Error Bars in JavaScript

How to add error bars to a D3.js-based line, scatter, or bar chart. Seven examples of symmetric, asymmetric, horizontal, and colored error bars.


New to Plotly?

Plotly is a free and open-source graphing library for JavaScript. We recommend you read our Getting Started guide for the latest installation or upgrade instructions, then move on to our Plotly Fundamentals tutorials or dive straight in to some Basic Charts tutorials.

var data = [
  {
    x: [0, 1, 2],
    y: [6, 10, 2],
    error_y: {
      type: 'data',
      array: [1, 2, 3],
      visible: true
    },
    type: 'scatter'
  }
];
Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data);
var trace1 = {
  x: ['Trial 1', 'Trial 2', 'Trial 3'],
  y: [3, 6, 4],
  name: 'Control',
  error_y: {
    type: 'data',
    array: [1, 0.5, 1.5],
    visible: true
  },
  type: 'bar'
};
var trace2 = {
  x: ['Trial 1', 'Trial 2', 'Trial 3'],
  y: [4, 7, 3],
  name: 'Experimental',
  error_y: {
    type: 'data',
    array: [0.5, 1, 2],
    visible: true
  },
  type: 'bar'
};
var data = [trace1, trace2];
var layout = {barmode: 'group'};
Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data, layout);
var data = [
  {
    x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
    y: [2, 1, 3, 4],
    error_x: {
      type: 'percent',
      value: 10
    },
    type: 'scatter'
  }
];
Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data);
var data = [
  {
    x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
    y: [2, 1, 3, 4],
    error_y: {
      type: 'data',
      symmetric: false,
      array: [0.1, 0.2, 0.1, 0.1],
      arrayminus: [0.2, 0.4, 1, 0.2]
    },
    type: 'scatter'
  }
];
Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data);
function linspace(a,b,n) {
  return d3.range(n).map(function(i){return a+i*(b-a)/(n-1);});
}
x_theo = linspace(-4, 4, 100)
sincx = Math.sin(x_theo) / x_theo
var x = [-3.8, -3.03, -1.91, -1.46, -0.89, -0.24, -0.0, 0.41, 0.89, 1.01, 1.91, 2.28, 2.79, 3.56]
var y = [-0.02, 0.04, -0.01, -0.27, 0.36, 0.75, 1.03, 0.65, 0.28, 0.02, -0.11, 0.16, 0.04, -0.15]

var trace1 = {
  x: x_theo,
  y: sincx,
  name: 'sinc(x)',
  type: 'scatter'
};
var trace2 = {
  x: x,
  y: y,
  mode: 'markers',
  name: 'measured',
  error_y: {
    type: 'constant',
    value: 0.1,
    color: '#85144B',
    thickness: 1.5,
    width: 3,
    opacity: 1
  },
  error_x: {
    type: 'constant',
    value: 0.2,
    color: '#85144B',
    thickness: 1.5,
    width: 3,
    opacity: 1
  },
  marker: {
    color: '#85144B',
    size: 8
  },
  type: 'scatter'
};
var data = [trace1, trace2];
Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data, {}, {showSendToCloud: true});
var data = [
  {
    x: [0, 1, 2],
    y: [6, 10, 2],
    error_y: {
      type: 'percent',
      value: 50,
      visible: true
    },
    type: 'scatter'
  }
];
Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data);
var data = [
  {
    x: [1, 2, 3, 4],
    y: [2, 1, 3, 4],
    error_y: {
      type: 'percent',
      symmetric: false,
      value: 15,
      valueminus: 25
    },
    type: 'scatter'
  }
];
Plotly.newPlot('myDiv', data);