plotly / plotly/plotly.py

Circular Import Dependency in Plotly Templates

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bug P1
Dominant language
Python
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Description

The issue is that plotly's template system has a circular import dependency:

  1. plotly.graph_objs.__init__.py imports all trace types including Heatmapgl
  2. During this import process, it also loads template data
  3. layout/template/data/_heatmapgl.py tries to import Heatmapgl from plotly.graph_objs
  4. But plotly.graph_objs is still in the process of being imported!

This occurred when attempting to use plotly and plotly-resampler and a heatmap.

Reproduction of Error

Minimal reproduction code:

import plotly.graph_objs as go
go.Heatmapgl()  # ✅ Success

# But this fails:
from plotly_resampler import FigureResampler
fig = FigureResampler(go.Figure())  # ❌ Circular import

Versions affected:

plotly==5.24.1
plotly-resampler==0.10.0

Work around

This can be worked around by forcing import order:

import plotly.graph_objs  # Force full initialization first
from plotly_resampler import FigureResampler  # Then import resampler

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Reproduce the failure with plotly==5.24.1 and plotly-resampler==0.10.0, then inspect plotly.graph_objs.init.py and layout/template/data/_heatmapgl.py. Trace the import order from the reported FigureResampler example. Done means the example imports and constructs the figure without requiring a manual plotly.graph_objs import first.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
data-visualization
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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