plotly / plotly/plotly.py

[BUG]: contours.size initialization does not apply the specified value, but updates via dropdown work correctly

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bug good first issue good for agent P3 size: 1
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Description

Description

When initializing a go.Contour trace with a specific contours.size value (e.g., 0.25), the setting is ignored on the initial render, and Plotly defaults to an automatically calculated contour step size.

Interestingly, if the exact same parameter ("contours.size") is later updated dynamically via a layout updatemenus dropdown using the "restyle" method, the chart correctly updates and respects the specified size.

Screenshots/Video
  • Initial Render (Buggy): The contours are spaced at default intervals despite contours.size=0.25 being passed to the constructor.
Image
  • After Selecting Dropdown (Expected): Selecting "Contour Size: 0.25" from the dropdown forces the chart to restyle, properly displaying the dense 0.25-step contour lines.
Image
Steps to reproduce
  1. Run the provided Python snippet using plotly.py.
  2. Observe the initial plot render: notice that the contour lines do not match a step size of 0.25.
  3. Click the dropdown menu at the top left of the figure.
  4. Select the "Contour Size: 0.25" option.
  5. Notice that the plot immediately visualizes a much denser set of contours, behaving as it should have upon initialization.
import plotly
import plotly.graph_objects as go

print(f"Plotly version: {plotly.__version__}")

z_data = [
    [10, 10.625, 12.5, 15.625, 20],
    [5.625, 6.25, 8.125, 11.25, 15.625],
    [2.5, 3.125, 5.0, 8.125, 12.5],
    [0.625, 1.25, 3.125, 6.25, 10.625],
    [0, 0.625, 2.5, 5.625, 10],
]

fig = go.Figure(
    data=go.Contour(
        z=z_data,
        contours=dict(size=0.25),
        colorbar=dict(
            title=dict(
                text="Color bar title",
                side="right",
                font=dict(size=14, family="Arial, sans-serif"),
            )
        ),
    )
)

# This assertion passes, proving the property is registered in python-land
assert fig.data[0].contours.size == 0.25

fig.update_layout(
    updatemenus=[
        dict(
            type="dropdown",
            buttons=[
                dict(
                    label="Contour Size: 0.25",
                    method="restyle",
                    args=[{"contours.size": 0.25}],
                ),
                dict(
                    label="Contour Size: 1.0",
                    method="restyle",
                    args=[{"contours.size": 1.0}],
                ),
                dict(
                    label="Contour Size: 2.0",
                    method="restyle",
                    args=[{"contours.size": 2.0}],
                ),
            ],
        )
    ]
)

fig.show()

Notes
  • The internal Python object structure correctly holds the contours.size value (as verified by the passing assert fig.data[0].contours.size == 0.25 statement).
  • The version of plotly.py is 6.8.0.

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

Start with the provided Python reproduction, especially go.Contour and the contours.size assignment, then compare initial rendering with the layout updatemenus restyle path. Trace where the constructor value is passed to rendering and verify that an initial contours.size of 0.25 produces the same contour spacing as selecting the dropdown option.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
plotly, python
Domain
data-visualization
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
55/100

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