mcPLOT-MATPLOTLIB(1)

✨ mcPLOT-MATPLOTLIB ✨ — the manual page, bestie edition 💅

okay so this is the manual page for mcplot-matplotlib, from section 1 of the manual (that's the "user commands" section, iykyk). it plots your mcstas simulation results with Matplotlib. let's get into it 🫶

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🌸 NAME 🌸

mcplot-matplotlib — plotting the results of a mcstas simulation using Matplotlib 🎀

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

mcplot-matplotlib [-h] [-t] [--html] [--format FORMAT] [--output OUTPUT]
[--log] [--backend BACKEND] [simulation ...]

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so the front-end mcplot-matplotlib is a program that makes plots of all the monitors in a simulation, which means it's literally the fastest way to get a quick overview of your simulation results. main character energy fr fr 👑

easiest possible case? you just type mcplot-matplotlib and that's it. no arguments, no drama. it will plot any simulation data sitting in the current directory, which — fun fact — is exactly where simulations store their results by default. the defaults are defaulting, periodt.

but if you used the --dir or --file options, then you gotta pass the name of that file or directory to mcplot-matplotlib, like:

mcplot-matplotlib dir

or

mcplot-matplotlib file

you can also plot one single text (not binary!) data file from a given monitor — just hand its name over to mcplot-matplotlib. and if you want the full list of valid options, the -h option will give it to you. no gatekeeping 💅

heads up bestie: that data file has to be text, not binary. don't try it with the binary one, it's not giving what you want it to give 🙈

also, real talk: this is the Matplotlib plotting tool. that's the whole vibe.

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✨ OPTIONS ✨

• simulation — the file or directory you want to plot 📂
• -h, --help — shows you this help message and then dips (exits) 👋
• -t, --test — mccode data loader test run 🧪
• --html — saves the plot to html using mpld3 (linux only, so don't come for me on other platforms 😭)
• --format FORMAT — saves the plot to pdf/png/eps/svg... without bringing up a window. it's giving silent but deadly (in a good way) 💀
• --output OUTPUT — saves the plot to the given file, again without bringing up a window. you can put the extension (pdf/png/eps/svg, etc.) right in the file name, or you can specify it with --format instead. your call, queen 👑
• --log — kicks off the plot(s) with the log of signal 📈
• --backend BACKEND — uses a non-default backend for the matplotlib plot 🔧

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🎀 FILES 🎀

• /usr/share/mcstas/resources
• /usr/share/mcstas/tools/Python/mccodelib/mccode_config.json
• ~/.mcstas/mccode_config.json
• http://www.mcstas.org

these are the spots it looks at, plus the mcstas website for good measure 🌈

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🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

Run and plot the Test_SX example (Single crystal diffraction) — iconic, honestly:

• mcrun Test_SX.instr -d output_dir -n 1e7 TTH=13.4
• mcplot-matplotlib output_dir

like, run it, then plot it. two steps, zero stress ✨

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👑 AUTHORS 👑

mcstas Team (mcstas.org) 🫶

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

mcstas(1), mcdoc(1), mcplot(1), mcrun(1), mcgui(1), mcdisplay(1)

the whole friend group, all linked up 🧚

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💜 AUTHORS (again, yes really) 💜

MCSTAS neutron Ray Tracing Team. they said it twice because they ate and they know it 💅

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okay that's the whole page bestie!! this version is from the git source, and it's the mcPLOT-MATPLOTLIB(1) page. go plot something gorgeous 🌸✨🦋