How can I set the 'backend' in matplotlib in Python?

This can also be set in the configuration file matplotlibrc (as explained in the error message), for instance:

# The default backend; one of GTK GTKAgg GTKCairo GTK3Agg GTK3Cairo
# CocoaAgg MacOSX Qt4Agg Qt5Agg TkAgg WX WXAgg Agg Cairo GDK PS PDF SVG
backend : Agg

That way, the backend does not need to be hardcoded if the code is shared with other people. For more information, check the documentation.

Your currently selected backend, 'agg' does not support show().

AGG backend is for writing to file, not for rendering in a window. See the backend FAQ at the matplotlib web site.

ImportError: No module named _backend_gdk

For the second error, maybe your matplotlib distribution is not compiled with GTK support, or you miss the PyGTK package. Try to install it.

Do you call the show() method inside a terminal or application that has access to a graphical environment?

Try other GUI backends, in this order:

• TkAgg
• wxAgg
• Qt5Agg
• Qt4Agg

FYI, I found I needed to put matplotlib.use('Agg') first in Python import order. For what I was doing (unit testing needed to be headless) that meant putting

import matplotlib
matplotlib.use('Agg')

at the top of my master test script. I didn't have to touch any other files.