radius=0.5, fill="green!30")
tf.show()

Several figures

Keep the figures tf.figure() returns, and tf.scf(fig) makes one current again:

first = tf.figure()
tf.circle((0, 0), radius=1, draw="blue")
second = tf.figure()
tf.circle((0, 0), radius=1, draw="red")

tf.scf(first)
tf.draw([(-1, 0), (1, 0)], color="blue")
tf.show()

tf.scf(second)
tf.show()

Plots

tf.axis2d(...) adds a pgfplots axis to the current figure; plot into the axis it returns:

tf.figure()
ax = tf.axis2d(xlabel="$x$", ylabel="$y$", xlim=(0, 2 * np.pi))
x = np.linspace(0, 2 * np.pi, 40)
ax.add_plot(x.tolist(), np.sin(x).tolist(), label="$\\sin x$", color="blue")
tf.show()

Saving

tf.savefig(path) saves the current figure, like TikzFigure.savefig: .tikz for the tikzpicture, .tex for a standalone document, .pdf or .png compiled with pdflatex.

tf.savefig("sine.tikz")
print(open("sine.tikz").read()[:300])

% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=$x$, ylabel=$y$, xmin=0, xmax=6.283185307179586, grid=ma

The explicit API stays the better choice for larger figures and libraries: it does not depend on which figure happens to be current.