How do I add multiple data lines in Smoothie Charts?

Create multiple TimeSeries instances and use the addTimeSeries method on the SmoothieChart object for each, with individual styling options like strokeStyle, as shown in the interactive builder examples. This allows plotting several streams on the same canvas.

Smoothie Charts or Chart.js for streaming data?

Smoothie Charts is better for pure real-time performance with smooth animations and a smaller footprint, while Chart.js offers more chart types and features but can be heavier and less optimized for continuous updates. Choose based on need for simplicity vs. versatility.

Does Smoothie Charts support zooming on charts?

No, it does not have built-in zooming or panning features; it's designed for continuous scrolling of live time-series data. For interactive exploration, you'd need to implement custom logic or consider other libraries.

How to change the line color in Smoothie Charts?

Customize colors by passing strokeStyle in the options when adding a time series, such as 'rgba(255, 0, 0, 1)' for red lines, as demonstrated in the example code. Other style properties like lineWidth can also be adjusted similarly.

Can I use Smoothie Charts with React?

Yes, integrate it by using refs to access the canvas element and initializing the chart in a useEffect or componentDidMount. Since it's vanilla JavaScript, you'll need to manage lifecycle updates manually to avoid memory leaks.

Is Smoothie Charts good for high-frequency data updates?

Yes, it's optimized for real-time streaming with efficient canvas rendering, but for extremely high frequencies, monitor performance and consider throttling data points to maintain smoothness, as highlighted in its focus on eliminating jerky updates.

Open-Awesome

Smoothie Charts

NOASSERTIONJavaScript1.36.1

A tiny JavaScript charting library for smooth, real-time streaming data visualization.

Visit Website GitHub

2.3k stars235 forks0 contributors

What is Smoothie Charts?

Smoothie Charts is a lightweight JavaScript charting library specifically designed for real-time streaming data visualization. It solves the problem of jerky, stuttering chart updates by providing smooth animations and efficient rendering of live data streams. The library focuses on time-series data and uses HTML5 Canvas for performance.

Target Audience

Frontend developers and engineers who need to visualize live, streaming data in web applications, such as monitoring dashboards, real-time analytics, or IoT data displays.

Value Proposition

Developers choose Smoothie Charts for its simplicity, small footprint, and smooth rendering of real-time data—eliminating the headaches of choppy chart updates common with other libraries.

Overview

Smoothie Charts: smooooooth JavaScript charts for realtime streaming data

Use Cases

Best For

Building real-time server monitoring dashboards
Visualizing live IoT sensor data streams
Creating financial trading data displays
Displaying real-time analytics and metrics
Building live performance monitoring tools
Creating responsive data visualization for dashboards

Not Ideal For

Applications focused solely on static historical data analysis without live updates
Projects requiring diverse chart types like bar, pie, or 3D visualizations
Teams needing heavily styled, drop-in chart components with built-in themes

Pros & Cons

Pros

Real-time Streaming Focus

Specifically designed for live data with smooth animations that eliminate jerky updates, as shown in the server CPU usage example where data streams continuously.

Lightweight and Efficient

Very small library with minimal dependencies, using HTML5 Canvas for high-performance rendering without bloating page load, evident from its minimal setup.

Simple API

Easy to get started with a straightforward API for adding time series and streaming to canvas, demonstrated in the hello world example with just a few lines of code.

Responsive Design

Adapts to different screen sizes and layouts, with dedicated examples provided for responsive behavior in the documentation.

Cons

Limited Chart Types

Only optimized for time-series line charts, lacking support for common varieties like bar, pie, or scatter plots, which restricts its use for broader data visualization.

Basic Styling Options

Customization of colors and styles requires manual configuration via options like strokeStyle, with no built-in themes or advanced styling tools, making it less suited for polished UIs.

Sparse Integrated Documentation

Core README is minimal, forcing reliance on external tutorials and examples for in-depth guidance, which can increase setup time for complex implementations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Projects

ECharts

Apache ECharts is a powerful, interactive charting and data visualization library for browser

Stars66,525

Forks19,796

Last commit6 days ago

Plotly

Open-source JavaScript charting library behind Plotly and Dash

Stars18,217

Forks1,999

Last commit3 days ago

lightweight-charts

Performant financial charts built with HTML5 canvas

Stars16,118

Forks2,461

Last commit4 days ago

apexcharts.js

📊 Interactive JavaScript Charts built on SVG

Stars15,100

Forks1,377

Last commit2 days ago

Community-curated · Updated weekly · 100% open source

Found a gem we're missing?

Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.

Submit a project Star on GitHub