Matplotlib figure to image as a numpy array

Question

I\'m trying to get a numpy array image from a Matplotlib figure and I\'m currently doing it by saving to a file, then reading the file back in, but I feel like there has to

Answer 1

I think there is some update, which is easier.

canvas.draw()
buf = canvas.buffer_rgba()
X = np.asarray(buf)

Updated version from the docs:

from matplotlib.backends.backend_agg import FigureCanvasAgg
from matplotlib.figure import Figure
import numpy as np

# make a Figure and attach it to a canvas.
fig = Figure(figsize=(5, 4), dpi=100)
canvas = FigureCanvasAgg(fig)

# Do some plotting here
ax = fig.add_subplot(111)
ax.plot([1, 2, 3])

# Retrieve a view on the renderer buffer
canvas.draw()
buf = canvas.buffer_rgba()
# convert to a NumPy array
X = np.asarray(buf)