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To make the left-side y-axis tick labels invisible while keeping the tick marks, use ax.tick_params(axis='y', labelleft=False). Add left=False if you also want to hide the tick marks.
Hide y-axis tick labels but keep the tick marks
With an object-oriented Matplotlib plot, set labelleft=False on the axes:
ax.tick_params(axis='y', labelleft=False)This hides the left-side y tick labels without hiding the tick marks. The setting applies to major ticks by default. To apply it to both major and minor ticks, specify which='both':
ax.tick_params(axis='y', which='both', labelleft=False)Choose what to hide
| Goal | Code | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Hide left y tick labels only | ax.tick_params(axis='y', labelleft=False) |
Leaves the tick marks visible. |
| Hide left y tick labels and tick marks | ax.tick_params(axis='y', left=False, labelleft=False) |
Turns off both marks and labels on the left. |
| Hide right-side y tick labels | ax.tick_params(axis='y', labelright=False) |
Controls right-side labels separately. |
| Hide the entire plot axis presentation | ax.set_axis_off() |
Suppresses both axes’ labels, spines, tick marks, tick labels, and grid lines. |
Matplotlib exposes tick marks and tick labels as separate settings, so use the narrowest option that matches the intended appearance. The Axes.tick_params API documents these controls.
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Why not clear the tick labels or ticks?
ax.set_yticklabels([]) is not the recommended visibility switch. Matplotlib discourages setting tick labels directly because the labels depend on tick positions, and ticks may be recreated during later plotting operations. The set_yticklabels documentation recommends using set_tick_params where possible.
Likewise, plt.yticks([]) and ax.set_yticks([]) remove y ticks rather than merely hiding their labels. In addition, set_yticks replaces the locator with a fixed locator and may expand the view limits to make the requested tick positions visible. See the set_yticks API.
When to use set_axis_off()
Use ax.set_axis_off() only when you want the complete axis presentation removed. It hides more than y tick labels: x-axis elements, spines, tick marks, labels, and grid lines are suppressed too. The set_axis_off documentation describes its broader scope.
The stable Matplotlib API documentation identifies version 3.11.2 as of October 4, 2026; API details can change in later releases.
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