Call savefig on the figure you want to export. For a pyplot chart, use plt.savefig("chart.png"); for a figure object, use fig.savefig("chart.png"). Matplotlib infers PNG from the .png filename extension. Add options such as dpi, bbox_inches or transparent only when you need to control resolution, crop or background.
Save a Matplotlib chart as a PNG
After creating a plot with pyplot, save the current figure with:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# ... create the plot ...
plt.savefig("chart.png")The Matplotlib 3.11.0 pyplot.savefig reference describes the function as saving the current figure to a file. If your code keeps a figure object, call its method instead:
fig.savefig("chart.png")Use the figure you intend to export: plt.savefig saves the current pyplot figure, while fig.savefig saves the specific Figure object.
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Choose the filename and format
A filename ending in .png is normally enough for Matplotlib to select PNG. You can also set the format explicitly:
fig.savefig("chart.png", format="png")When format is omitted, Matplotlib infers it from the filename extension. If neither a format nor an extension is provided, the documented default format is PNG, and Matplotlib appends the matching extension. When format is explicit, however, Matplotlib uses the filename verbatim: it will not correct a mismatched extension or append one. For example, fig.savefig("chart.jpg", format="png") writes PNG data to a file named chart.jpg. Use a matching extension to avoid confusion.
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Setting format="png" is useful when writing to a file-like object or when the filename itself does not identify the desired format.
Set output resolution with DPI
DPI controls the raster resolution of the saved figure. Matplotlib’s documented default is dpi="figure", which uses the figure’s DPI. A numeric value such as dpi=300 is an explicit choice—not a requirement—and the resulting pixel dimensions depend on both the figure dimensions and DPI.
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fig.savefig("chart.png", dpi=300)Use a numeric DPI when you have a specific resolution requirement. For other exports, leaving the option out uses the figure DPI, which may itself be configured in your Matplotlib settings.
Control cropping and whitespace
bbox_inches="tight" asks Matplotlib to fit the saved bounds to the figure’s tight extent. This can reduce surrounding whitespace, but it also changes the output bounds. The pad_inches option controls the margin around those bounds:
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fig.savefig("chart.png", bbox_inches="tight", pad_inches=0.2)The documented savefig.pad_inches default is 0.1. Adjust padding if a tight crop leaves too little breathing room; omit bbox_inches="tight" if you want the regular figure bounds. These defaults can be affected by Matplotlib’s rcParams.
Save with a transparent background
Transparency is off by default in the documented configuration. Set transparent=True when the PNG needs to sit over a colored or changing background:
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fig.savefig("chart.png", transparent=True)With this option, Matplotlib makes the Axes patches transparent and also the Figure patch unless face or edge colors are supplied. The transparency settings are restored after saving. This differs from choosing an opaque white background; use a face color when you want a solid background instead.
Choose the right API for the data
Use savefig for a rendered chart with axes, labels, legends and other Matplotlib artists. If you instead have numeric image-array data to write, use matplotlib.image.imsave:
| Input | API | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| A Matplotlib figure or plot | plt.savefig(...) or fig.savefig(...) |
Writes the rendered figure, with options for format, resolution, bounds and background. |
| A numeric image array | matplotlib.image.imsave(...) |
Maps scalar values through a colormap or writes RGB/RGBA image data. |
The Matplotlib stable image API documentation lists supported array shapes including grayscale (M, N), RGB (M, N, 3) and RGBA (M, N, 4). RGB and RGBA values pass through as image data; one-channel data is colormapped. imsave is not a replacement for saving a plotted figure.
Add PNG metadata when needed
The Agg PNG writer accepts metadata as key-value pairs. Documented keys include Title, Author, Description, Copyright, Creation Time, Software, Disclaimer, Warning, Source and Comment. For example:
fig.savefig(
"chart.png",
metadata={"Title": "Quarterly results", "Author": "Analytics team"},
)If Software is omitted, Matplotlib supplies an autogenerated value; set "Software": None to remove it. See the Agg backend API documentation for metadata behavior. Configuration defaults and available options can vary by version; consult the documentation matching your installed Matplotlib release when exact behavior matters.
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