kitcat 1.3.0

Matplotlib backend for direct plotting in the terminal using Kitty graphics protocol.

kitcat

This project introduces a new kitcat backend for Matplotlib that allows plots to be displayed directly in the terminal. It utilizes the "agg" backend for rendering plots before sending them to the terminal.

• Direct Matplotlib plotting in terminal emulators that support Kitty or iTerm2 graphics protocols.
• Works seamlessly over SSH.

Terminal Emulator Support

Not all terminal emulators support Kitty or iTerm2 graphics protocols. I haven't done extensive testing, so please let me know if you find other emulators that are compatible, and I will update the list accordingly.

Terminal Emulator	Supported	Notes
Kitty	✅
iTerm2	✅
VSCode	✅	Requires terminal.integrated.enableImages in settings
WezTerm	✅
Ghostty	✅
tmux	✅	Requires allow-passthrough on in tmux config
Warp	✅
wayst	✅
st	✅	Requires st-kitty-graphics patch
Zellij	❌
Alacritty	❌
Terminal.app (macOS)	❌

Installation

pip install kitcat

Usage

Select kitcat backend after importing matplotlib:

import matplotlib
matplotlib.use("kitcat")

Acknowledgements

I discovered matplotlib-backend-kitty repository, which provides similar functionality in Kitty. I aimed to create a simpler solution that works across any terminal supporting the protocol.