Configuration Options

Configuration Options

The :options table in fplot controls the overall appearance and properties of your plot. It's where you set titles, labels, ranges, output files, and more.

Below is a comprehensive list of all available options. Remember that when using Lua, keys with hyphens (like :output-file) must be written using the ["key-name"] = value syntax.

General

Key	Type	Description	Example (Fennel)
:title	string	The main title of the plot.	:title "My Awesome Plot"
:output-type	string	The gnuplot terminal to use. Determines the output format. Common values: wxt (default, interactive window), qt, pngcairo, svg, pdfcairo.	:output-type "pngcairo"
:output-file	string	The path to save the output file. If nil, the plot is displayed in an interactive window.	:output-file "my-plot.png"
:size	table	A table [width, height] specifying the dimensions of the output in pixels.	:size [800 600]
:font	string	The font to use for text elements (e.g., "Arial", "Helvetica").	:font "Arial"
:font-size	number	The size of the font.	:font-size 12
:gnuplot-executable	string	The path to the gnuplot executable. Defaults to "gnuplot", relying on the system PATH.	:gnuplot-executable "/opt/local/bin/gnuplot"

Axes and Labels

Key	Type	Description	Example (Fennel)
:x-label	string	The label for the x-axis.	:x-label "Time (s)"
:y-label	string	The label for the y-axis.	:y-label "Velocity (m/s)"
:z-label	string	The label for the z-axis (for 3D plots).	:z-label "Height (m)"
:x-range	table	A table [min, max] for the x-axis range. Use "*" for auto-scaling one end.	:x-range [-10 10]
:y-range	table	A table [min, max] for the y-axis range.	:y-range [0 "*"]
:z-range	table	A table [min, max] for the z-axis range.	:z-range [-2 2]
:log-scale	string	A string specifying which axes should use a logarithmic scale (e.g., "x", "xy", "z").	:log-scale "y"

Tics

Key	Type	Description	Example (Fennel)
:tics	table	A map to control global tic settings for axes.	:tics {:xtics "mirror", :ytics "rotate by 90"}
:xtics	table	Sets custom tic marks for the x-axis. Can be a simple list of values or a list of [label, value] pairs.	:xtics [["Low" 0] ["Mid" 50] ["High" 100]]
:ytics	table	Sets custom tic marks for the y-axis.	:ytics [0 10 20 30]

Appearance

Key	Type	Description	Example (Fennel)
:grid	boolean	If true, displays a grid on the plot.	:grid true
:border	boolean	If true (default), displays a border around the plot.	:border false
:key	table	Controls the plot's key (legend). Set :enabled false to hide it.	:key {:enabled true :position "bottom left"}
:palette	string	Sets the color palette for 3D plots or color-mapped data.	:palette "defined (0 'blue', 1 'green', 2 'red')"

Advanced

Key	Type	Description	Example (Fennel)
:labels	list	A list of tables [text, x, y, options] to place text labels on the plot.	:labels [["Peak" 1.5 9.8 "center font 'Verdana,10'"]]
:arrows	list	A list of tables [x1, y1, x2, y2, options] to draw arrows.	:arrows [[0 0 1.5 9.8 "head filled"]]
:objects	list	A list of tables [type, definition] to draw geometric shapes.	:objects [["rectangle" "from 0,0 to 1,1 fc rgb 'blue'"]]
:multiplot	table	A table to configure a multiplot layout.	:multiplot {:layout [2 2] :title "My Multiplot"}
:extra-opts	list	A list of raw gnuplot commands to be inserted into the script.	:extra-opts ["set style data histograms" "set style fill solid"]

For options specific to individual datasets (like line color and style), see the Dataset Configuration page.