{"id":17504,"library":"babar","title":"Babar CLI Bar Charts","description":"Babar is a minimalistic Node.js library, currently at version 0.2.3, designed to render simple bar charts directly in the command line interface using ASCII characters. It provides basic visualizations for quickly understanding data distributions without the need for advanced charting features. The package is lightweight, consisting of approximately 100 lines of code, and offers options for color output, custom dimensions, and axis scaling. Its development appears to be inactive, with the last release nearly a decade ago (published 9 years ago as of April 2026), making it suitable for very basic, quick console output rather than robust data visualization needs. Key differentiators are its extreme simplicity and small footprint, focusing solely on console-based bar chart rendering.","status":"abandoned","version":"0.2.3","language":"javascript","source_language":"en","source_url":"https://github.com/stephan83/babar","tags":["javascript","cli","bar","charts","graph","ascii"],"install":[{"cmd":"npm install babar","lang":"bash","label":"npm"},{"cmd":"yarn add babar","lang":"bash","label":"yarn"},{"cmd":"pnpm add babar","lang":"bash","label":"pnpm"}],"dependencies":[],"imports":[{"note":"Babar is a CommonJS-only module. Attempting to use ESM import syntax will result in errors.","wrong":"import babar from 'babar';\nimport { babar } from 'babar';","symbol":"babar","correct":"const babar = require('babar');"},{"note":"The imported 'babar' is a direct function, not a constructor. It returns a string representation of the chart.","wrong":"console.log(new babar([[0, 1], [1, 5]]));","symbol":"babar function call","correct":"console.log(babar([[0, 1], [1, 5]]));"}],"quickstart":{"code":"const babar = require('babar');\n\n// Basic usage with an array of [x, y] points\nconsole.log(babar([[0, 1], [1, 5], [2, 5], [3, 1], [4, 6]]));\n\n// Usage with custom options for colors, dimensions, and axis scaling\nconsole.log(babar([[0, 1], [1, 5], [2, 5], [3, 1], [4, 6]], {\n  caption: 'Sample Data Distribution',\n  color: 'green',\n  grid: 'blue',\n  width: 60,\n  height: 12,\n  maxY: 10,\n  yFractions: 1\n}));","lang":"javascript","description":"Demonstrates how to import the babar function and generate a simple bar chart, both with default settings and custom options for styling and scaling, outputting ASCII art to the console."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Use CommonJS 'require()' syntax. If in an ESM project, consider using a bundler like Webpack or Rollup, or a dynamic 'import()' call (with caution) to consume it.","message":"Babar is a CommonJS-only module and does not natively support ES Modules (ESM) import syntax. Attempting to 'import' it directly in an ESM project will cause runtime errors.","severity":"breaking","affected_versions":">=0.1.0"},{"fix":"Evaluate alternatives for critical applications or those requiring ongoing support. For basic, non-critical console output, it may still suffice but proceed with awareness of its abandoned status.","message":"The package is no longer actively maintained, with the last update nearly a decade ago. This implies a lack of security updates, bug fixes, or guaranteed compatibility with newer Node.js versions or modern development practices.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=0.2.3"},{"fix":"Review the 'Limitations' section in the README to ensure it meets your specific needs. For advanced charting, explore more robust libraries like 'chart.js', 'd3', 'vega-lite', or 'plotly.js'.","message":"Babar has significant limitations: it only supports single-dataset bar charts, linear axes, positive Y-values (minY cannot be negative), and numerical labels. It is not suitable for complex data visualization or rich interactive charts.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=0.1.0"}],"env_vars":null,"last_verified":"2026-04-23T00:00:00.000Z","next_check":"2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z","problems":[{"fix":"Change the import statement to `const babar = require('babar');`.","cause":"Attempting to use `import babar from 'babar';` in a CommonJS-configured Node.js project or a script without `\"type\": \"module\"` in `package.json`.","error":"SyntaxError: Cannot use import statement outside a module"},{"fix":"Babar is CJS-only. You must either configure your project as CommonJS or find an alternative library that supports ESM. If absolutely necessary, you might try dynamic `import('babar').then(mod => mod.default)` but this is not officially supported and can be fragile.","cause":"Attempting to use `require('babar');` in a Node.js project configured as an ES Module (with `\"type\": \"module\"` in `package.json`).","error":"Error [ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() of ES Module [path_to_node_modules]/babar/index.js from [your_script].js not supported."},{"fix":"The 'babar' module exports a single function as its default. Import it directly: `const babar = require('babar');`","cause":"Incorrectly trying to destructure the default CommonJS export, e.g., `const { babar } = require('babar');`","error":"TypeError: babar is not a function"}],"ecosystem":"npm","meta_description":null,"install_score":null,"install_tag":null,"quickstart_score":null,"quickstart_tag":null}