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word_cloud

A Python library and command-line tool that turns text into word cloud images.

GitHub Download 1.9.6
Stars
10.5k
Forks
2.3k
Licence
MIT
Language
Python
Last update
10 months ago
Type
Library

What it is

word_cloud is a Python library that draws word clouds, images where words appear larger the more often they occur in a text. You can use it from Python code or from a command-line tool that reads a text file, or piped text, and writes a PNG image. It depends on numpy, pillow, and matplotlib, and it is MIT licensed.

  • Generate a word cloud PNG from a text file with wordcloud_cli --text mytext.txt --imagefile wordcloud.png
  • Pipe the text of a PDF through pdftotext into wordcloud_cli to make a cloud from a document
  • Run examples/simple.py as a short starting point for your own code
  • Run examples/masked.py to shape the cloud using an image mask

Great for

  • Python developers who want to add word clouds to a script or report
  • People who want a quick picture of the most common words in a document
  • Users who can run a command-line tool to turn a text file into an image
  • Anyone who wants to shape a cloud into a custom image using a mask

Not ideal for

  • People who need a point-and-click tool with no coding or terminal use, since the README describes only code and command-line usage
  • Users who need word clouds in a browser; the README does not mention a web app
  • Projects needing an installation with no compiler, since the README says a C compiler may be required if no wheel exists for your Python version
Step-by-step guide: how to use word_cloudInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

How to get it

  1. 1

    Install with a package manager

    You'll need: Python 3.7 or newer (the README says it is tested against 3.7 through 3.13)

    Install with pip

    pip install wordcloud

    Or install with conda from conda-forge

    conda install -c conda-forge wordcloud
  2. 2

    Run it

    • Install the package with pip install wordcloud
    • Save some text to a file such as mytext.txt
    • Run wordcloud_cli --text mytext.txt --imagefile wordcloud.png
    • Open wordcloud.png to see the result
  3. 3

    Get the most out of it

    • Run wordcloud_cli --help to see all available command-line options
    • Look at examples/masked.py to shape the cloud with an image mask
    • Use the font_path setting on a WordCloud object to change the font
    • Pipe PDF text through pdftotext for documents that are not plain text

Downloads

Source code (.zip)main branch · straight from GitHubRelease 1.9.6Release notes and sourceOfficial website & docsamueller.github.io/word_cloud

Strengths

  • Simple to start: the README shows a pip install and a single command-line example
  • Supports masks, colors, and non-Latin scripts such as Arabic, as shown in the README examples
  • MIT licensed and widely starred, with a long-running project behind it

Trade-offs

  • Documentation in the README is brief; deeper options are only pointed to through examples and --help
  • Installation may require a C compiler if prebuilt wheels are not available for your Python version
  • It produces static images only, as far as the README shows

Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.