iChart.js 2.0

iChart.js 2.0 is an Agent-first, renderer-independent visualization runtime. An Agent can inspect data, choose an appropriate chart, generate and validate a JSON-friendly Spec, render it with SVG or Canvas, and explain the result through public APIs.

Use it in one of three ways: integrate the Runtime into a web project, let a Coding Agent modify a project, or install the official Skill so an Agent can orchestrate chart selection and delivery. The Runtime produces interactive pages, SVG/PNG/JPEG artifacts, JSON checkpoints, and integration code; the Skill does not replace the Runtime.

For AI Agents

Do not guess chart types or configuration fields from source code. Use the public planning contract:

getCapabilities
  → inspectData
  → planChart
  → getChartContract
  → build Spec
  → validateSpec
  → createChart
  → chart.explain + chart.getState

Agent entry points

The public runtime entries are independent. A focused application can import @taylorwong/ichartjs/standard, /project, /diagram, or /board directly; a Profile entry does not require importing the root entry first. Import the root package when the Agent needs cross-family discovery or the complete API. The runnable consumer fixtures are examples/consumer-quickstart.mjs and examples/consumer-browser.html.

For Agent-driven Incremental Construction, keep a live JavaScript host and build Flow or Freeform Board in complete, previewed, host-approved steps. The Skill guides this process but does not create a live Agent connection by itself. Flow can reflow unpositioned nodes; Board preserves composition. Prefer one validated render for simple one-off outputs; see usage scenarios for prerequisites and final delivery.

Install

npm install @taylorwong/ichartjs@^2

If the npm registry is unavailable, install directly from GitHub as a fallback: npm install github:wanghetommy/ichartjs#v2.0.29.

For a reproducible release-pinned install, use npm install @taylorwong/[email protected] instead of the moving @^2 range.

Optional Agent Skill

The runtime API remains the source of truth; the Skill only teaches and orchestrates the workflow. Codex, WorkBuddy, and other Agent Skills-compatible hosts can import the same versioned Skill from:

https://github.com/wanghetommy/ichartjs/tree/master/skills/ichartjs

Install the latest Skill with the standard Agent Skills CLI:

npx skills add wanghetommy/ichartjs --skill ichartjs

For a non-interactive global Codex installation:

npx skills add wanghetommy/ichartjs --skill ichartjs --agent codex --global --yes

For a release-pinned installation, use npx skills add https://github.com/wanghetommy/ichartjs/tree/v2.0.29/skills/ichartjs --agent codex --global --yes. WorkBuddy users can import the same tagged skills/ichartjs URL through the host’s Skill interface; do not assume a --agent workbuddy adapter unless the installed CLI declares it. Package consumers can still copy node_modules/@taylorwong/ichartjs/skills/ichartjs as a manual fallback. After installation, invoke $ichartjs when named Skill invocation is supported, or select ichartjs in the host UI.

Agent workflow

import {
  createChart,
  getCapabilities,
  getChartContract,
  inspectData,
  planChart,
  validateSpec
} from '@taylorwong/ichartjs';

const rows = [
  { id: 'jan', month: 'Jan', revenue: 120 },
  { id: 'feb', month: 'Feb', revenue: 148 },
  { id: 'mar', month: 'Mar', revenue: 136 }
];

const capabilities = getCapabilities();
const inspection = inspectData(rows);
const plan = planChart(rows, { intent: 'trend', renderer: 'svg' });
const contract = getChartContract(plan.primary);

const candidate = {
  type: plan.primary,
  renderer: 'svg',
  data: { values: rows },
  encoding: {
    x: { field: plan.suggestedEncodings.dimension },
    y: { field: plan.suggestedEncodings.measure }
  },
  accessibility: { enabled: true },
  theme: {
    mode: 'auto',
    preset: plan.styleRecommendation.preset,
    palette: plan.styleRecommendation.palette
  }
};

const validation = validateSpec(candidate);
if (!validation.valid) throw new Error(JSON.stringify(validation.errors));

const chart = createChart(validation.spec);
const agentResult = {
  contractVersion: capabilities.contractVersion,
  chartContract: contract,
  inspection,
  plan,
  explanation: chart.explain(),
  state: chart.getState()
};

chart.destroy();

Run the complete executable workflow with:

npm run example:agent

Source: examples/agent-workflow.mjs.

Agent rules

• Call getCapabilities() instead of inventing chart types or options.
• Treat inspectData() field roles and units as inferences, not business truth.
• Stop and report plan.requiredFields when required data is missing.
• Call validateSpec() before every render or edit.
• Preserve stable source record IDs for selection, linking, and explanation.
• Return assumptions, warnings, unsupported requests, and validation diagnostics to the user.
• Use chart.explain() and chart.getState() for self-checking.
• Never generate geographic or 3D Specs unless the capability contract adds them.

Integration boundary

iChart.js is a JavaScript UI component library. Coding Agents use the same ESM API as developers and may optionally load the Skill for workflow guidance. A daily-use assistant can use iChart.js only inside a host web application that runs JavaScript; integrating a non-coding assistant is the host application’s responsibility. The core package does not add a CLI, MCP server, HTTP service, or Python runtime.

Preview and Acceptance

Start the cache-safe local server:

npm run playground

• Playground Home: http://localhost:3000/playground/index.html
• GitHub Promo: http://localhost:3000/playground/github-promo.html
• Agent Workbench: http://localhost:3000/playground/agent-workbench.html
• Complete Gallery: http://localhost:3000/playground/project-gallery.html
• Profile Loading: http://localhost:3000/playground/profile-loading.html
• Foundational Gallery: http://localhost:3000/playground/foundational-gallery.html
• Theme Gallery: http://localhost:3000/playground/theme-gallery.html
• Page Preferences: http://localhost:3000/playground/preferences-lab.html
• Freeform Board: http://localhost:3000/playground/canvas-board.html (four steps with Next, Previous step and Restart; developer tools contain preview/confirm and save/reload; use ?scenario=composition for the full composition or ?renderer=canvas for Canvas).
• Business Editing: http://localhost:3000/playground/editing.html
• Project Intelligence: http://localhost:3000/playground/project-intelligence.html
• Diagram Editor / Incremental Flow: http://localhost:3000/playground/diagram-editor.html; four steps with Next, Previous step and Restart. Use ?scenario=editor for manual editing or ?scenario=advanced for explicit command preview/confirmation.
• Interaction Lab: http://localhost:3000/playground/interaction-lab.html
• Accessibility Lab: http://localhost:3000/playground/accessibility-lab.html
• Performance Lab: http://localhost:3000/playground/performance-lab.html

For Developers

Use the main package entry when the chart type and Spec are already known:

import { createChart } from '@taylorwong/ichartjs';

const chart = createChart({
  container: '#chart',
  type: 'line',
  renderer: 'svg',
  data: {
    values: [
      { id: 'jan', month: 'Jan', sales: 120 },
      { id: 'feb', month: 'Feb', sales: 180 }
    ]
  },
  encoding: {
    x: { field: 'month', type: 'category' },
    y: { field: 'sales', type: 'quantitative' }
  },
  title: { text: 'Monthly Sales' }
});

Recipes are declarative starting templates, not executable tasks. Agents should copy a recipe, inject host-owned data or nodes, validate it with the validator declared in @taylorwong/ichartjs/recipes/manifest, and only then render or preview an edit. The public package includes ESM exports, TypeScript declarations, Agent documentation, manifests, recipes, examples, and the official Skill. The runtime has no external production dependency.

Supported Surface

• Foundational charts: Line, Area, Bar, Column, Pie/Donut, Scatter, Funnel, Gauge, Heatmap, and Radar.
• Project views: Gantt, Timeline, Milestone, and Burndown.
• Diagrams: Flow, Swimlane, Architecture, and Mindmap with groups, ports, routing, and controlled editing.
• Freeform Board: bounded image, text, shape, connector, and embedded-chart composition with SVG/Canvas output.
• Renderers: SVG and Canvas.
• Agent contracts: capability discovery, data inspection, planning, validation, explanation, lineage, diagnostics, and safe editing.
• Branding signature: low-contrast Powered by iChart.js bottom-right watermark, consistent across live view and all export formats; controlled via branding on Spec/Theme.
• Exports: JSON (spec + runtime state, all environments), SVG (vector, zero-dependency headless), PNG/JPEG (raster, dual-engine, browser native + headless with optional canvas dependency), plus browser downloadPNG/SVG/JSON helpers.
• Deferred: geographic charts and 3D rendering.

Development

Checks + playground (for all contributors):

npm run agent:check
npm run playground

README and Quickstart JavaScript snippets are extracted from Markdown and executed by npm run docs:snippets (Node) and npm run test:browser (DOM mounting). Node snippet checks also run in npm test and npm run agent:check on CI. Invisible docs-check markers bind each snippet to its test scenario; new JavaScript blocks must be registered rather than silently skipped. These checks never run installation, Skill setup, or release shell commands from the documentation.

Release (AUTHOR ONLY)

Publishing to npm (@taylorwong/ichartjs) and merging develop → master are restricted to the package author (GitHub + npm account taylorwong) due to 2FA and access control.

Contributors should:

1. Open PRs / commit only to develop
2. Ensure npm run agent:check and npm test are green

Full author-only release SOP (preconditions, release sequence, must-not rules, and rollback procedure): 👉 docs/agent/development/release-sop.md

Start with docs/agent/quickstart.md. Detailed runtime, charting, project, diagram, and editing contracts live in docs/agent/.

Contribution requirements are in CONTRIBUTING.md. Report vulnerabilities privately according to SECURITY.md.