| LM | Installing |
Matplotlib is not included in the standard Python installation, so you need to install it first. The most common way is using pip.
pip install matplotlib
💡 Installing in Visual Studio Code
If you are using Visual Studio Code (VS Code) instead of the Windows shell directly, you can install Matplotlib easily in the integrated terminal:
1️⃣ Open your Python project folder in VS Code.
2️⃣ Open the integrated terminal (Terminal > New Terminal).
3️⃣ Make sure your Python interpreter is selected correctly (check in the bottom-right corner or press Ctrl+Shift+P and type Python: Select Interpreter).
4️⃣ In the terminal, run:
pip install matplotlib
After installation, you can start writing your Python scripts in .py files and use Matplotlib just as you would anywhere else. VS Code will detect the package automatically if the correct interpreter is set.
🐍 Importing Matplotlib
Once installed, you can import Matplotlib in your Python code. Most often, we use the pyplot module and import it with the alias plt.
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
✅ Check Your Installation
After importing, you can check the version to ensure it was installed correctly:
import matplotlib
print(matplotlib.__version__)