---
layout: default
title: vis.js
---
# vis.js
Vis.js is a dynamic, browser based visualization library.
The library is designed to be easy to use, to handle large amounts
of dynamic data, and to enable manipulation of the data.
The library consists of Timeline, LineChart, LineChart3d, Graph, and Treegrid.
Vis.js Library is part of [CHAP](http://chap.almende.com),
the Common Hybrid Agent Platform, developed by [Almende B.V](http://almende.com).
## Install
Install via npm:
npm install vis
Install via bower:
bower install vis
Or download the library from the github project:
[https://github.com/almende/vis.git](https://github.com/almende/vis.git).
## Load
To use a component, include the javascript file of vis in your webpage:
```html
```
or load vis.js using require.js:
```js
require.config({
paths: {
vis: 'path/to/vis',
}
});
require(['vis'], function (math) {
// ... load a visualization
});
```
A timeline can be instantiated as:
```js
var timeline = new Timeline(container, data, options);
```
Where `container` is an HTML element, `data` is an Array with data or a DataSet,
and `options` is an optional object with configuration options for the
component.
## Example
A basic example on loading a Timeline is shown below. More examples can be
found in the [examples directory](https://github.com/almende/vis/tree/master/examples)
of the project.
```html
Timeline basic demo
```
## Build
To build the library from source, clone the project from github
git clone git://github.com/almende/vis.git
The project uses [jake](https://github.com/mde/jake) as build tool.
The build script uses [Browserify](http://browserify.org/) to
bundle the source code into a library,
and uses [UglifyJS](http://lisperator.net/uglifyjs/) to minify the code.
The source code uses the module style of node (require and module.exports) to
organize dependencies.
To install all dependencies and build the library, run `npm install` in the
root of the project.
cd vis
npm install
To be able to run jake from the command line, jake must be installed globally:
sudo npm install -g jake
Then, the project can be build by executing jake in the root of the project:
jake
## License
Copyright (C) 2010-2013 Almende B.V.
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.