Chart.js versions

QuickChart supports Chart.js v2, v3, and v4. The default is v2.9.4, so existing charts continue to use the same configuration format.

To use Chart.js v4, add version=4 to your URL or "version": "4" to your POST body. The version belongs next to chart, not inside it:

curl https://quickchart.io/chart \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "version": "4",
    "format": "png",
    "chart": {
      "type": "bar",
      "data": {
        "labels": ["Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4"],
        "datasets": [{ "label": "Users", "data": [50, 60, 70, 180] }]
      },
      "options": {
        "scales": { "y": { "beginAtZero": true } },
        "plugins": { "title": { "display": true, "text": "New users" } }
      }
    }
  }' \
  -o chart.png

Use version=3 for Chart.js v3. Only the major version is selected: sending version=4.0.1 has the same effect as version=4.

Moving from v2 to v3 or v4

Changing the version does not convert your configuration. Some common fields inside options have moved:

Chart.js v2	Chart.js v3 and v4
scales.yAxes[0]	scales.y
scales.xAxes[0]	scales.x
scales.yAxes[0].ticks.beginAtZero	scales.y.beginAtZero
scales.yAxes[0].ticks.min and max	scales.y.min and max
legend	plugins.legend
title	plugins.title
tooltips	plugins.tooltip

For horizontal bar charts, replace type: 'horizontalBar' with type: 'bar' and set options.indexAxis to 'y'. In line chart datasets, lineTension is now tension.

See the Chart.js v3 migration guide and v4 migration guide for the full list of changes.

Plugins and chart types

Plugin availability depends on the Chart.js version. Financial, sankey, and funnel charts require v3 or v4. Some plugins, including doughnutlabel and piechart-outlabels, are available only with v2. See the plugin list before changing versions.

Options being ignored?

If a title, legend, or axis setting has no effect, check that your configuration matches the version in your request. A v4 configuration sent without version=4 will be rendered with v2, which may ignore those settings.

/api/validate-chart reports a warning when it recognizes v3 or v4 options in a v2 request. Check the warnings array even when success is true.