Chart.js
A JavaScript library for drawing simple, customizable charts on web pages using canvas.
- Stars
- 67.8k
- Forks
- 12k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- JavaScript
- Last update
- 14 days ago
- Type
- Library
What it is
Chart.js is a JavaScript library for adding charts to web pages. It draws charts on the HTML canvas element, so you pass it data and options and it renders the graphic in the browser. People use it to show data visually on websites and dashboards without building chart rendering from scratch.
- Show a line chart of monthly website traffic on a web page
- Display a bar chart comparing sales figures on a dashboard
- Add interactive charts to a web app using data from your own API
Great for
- Web developers adding standard charts such as line or bar charts to a site
- Designers who want chart styling they can configure in code
- Teams building dashboards in the browser who want an MIT-licensed library
Not ideal for
- People who need a finished chart tool with no coding, since this is a library that requires writing JavaScript
- Projects needing chart types or features the README does not describe, since the README here gives little detail on specific chart types
- Users who need charts rendered on a server, since the README describes browser canvas usage
How to get it
- 1
See the README
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/chartjs/Chart.js - 2
Run it
- Read the installation guide linked from the README at chartjs.org/docs/latest/getting-started/installation.html
- Include the library in an HTML page as described in the getting started docs
- Create a canvas element and pass your data and chart type to the Chart constructor
- Open the page in a browser to see the chart
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Follow the samples page on chartjs.org for working examples of chart types
- Use the popular extensions list in the chartjs/awesome repository to find plugins
- Check the documentation section on configuration to customize axes and styling
- Ask questions on Stack Overflow using the chart.js tag, as suggested in the README
Downloads
Strengths
- MIT licensed, so it can be used in commercial and open-source projects
- Large community with a documentation site, samples, and a Discord server linked from the README
- Actively maintained, with a recent release (v4.6.1) and a recent last push
Trade-offs
- Requires JavaScript and web page knowledge to use, so it is not beginner-friendly for non-coders
- The README is short and points to external docs for details, so getting started depends on those docs
- Documentation links in the README point to version 4; older versions need separate docs URLs
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chart.js (this) | 67.8k | Library | intermediate | 14 days ago | Web developers adding standard charts such as line or bar charts to a site |
| plotly.js | 18.4k | Library | beginner | 7 days ago | Web developers who want interactive charts in their own site or app |
| charts | 15.1k | Library | beginner | 18 days ago | Developers adding basic or medium-complexity charts to a web app |
| three.js | 117k | Library | intermediate | 4 days ago | Web developers adding interactive 3D graphics to a website |
| Luckysheet | 16.6k | Library | intermediate | 1.2 years ago | Developers maintaining an existing site that already embeds Luckysheet |
| G2 | 12.7k | Library | intermediate | 8 days ago | Front-end developers adding charts to a web dashboard |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.