Turn Python data into polished, presentation-ready Gantt charts — no Excel required, no GUI needed.
Built on openpyxl. Zero heavy dependencies.

Contents

Getting started: Features · Installation · Quick Start · Command-Line Usage · AI-Assisted Planning · Themes · Data Structure

Going further: Advanced Usage · Development · Requirements · Contributing · License

Features

• Polished charts out of the box — pick one of eight ready-made colour themes, or generate a matching palette from your brand colour
• No Excel needed to create them — charts are plain .xlsx files anyone can open, filter, and edit in Excel
• Simple to use — describe your project as sections and tasks, get a presentation-ready chart; even directly from the command line: xlsx-gantt chart.json -o gantt.xlsx
• Shows what matters — progress bars per task, milestones, who's responsible for what, and automatic time-estimate totals
• Your language, your logo — day and week labels are fully configurable, and your logo can sit in the chart header
• A natural fit for AI-assisted planning — the whole plan is plain dicts or a JSON file, so an LLM or coding agent can draft it, revise it, and regenerate the chart in one step; describe the project in prose, let the model produce the JSON, and run xlsx-gantt plan.json -o gantt.xlsx (example)
• Lightweight — just openpyxl and Pillow; no pandas, no matplotlib, no Java bridge

Installation

pip install xlsx-gantt

This includes everything — all logo image formats (PNG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF) work out of the box.

Quick Start

Describe the project plan in a JSON file, say chart.json. Dates are ISO strings (YYYY-MM-DD):

{
  "project_name": "Website Redesign",
  "start_date": "2026-03-02",
  "end_date": "2026-04-12",
  "resource_names": ["Alice", "Bob"],
  "sections": [
    {
      "name": "Design",
      "tasks": [
        {
          "name": "Research",
          "time_estimate": 3,
          "progress": 80,
          "ranges": [
            {"start": "2026-03-02", "end": "2026-03-06", "color": "0070C0"}
          ],
          "annotations": {"Alice": "R", "Bob": "S"}
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Turn it into a chart from the command line, with no Python code:

xlsx-gantt chart.json -o gantt.xlsx --theme ocean

…or load the same file from Python:

from xlsx_gantt import GanttChart, GanttTheme

chart = GanttChart.from_json("chart.json", style=GanttTheme.get("ocean"))
chart.generate_excel("gantt.xlsx")

From Python data

You can also build the plan in Python as plain dicts. The JSON file above uses the same structure, with datetime objects in place of the date strings:

from datetime import datetime
from xlsx_gantt import GanttChart, GanttTheme

sections = [
    {
        "name": "Design",
        "tasks": [
            {
                "name": "Requirements gathering",
                "time_estimate": 3,
                "progress": 100,
                "ranges": [
                    {"start": datetime(2026, 1, 5), "end": datetime(2026, 1, 9), "color": "0070C0"},
                ],
                "annotations": {"Alice": "R", "Bob": "S"},
            },
            {
                "name": "Architecture review",
                "time_estimate": 2,
                "progress": 80,
                "ranges": [
                    {"start": datetime(2026, 1, 12), "end": datetime(2026, 1, 14), "color": "0070C0"},
                ],
                "annotations": {"Alice": "R", "Bob": "R"},
            },
        ],
    },
    {
        "name": "Development",
        "tasks": [
            {
                "name": "Backend",
                "time_estimate": 10,
                "progress": 50,
                "ranges": [
                    {"start": datetime(2026, 1, 19), "end": datetime(2026, 2, 6), "color": "00B050"},
                ],
                "annotations": {"Alice": "S", "Bob": "R"},
            },
            {
                "name": "Frontend",
                "time_estimate": 8,
                "progress": 20,
                "ranges": [
                    {"start": datetime(2026, 1, 26), "end": datetime(2026, 2, 13), "color": "00B050"},
                ],
                "annotations": {"Alice": "R", "Bob": "S"},
            },
        ],
    },
    {
        "name": "Milestones",
        "tasks": [
            {
                "name": "Beta release",
                "time_estimate": None,
                "progress": None,
                "ranges": [
                    {"start": datetime(2026, 2, 9), "end": datetime(2026, 2, 9), "color": "FF0000"},
                ],
            },
        ],
    },
]

style = GanttTheme.get("ocean")

chart = GanttChart(
    sections=sections,
    start_date=datetime(2026, 1, 5),    # Monday
    end_date=datetime(2026, 2, 15),     # Sunday
    project_name="My Project",
    resource_names=["Alice", "Bob"],
    style=style,
    logo_path="logo.png",               # optional
)

# Save to disk
chart.generate_excel("gantt_chart.xlsx")

# — or — get raw bytes (no file written)
xlsx_bytes = chart.generate_excel_bytes()
print("Done!")

Command-Line Usage

Installing the package also installs an xlsx-gantt command that builds a chart from a JSON file — no Python required:

xlsx-gantt chart.json -o gantt.xlsx [--theme ocean | --color 2E86C1] [--logo logo.png] [--week-start sunday]

The input is a JSON file like the one in the Quick Start.

Bar colours are set per range in the JSON ("color": "RRGGBB"); bars without one use the theme's bar colour. Invalid input is reported on stderr with exit code 1.

The CLI is a thin wrapper around GanttChart.from_json(), so the same JSON file can be loaded from Python too.

AI-Assisted Planning

The plan is plain JSON, so an AI assistant can write it for you. Describe the project in your own words, save the reply as plan.json, and run the CLI.

The prompt (works in any chat assistant or coding agent):

Create a project plan as JSON for the xlsx-gantt tool. Use this structure:

{"project_name": str, "start_date": "YYYY-MM-DD", "end_date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
 "resource_names": [str],
 "sections": [{"name": str, "tasks": [{
   "name": str, "time_estimate": working days or null, "progress": 0-100 or null,
   "ranges": [{"start": "YYYY-MM-DD", "end": "YYYY-MM-DD", "color": "RRGGBB"}],
   "annotations": {resource name: "R" (responsible) or "S" (support)}}]}]}

Dates are inclusive. A range where start equals end is a milestone; give
milestones null estimate and progress. Use one colour per section, and start
and end tasks on weekdays. Reply with the JSON only.

The project: we're building online ordering for a small bakery chain. The
team is Maya (design), Leo (development) and Priya (marketing). We started
Monday 13 April 2026 and go live Friday 22 May 2026. Cover discovery,
design, build, testing and launch, with milestones for design sign-off and
go-live. We're two weeks in: discovery and wireframes are done, and visual
design is about half finished.

The result: Claude replied with this plan. One command turns it into a chart, here with the bakery's logo and brand colour:

xlsx-gantt plan.json -o bakery.xlsx --color A0522D --logo bakery-logo.png

To change the plan, keep the conversation going ("move user testing a week later and add a security review"), save the new JSON, and run the command again. Coding agents such as Claude Code can edit plan.json and run the CLI themselves.

Both files are in the repository, so from a clone you can rebuild this exact chart:

xlsx-gantt examples/bakery-plan.json -o bakery.xlsx --color A0522D --logo examples/bakery-logo.png

Themes

Eight built-in themes are available:

The same chart in every theme, in the order listed above:

from xlsx_gantt import GanttTheme

# By static method
style = GanttTheme.ocean()

# By name (case-insensitive; spaces and hyphens treated as underscores)
style = GanttTheme.get("royal_purple")

# Generated from any base hex colour
style = GanttTheme.from_color("#2E86C1")

# List all available theme names
print(GanttTheme.list_themes())

Data Structure

Sections (dict form)

{
    "name": str,       # section label (merged across all its task rows in column A)
    "tasks": [ ... ]   # list of task dicts (see below)
}

Tasks (dict form)

{
    "name": str,                      # task label
    "time_estimate": float | None,    # hours / days / any unit; summed in the Total row
    "progress": float | None,         # 0–100 %; rendered as a solid DataBar
    "ranges": [                       # one or more coloured bars on the timeline
        {
            "start": datetime,        # inclusive start date
            "end":   datetime,        # inclusive end date (start == end → milestone)
            "color": "RRGGBB",        # 6-digit hex, no '#'; falls back to theme bar colour
        },
        ...
    ],
    "annotations": {                  # optional resource role markers
        "Alice": "R",                 # R = Responsible
        "Bob":   "S",                 # S = Support
    },
}

Note: time_estimate, progress, ranges, and annotations are all optional. Omitting them or passing None is handled gracefully.

Advanced Usage

Everything below is optional — the sections above cover the common cases.

Typed Dataclass API

Instead of plain dicts you can use the typed Section, Task, and DateRange dataclasses. Both forms are fully interchangeable and may be freely mixed in the same sections list.

from datetime import datetime
from xlsx_gantt import GanttChart, GanttTheme, Section, Task, DateRange

sections = [
    Section(
        name="Design",
        tasks=[
            Task(
                name="Requirements gathering",
                time_estimate=3,
                progress=100,
                ranges=[
                    DateRange(
                        start=datetime(2026, 1, 5),
                        end=datetime(2026, 1, 9),
                        color="0070C0",
                    )
                ],
                annotations={"Alice": "R", "Bob": "S"},
            ),
        ],
    ),
]

chart = GanttChart(
    sections=sections,
    start_date=datetime(2026, 1, 5),
    end_date=datetime(2026, 2, 15),
    project_name="My Project",
    resource_names=["Alice", "Bob"],
    style=GanttTheme.get("ocean"),
)
chart.generate_excel("gantt_chart.xlsx")

Mixing dicts and dataclasses

from xlsx_gantt import Section, Task

# Dict section alongside dataclass section — both work
sections = [
    {"name": "Phase 1", "tasks": [{"name": "Kickoff", "progress": 100}]},
    Section(name="Phase 2", tasks=[Task(name="Development", time_estimate=10)]),
]

to_dict / from_dict

Each dataclass provides to_dict() (serialize back to the dict API) and from_dict() (construct from a raw dict, returning None for invalid input):

from xlsx_gantt import Section, Task, DateRange
from datetime import datetime

dr = DateRange(start=datetime(2026, 1, 5), end=datetime(2026, 1, 9), color="0070C0")
print(dr.to_dict())
# {'start': datetime(2026, 1, 5, 0, 0), 'end': datetime(2026, 1, 9, 0, 0), 'color': '0070C0'}

task = Task.from_dict({"name": "Research", "time_estimate": 3, "progress": 80})
print(task.name)  # Research

In-Memory Output

generate_excel_bytes() returns the raw .xlsx bytes without writing to disk. Useful for streaming from a web server or attaching to an e-mail:

chart = GanttChart(sections=sections, ...)

# Flask / Django example
xlsx_bytes = chart.generate_excel_bytes()

response = HttpResponse(
    xlsx_bytes,
    content_type="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet",
)
response["Content-Disposition"] = 'attachment; filename="gantt.xlsx"'

Custom Styles

Pass a GanttStyle dataclass instance to override any visual property:

from xlsx_gantt import GanttChart, GanttStyle

style = GanttStyle(
    header_bg        = "2C3E50",
    header_fg        = "FFFFFF",
    bar_color        = "E74C3C",
    row_bg_even      = "F2F3F4",
    section_name_bg  = "D5D8DC",
    annotation_r_bg  = "C8FFCC",   # green tint for "R: Responsible"
    annotation_s_bg  = "FFE4B5",   # amber tint for "S: Support"
    col_label_bg     = "FFC000",
    col_label_fg     = "000000",
)

chart = GanttChart(sections=..., style=style, ...)

Key GanttStyle fields

All fields and their defaults are documented in the GanttStyle dataclass docstring.

Colour Utilities

The package also exports the colour helpers used internally by the theme engine:

from xlsx_gantt import contrast_text, darken, lighten, rotate_hue

# Pick white or black for maximum WCAG contrast against a background
text = contrast_text("1A5276")   # → "FFFFFF"

# Blend a colour toward black or white
darker  = darken("FFC000", 0.4)
lighter = lighten("FFC000", 0.6)

# Rotate the hue by a given number of degrees (0–360)
comp = rotate_hue("1A5276", 180)

For Power Users

• In-memory output — generate_excel_bytes() returns raw .xlsx bytes without touching the file system; drop it straight into a Flask/Django response, e-mail it, or cache it in Redis
• Theme engine — GanttTheme.from_color("#2E86C1") derives a complete WCAG-contrast-checked palette from any hex colour; the colour helpers darken, lighten, rotate_hue, and contrast_text are exported for your own theme logic
• Typed dataclass API — Section, Task, and DateRange dataclasses give you IDE auto-completion and type checking; plain dicts still work and can be freely mixed in the same list
• Multiple bars per row — paint several independent date ranges on a single task row, each with its own hex colour; any range where start == end renders as a milestone
• Solid progress DataBars — gradient-free Excel 2010 DataBar conditional formatting, injected via x14 extension XML post-processing
• Fine-grained styling — every colour, font, column width, and row height is a GanttStyle field; section names merge vertically, headers freeze, and label columns get auto-filters
• Locale control — GanttStyle.day_names and week_label_format (with {week}/{year} placeholders) replace the default English labels, and week_start=6 starts each week band on Sunday
• Production-safe error handling — malformed sections, tasks, ranges, and annotations are silently skipped; no unhandled exceptions in live environments

Development

Development install

git clone https://github.com/trondegil/xlsx-gantt.git
cd xlsx-gantt
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Project Structure

xlsx-gantt/
├── xlsx_gantt/                # Library package
│   ├── __init__.py            # Public re-exports
│   ├── style.py               # GanttStyle configuration dataclass
│   ├── models.py              # Section, Task, DateRange input dataclasses
│   ├── chart.py               # GanttChart builder
│   ├── themes.py              # GanttTheme + colour utilities
│   ├── cli.py                 # xlsx-gantt command-line interface
│   ├── py.typed               # PEP 561 marker
│   └── _xlsx_patch.py         # Internal: solid DataBar XML post-processor
├── examples/
│   ├── bakery-logo.png        # Logo used in the README example
│   └── bakery-plan.json       # AI-written plan from the README
├── tests/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── test_malformed_input.py
│   ├── test_new_features.py
│   ├── test_readme_example.py
│   ├── test_cli_color.py
│   ├── test_examples.py
│   ├── test_v020.py
│   └── test_week_start.py
├── pyproject.toml
├── requirements.txt
├── requirements-dev.txt
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

Running the Tests

pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
pytest

The test suite covers:

• Valid input (dict API and dataclass API)
• In-memory output (generate_excel_bytes)
• Mixed dict + dataclass inputs
• to_dict / from_dict round-trips
• patch_solid_databars with both file paths and BytesIO
• Malformed sections, tasks, ranges, and annotations
• Edge-case chart configurations (empty date ranges, None fields, reversed dates, etc.)

Requirements

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here is the recommended workflow:

1. Fork the repository and create a feature branch:

   git checkout -b feature/my-improvement
   

2. Install the project in editable mode with dev dependencies:

   pip install -e ".[dev]"
   

3. Make your changes. Keep the following guidelines in mind:

   • Follow the existing code style (PEP 8, type hints, docstrings).
   • Add or update tests in tests/ for any changed behaviour.
   • All colour values must be 6-digit hex strings without a leading #.

4. Run the test suite and make sure all tests pass:

   pytest
   

5. Commit with a clear, descriptive message:

   git commit -m "feat: add X / fix Y"
   

6. Open a pull request against the main branch describing what you changed and why.

Reporting issues

Please open a GitHub Issue and include:

• Python version (python --version)
• openpyxl version (pip show openpyxl)
• A minimal reproducible example or the full traceback.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for the full text.

Dependency licences

• openpyxl — MIT
• Pillow — HPND (historically permissive, MIT-compatible)