Create professional project timeline Gantt charts with task dependencies, milestones, progress tracking, and customizable styling. Perfect for project management, sprint planning, and timeline visualization.
Quick Start
from scripts.gantt_creator import GanttChartCreator
# Simple task list
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
gantt.add_task("Research", "2024-01-01", "2024-01-07")
gantt.add_task("Design", "2024-01-08", "2024-01-14")
gantt.add_task("Development", "2024-01-15", "2024-01-28")
gantt.add_task("Testing", "2024-01-29", "2024-02-04")
gantt.generate().save("project.png")
# From CSV with progress
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
gantt.from_csv("tasks.csv", task="name", start="start_date", end="end_date", progress="pct")
gantt.title("Q1 Roadmap").show_today().generate().save("roadmap.png")
Features
-
Multiple Input Sources: CSV, JSON, dict, or programmatic
-
Task Properties: Name, dates, progress, assignee, category
-
Dependencies: Finish-to-start and other dependency types
-
Milestones: Diamond markers for key dates
-
Progress Tracking: Visual progress bars within tasks
-
Today Marker: Vertical line showing current date
-
Color Coding: By category, assignee, or status
-
Output Formats: PNG, SVG, PDF (matplotlib) or HTML (interactive)
API Reference
Initialization
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
Data Input Methods
# From CSV file
gantt.from_csv(
filepath="tasks.csv",
task="task_name", # Task name column
start="start_date", # Start date column
end="end_date", # End date column
progress="completion", # Optional: progress % column
category="category", # Optional: for color coding
assignee="owner" # Optional: for color coding
)
# From list of task dictionaries
gantt.from_tasks([
{'name': 'Task 1', 'start': '2024-01-01', 'end': '2024-01-07'},
{'name': 'Task 2', 'start': '2024-01-08', 'end': '2024-01-14', 'progress': 50},
{'name': 'Task 3', 'start': '2024-01-15', 'end': '2024-01-21', 'category': 'Dev'}
])
# Add individual tasks
gantt.add_task(
name="Research Phase",
start="2024-01-01",
end="2024-01-14",
progress=100, # Optional: 0-100%
category="Planning", # Optional: for coloring
assignee="Alice" # Optional: for coloring
)
# Add milestones
gantt.add_milestone("Project Kickoff", "2024-01-01")
gantt.add_milestone("Beta Release", "2024-02-15", color="#e74c3c")
Dependencies
# Add task dependencies (finish-to-start by default)
gantt.add_dependency("Design", "Development") # Development starts after Design
gantt.add_dependency("Development", "Testing")
# Dependency types
gantt.add_dependency("Task A", "Task B", type="FS") # Finish-to-Start (default)
gantt.add_dependency("Task A", "Task B", type="SS") # Start-to-Start
gantt.add_dependency("Task A", "Task B", type="FF") # Finish-to-Finish
gantt.add_dependency("Task A", "Task B", type="SF") # Start-to-Finish
Styling
# Title
gantt.title("Project Timeline")
gantt.title("Q1 2024 Roadmap", font_size=16)
# Color by category
gantt.color_by("category")
gantt.color_by("category", colors={
'Planning': '#3498db',
'Development': '#2ecc71',
'Testing': '#e74c3c'
})
# Color by assignee
gantt.color_by("assignee")
# Show progress bars
gantt.show_progress(True)
# Show today marker
gantt.show_today(True)
gantt.show_today(True, color='red', label='Today')
# Date range (auto-calculated by default)
gantt.date_range("2024-01-01", "2024-03-31")
# Grid lines
gantt.grid(show=True, style='weekly') # daily, weekly, monthly
Generation and Export
# Generate static chart (matplotlib)
gantt.generate()
# Generate interactive chart (plotly)
gantt.generate(interactive=True)
# Save static image
gantt.save("chart.png")
gantt.save("chart.svg")
gantt.save("chart.pdf")
# Save interactive HTML
gantt.save("chart.html")
# Get figure object for customization
fig = gantt.get_figure()
# Show in window/notebook
gantt.show()
Data Formats
CSV Format
task,start_date,end_date,progress,category,assignee
Research,2024-01-01,2024-01-07,100,Planning,Alice
Design,2024-01-08,2024-01-14,100,Planning,Bob
Backend Dev,2024-01-15,2024-01-28,75,Development,Alice
Frontend Dev,2024-01-15,2024-01-21,50,Development,Carol
Testing,2024-01-29,2024-02-04,0,QA,Dave
Task Dictionary Format
tasks = [
{
'name': 'Research',
'start': '2024-01-01',
'end': '2024-01-07',
'progress': 100,
'category': 'Planning',
'assignee': 'Alice'
},
{
'name': 'Design',
'start': '2024-01-08',
'end': '2024-01-14',
'progress': 75,
'category': 'Planning'
}
]
Date Formats
Supported date formats (auto-detected):
-
YYYY-MM-DD(ISO format, recommended) -
MM/DD/YYYY -
DD/MM/YYYY -
YYYY/MM/DD
CLI Usage
# Basic usage
python gantt_creator.py --input tasks.csv \
--task name --start start_date --end end_date \
--output gantt.png
# With progress and categories
python gantt_creator.py --input project.csv \
--task task --start begin --end finish \
--progress pct --category type \
--title "Project Timeline" \
--output timeline.png
# Interactive HTML
python gantt_creator.py --input tasks.csv \
--task name --start start --end end \
--interactive \
--output gantt.html
# With today marker
python gantt_creator.py --input tasks.csv \
--task name --start start --end end \
--show-today \
--output current_status.png
CLI Arguments
| --input
| Input CSV file
| Required
| --task
| Task name column
| Required
| --start
| Start date column
| Required
| --end
| End date column
| Required
| --progress
| Progress % column
| -
| --category
| Category column (for coloring)
| -
| --assignee
| Assignee column (for coloring)
| -
| --output
| Output file path
| gantt.png
| --title
| Chart title
| -
| --interactive
| Generate interactive HTML
| False
| --show-today
| Show today marker
| False
| --show-progress
| Show progress bars
| False
| --width
| Chart width
| 12
| --height
| Chart height
| 6
Examples
Simple Project Timeline
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
gantt.add_task("Planning", "2024-01-01", "2024-01-14")
gantt.add_task("Development", "2024-01-15", "2024-02-15")
gantt.add_task("Testing", "2024-02-16", "2024-02-28")
gantt.add_task("Deployment", "2024-03-01", "2024-03-07")
gantt.title("Project Alpha")
gantt.generate().save("project_alpha.png")
With Dependencies and Milestones
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
# Add tasks
gantt.add_task("Requirements", "2024-01-01", "2024-01-07")
gantt.add_task("Design", "2024-01-08", "2024-01-14")
gantt.add_task("Backend", "2024-01-15", "2024-01-28")
gantt.add_task("Frontend", "2024-01-15", "2024-01-21")
gantt.add_task("Integration", "2024-01-29", "2024-02-04")
gantt.add_task("Testing", "2024-02-05", "2024-02-11")
# Add milestones
gantt.add_milestone("Kickoff", "2024-01-01")
gantt.add_milestone("Code Freeze", "2024-02-04")
gantt.add_milestone("Launch", "2024-02-12")
# Add dependencies
gantt.add_dependency("Requirements", "Design")
gantt.add_dependency("Design", "Backend")
gantt.add_dependency("Design", "Frontend")
gantt.add_dependency("Backend", "Integration")
gantt.add_dependency("Frontend", "Integration")
gantt.add_dependency("Integration", "Testing")
gantt.title("Development Timeline")
gantt.generate().save("dev_timeline.png")
Color-Coded by Category
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
gantt.from_csv("tasks.csv", task="name", start="start", end="end", category="type")
gantt.color_by("category", colors={
'Backend': '#3498db',
'Frontend': '#2ecc71',
'DevOps': '#9b59b6',
'QA': '#e74c3c'
})
gantt.title("Sprint 5 Tasks")
gantt.show_today()
gantt.generate().save("sprint5.png")
Progress Tracking
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
gantt.add_task("Research", "2024-01-01", "2024-01-07", progress=100)
gantt.add_task("Design", "2024-01-08", "2024-01-14", progress=100)
gantt.add_task("Development", "2024-01-15", "2024-01-28", progress=60)
gantt.add_task("Testing", "2024-01-29", "2024-02-04", progress=0)
gantt.show_progress(True)
gantt.show_today(True)
gantt.title("Project Status")
gantt.generate().save("status.png")
Interactive HTML Chart
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
gantt.from_csv("project.csv", task="task", start="start", end="end",
progress="pct", category="team")
gantt.color_by("team")
gantt.show_progress(True)
gantt.title("Interactive Project View")
gantt.generate(interactive=True)
gantt.save("project.html")
Team Workload
gantt = GanttChartCreator()
# Alice's tasks
gantt.add_task("Alice: Research", "2024-01-01", "2024-01-07", assignee="Alice")
gantt.add_task("Alice: Backend", "2024-01-08", "2024-01-21", assignee="Alice")
# Bob's tasks
gantt.add_task("Bob: Design", "2024-01-01", "2024-01-14", assignee="Bob")
gantt.add_task("Bob: Frontend", "2024-01-15", "2024-01-28", assignee="Bob")
# Carol's tasks
gantt.add_task("Carol: Testing", "2024-01-22", "2024-02-04", assignee="Carol")
gantt.color_by("assignee", colors={
'Alice': '#3498db',
'Bob': '#2ecc71',
'Carol': '#e74c3c'
})
gantt.title("Team Workload - January")
gantt.generate().save("team_workload.png")
Dependencies
matplotlib>=3.7.0
plotly>=5.15.0
pandas>=2.0.0
kaleido>=0.2.0
Limitations
-
Static charts (matplotlib) have limited interactivity
-
Complex dependency networks may be hard to visualize
-
Date granularity is daily (no hour-level precision)
-
Maximum ~50 tasks for readable charts