Semiotic MCP Server

Simple charts in 5 lines. Network graphs, streaming data, and coordinated dashboards when you need them. Structured schemas and an MCP server so AI coding assistants generate correct chart code on the first try.

import { LineChart } from "semiotic"

<LineChart
  data={salesData}
  xAccessor="month"
  yAccessor="revenue"
/>

Why Semiotic

Semiotic is a data visualization library for React that combines broad chart coverage with first-class AI tooling. It handles the chart types that most libraries skip — network graphs, streaming data, statistical distributions, coordinated views — and ships with machine-readable schemas so LLMs can generate correct code without examples.

Built for AI-assisted development

Semiotic ships with everything an AI coding assistant needs to generate correct visualizations without trial and error:

• semiotic/ai — a single import with all 37 chart components, optimized for LLM code generation
• ai/schema.json — machine-readable prop schemas for every component
• npx semiotic-mcp — an MCP server for tool-based chart rendering in any MCP client
• npx semiotic-ai --doctor — validate component + props JSON from the command line with typo suggestions and anti-pattern detection
• diagnoseConfig(component, props) — programmatic anti-pattern detector with 12 checks and actionable fixes
• CLAUDE.md — instruction files auto-synced for Claude, Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf, and Cline
• llms.txt — machine-readable documentation following the emerging standard

Every chart includes a built-in error boundary, dev-mode validation warnings with typo suggestions, and accessibility features (canvas aria-label, keyboard-navigable legends, aria-live tooltips, SVG <title>/<desc>) so AI-generated code fails gracefully with actionable diagnostics instead of a blank screen.

Beyond standard charts

Network visualization. Force-directed graphs, Sankey diagrams, chord diagrams, tree layouts, treemaps, circle packing, and orbit diagrams — all as React components with the same prop API as LineChart.

Streaming data. Realtime charts render on canvas at 60fps with a ref-based push API. Built-in decay, pulse, and staleness encoding for monitoring dashboards.

Coordinated views. LinkedCharts provides hover cross-highlighting, brush cross-filtering, and selection synchronization across any combination of chart types — zero wiring.

Geographic visualization. Choropleth maps, proportional symbol maps, flow maps with animated particles, and distance cartograms — all canvas-rendered with d3-geo projections, zoom/pan, tile basemaps, and drag-rotate globe spinning.

Statistical summaries. Box plots, violin plots, swarm plots, histograms, LOESS smoothing, forecast with confidence envelopes, and anomaly detection. Marginal distribution graphics on scatterplot axes with a single prop.

Start simple, go deep

Every Chart component accepts a frameProps prop to access the underlying Frame API without leaving the simpler interface.

Serialization and interop

Charts serialize to JSON and back: toConfig, fromConfig, toURL, copyConfig, configToJSX. Have Vega-Lite specs? fromVegaLite(spec) translates them to Semiotic configs — works with configToJSX() for full round-trip from notebooks and AI-generated specs.

When to use something else

Need a standard bar or line chart for a dashboard you'll never need to customize beyond colors and labels? Recharts has a larger ecosystem and more community examples. Need GPU-accelerated rendering for millions of data points? Apache ECharts handles that scale.

Semiotic is for projects that outgrow those libraries — when you need network graphs alongside time series, streaming data alongside static snapshots, or coordinated views across chart types.

Install

npm install semiotic

Requires React 18.1+ or React 19.

Quick Examples

Coordinated Dashboard

Hover one chart,