Bar Chart

The bar chart is vizb’s default chart type. It maps categories to bars, making it easy to compare values at a glance — whether you have one series or a full three-dimensional dataset. As you add dimensions, bars group and then grow into a full 3D WebGL scene.

Use bar charts when you want direct side-by-side comparison of discrete categories, benchmark names, or labeled data points. If you’re already using bar and want to fold in a z-axis without the depth, the Heatmap is a good complement.

How vizb builds it

vizb maps your grouping columns to the chart’s visual axes:

Dimension	Role
XAxis	Category axis — each unique X value becomes a bar group
YAxis	Series axis — each unique Y value becomes a separate bar within each X group
ZAxis	Depth layer — stacks Z values into the X/Y floor grid (3D only, requires echarts-gl)

Dimensions

The examples below use sales.csv — 10,000 order rows with categorical columns (order_date, region, category, …) and numeric metrics (quantity, amount, total, …). You can also browse live CSV dashboards built from the same file.

1D (X axis)

A single series of bars — one bar per X category. The height is the raw value. This is the simplest view: run a benchmark, pick one grouping column, get a bar per result.

vizb bar sales.csv -g order_date -p x -o out.html

2D (X + Y axes)

Grouped bars: X stays on the category axis, and each distinct Y value becomes its own bar series side-by-side within each X group. The legend lists the Y values so you can toggle individual series on and off.

vizb bar sales.csv -g region,category -p x,y -o out.html

3D (X + Y + Z axes)

WebGL bar3D scene: X and Y form a grid floor, and Z values stack as depth layers on each (X, Y) cell. Rotate, zoom, and pan the scene in the browser. Requires echarts-gl (bundled automatically).

vizb bar sales.csv -g order_date,category -p "[-y{Month}-x{Date}],z{Category}" -o out.html

Note

The Z axis requires both X and Y to be present. Passing a Z without an X/Y floor will be rejected with an error.

--select (csv/json)

--select is repeatable (csv/json only). With explicit -g / -p / -r, it picks which numeric columns get their own chart (optional {label} renames each chart). Without group, it switches to solo value / mixed / multi-stat modes that plot raw columns as coordinate axes.

vizb bar sales.csv -g region,product -p x,y --select amount,total -o bars.html

See Select for the full mode reference, and Group vs Select for when to use each.

Auto-value mode (all-numeric data)

On an all-numeric CSV/JSON file, vizb auto-detects the first 2–3 columns as coordinate axes and renders value-type bars — with 3+ columns it auto-enables 3D (bar3D). See Auto-value for the inference rules; solo --select overrides it.

./bin/vizb bar noise-surface.csv -o surface.html --3d-visualmap

Settings

These settings apply to bar charts:

Setting	CLI flag	UI toggle	Notes
Sort	--sort asc|desc	Sort control	Sorts bars along the X axis
Labels	--show-labels	Show labels	Displays value on each bar
Swap	--swap	Axis switcher	Rotates which column maps to X vs Y
Scale (log)	--log-scale	Scale toggle	Log Y axis — 2D only
3D view	--3d	3D view	Value 3D for x+y data (y → depth, metric → height)
3D visual map	--3d-visualmap	3D visual map	Metric gradient coloring — on by default with --3d; grouped/value 3D
Auto-rotate	--3d-rotate	Auto rotate	Spins the 3D scene — 3D only

Override settings for just this chart type without affecting others:

# Sort ascending and show labels on bars only
vizb bar sales.csv -g region,category --sort asc -l -o out.html

# Log scale on the bar chart only
vizb bar sales.csv -g region,category --scale log -o out.html

Next Steps

Line ChartSame dimension model, but draws connected lines instead of bars.

3D ChartsDeep dive into the 3D WebGL scene — rotate, zoom, tooltips, and auto-rotate.

HeatmapFlatten the Z axis into a colored grid instead of a 3D scene.

SettingsAll runtime controls — sort, labels, scale, and more.