How to plot with pyplot from a script file in Google Colab

Question

I am trying to show a plot to the notebook from a python script, but all I get is a text output showing me the type() output of the figure.I have something like this:

This is my script (a very simplified version of my actual script, but same concept).

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
x=[1,2,3,4,5,6,5,3,2,4,2,3,4,2]

plt.plot(x)
plt.show()

I have also tried setting the backend to notebook, but I get the same result. If I plot some data from the console (writing python directly into the code textbox, the plot works fine). I have searched for the answer in a lot of forums, and even the official Google notebook to plotting in Colab says that the plot should work fine from within a script.

korakot · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-30 04:06:21Z

20

Instead of calling

!python plot.py

Use this instead

%run plot.py

It will show the plot normally.

answered Jan 30, 2020 at 4:06

korakot

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2 Comments

Juan David Over a year ago

Worked like a charm! Could you explain the difference?

korakot Over a year ago

%run will load the code line-by-line, as if you type it all in Colab. !python will run it separately, so it cannot access the output cell, and cannot display.

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