Matplotlib is a python 2D plotting library which produces publication quality figures in a variety of hardcopy formats and interactive environments across platforms. Matplotlib can be used in python scripts, the python and ipython shell (ala MATLAB®* or Mathematica®†), web application servers, and six graphical user interface toolkits. Matplotlib tries to make easy things easy and hard things possible. You can generate plots, histograms, power spectra, bar charts, errorcharts, scatterplots, etc, with just a few lines of code. For simple plotting the pyplot interface provides a MATLAB-like interface, particularly when combined with IPython. For the power user, you have full control of line styles, font properties, axes properties, etc, via an object oriented interface or via a set of functions familiar to MATLAB users. Matplotlib is the brainchild of John Hunter (1968-2012), who, along with its many contributors, have put an immeasurable amount of time and effort into producing a piece of software utilized by thousands of scientists worldwide. If matplotlib contributes to a project that leads to a scientific publication, please acknowledge this work by citing the project