How to use Graphviz with Anaconda/Spyder?
Solution 1
Here are the steps that worked for me. Much of this information was available but spread out in several different StackOverflow posts and other websites. I hope that this serves as a good one-stop resource.
Go to the Graphviz website and download and install to your computer (do NOT need to install for all users).
Download and install Anaconda3.5 from the Continuum website.
-
Add Graphviz to the environment variable "Path":
- Go to
Computer > Properties > Advanced system settings > Environment Variables
and then find "Path" in the system variables box. Click on Path and click edit. - Append
;C:\Program Files (x86)\Graphviz2.38\bin
to the end of the many paths that are already present in Path. Note, the path to Graphviz may be different for you so make sure to put the correct path. The folder "bin" should have many files including thedot.exe
application. - To check the install go to the command prompt and enter:
dot -V
this should return the version of Graphviz installed. For example,dot - graphviz version 2.38.0
. If this does not work, enterset
and look for the Graphviz path.
- Go to
Go to the Anaconda command prompt and enter:
pip install graphviz
Restart Spyder or launch it if not already open.
Now within your Python script add
import graphviz
-
Below is an example of how to create a graph and render it using Graphviz from a Graphviz tutorial
import graphviz dot = graphviz.Digraph(comment='The Round Table') dot.node('A', 'King Arthur') dot.node('B', 'Sir Bedevere the Wise') dot.node('L', 'Sir Lancelot the Brave') dot.edges(['AB', 'AL']) dot.edge('B', 'L', constraint='false') dot.render('FileName', view=True)
-
Below is an example of how to create a graph from a pre-generated .gv file (at least a starting point for exploration)
from graphviz import Source Source.from_file('file.gv')
Usefull Links:
Getting started with Graphviz and Python
Another StackOverflow Question
Versions Used:
Anaconda 3.5 (comes with Spyder)
Graphviz 2.38
Solution 2
I gave a bounty to the other question, but then realized there's a better way:
-
conda install graphviz
installs the binaries for GraphViz, (So you don't need to visit GraphViz website, and they'll presumably be kept updated in the usual conda way.) -
conda install python-graphviz
installs the Python frontend for GraphViz. (This is the same aspip install graphviz
, which has led to great confusion.)
The conda version of the graphviz frontend has been patched to support the binaries installed by the conda graphviz
package, so for graphviz itself, this should be all you need.
For pydot
, however, in Windows, this will not work until you include these binaries in your PATH. You can do this temporarily within your script with:
import os
os.environ["PATH"] += os.pathsep + 'PATH_STRING'
before the command that calls pydot
.
The PATH_STRING is either C:\Anaconda3\envs\ENV_NAME\Library\bin\graphviz
for a specific conda environment, or C:\Anaconda3\Library\bin\graphviz
for the default environment.
(I had to install a py3.6 environment for Tensorflow, since it doesn't yet support py3.7 and conda install tensorflow
was hanging for hours, trying to figure out how to downgrade every package on my system. (Probably other people installing GraphViz are doing so for the same reason.))
Solution 3
- Open Anaconda Prompt
- Run-> "conda install python-graphviz" in anaconda prompt.
- After install graphviz then copy the directory: C:\Users\Admin\anaconda3\Library\bin\graphviz
- Open Control Panel\System\Advanced system settings
Enviornment variables\path\Edit\New
Paste that copied directory and then click Ok
Scott G
Updated on October 07, 2020Comments
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Scott G over 3 years
I am attempting to use Graphviz from Spyder (via an Anaconda install). I am having trouble understanding what is needed to do this and how to go about loading packages, setting variables, etc.
I straight forward approach for a new Python and Graphviz and Spyder user would be great!
Also, apart from just creating and running Graphviz, how can one run Graphviz from python with a pre-generated .gv file?
-
endolith over 5 yearsOn Anaconda 5.3.1 and Windows, the binaries are already installed in
C:\Anaconda3\envs\env_name\Library\bin\graphviz
orC:\Anaconda3\Library\bin\graphviz
(default env) -
endolith over 5 yearsActually I think I was wrong.
conda install graphviz
installs the binaries as in my previous comment.pip install graphviz
installs the python frontend for GraphViz.conda install python-graphviz
installs the python frontend as well. So you don't need to visit GraphViz website if you doconda install graphviz python-graphviz
. -
Carlos Cordoba over 5 years
Then in Windows, you need to add the binaries to your PATH
, this is asking for big trouble. Hence my downvote. -
albert over 5 years@CarlosCordoba why should adding / appendix to the
PATH
be big trouble? -
endolith over 5 years@CarlosCordoba The binaries are not accessible to the python graphviz frontend unless they are in the PATH, so nothing works without it. You can add the path inside your python program before importing graphviz, but it's easier to just do it once.
-
endolith over 5 years@CarlosCordoba Yet here you say that
conda install python-graphviz
is "patched to work with conda's Graphviz C package"? Maybe I'm misremembering, and it'sconda install pydot
that requires the PATH change? (This is all incredibly confusing.) -
Carlos Cordoba over 5 years@albert, in general it's not bad to add new directories to
PATH
, but the one that @endolith mentiones is particularly dangerous because it contains a lot of binaries and DLLs that can conflict with other Anaconda packages and lead to subtle bugs or segfaults. -
Carlos Cordoba over 5 years@endolith, yes, it's pydot the one that's broken. I opened this issue to ask Anaconda people to fix it.
-
endolith over 5 years@CarlosCordoba So after
conda install graphviz python-graphviz
,import graphviz
should work fine? Or has that fix not been published yet? -
endolith over 5 years@CarlosCordoba And Scott G's answer would have the same problems, no?
-
Carlos Cordoba over 5 years"So after
conda install graphviz python-graphviz
,import graphviz
should work fine?" Yes, I fixed things for python-graphviz before leaving Anaconda, but pydot came later. -
Carlos Cordoba over 5 yearsAnd yes, Scott G's answer has the same problem as yours.
-
Carlos Cordoba over 5 years@endolith, thanks a lot! Let's hope Anaconda people won't take long to fix the pydot issue.