# KLineChart: a canvas candlestick chart with zero dependencies > KLineChart is a TypeScript k-line chart rendered on html5 canvas, published on npm as klinecharts and licensed Apache-2.0. It fits trading and market-data front ends that need candles, indicators and drawing tools without pulling in a charting framework. **klinecharts/KLineChart** — 📈Lightweight k-line chart that can be highly customized. Zero dependencies. Support mobile.（可高度自定义的轻量级k线图，无第三方依赖，支持移动端） - Repository: https://github.com/klinecharts/KLineChart - Website: https://klinecharts.com/ - Stars: 4,185 · Forks: 1,003 - Language: TypeScript - License: Apache-2.0 - Published: 2026-09-23 · Updated: 2026-09-23 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/klinecharts-klinechart ## What klinecharts/KLineChart is for The repository describes KLineChart as a lightweight k-line chart built with html5 canvas. A k-line chart is the candlestick view used to show open, high, low and close over time, and the project targets that specific shape of data rather than charts in general. The topics list on the repository names the audience directly: candlestick, exchange, finance, kline, stock, stockchart, technical-indicators, time-line. So the intended user is someone building a market-data interface: an exchange front end, a broker dashboard, a portfolio screen, a backtesting report. The README claims two properties that matter for that job. Zero dependencies, and about 40k under gzip compression. For a front end that already carries a framework, a state library and a data client, a chart that adds no transitive packages is a different proposition from one that pulls in a rendering stack of its own. The project is written in TypeScript and ships type definitions, so the API surface is typed rather than described only in prose. The homepage is klinecharts.com, and the README links a preview at preview.klinecharts.com that it calls a more complete example. ## Canvas rendering, indicators and drawing models KLineChart draws to an html5 canvas rather than building a DOM tree of SVG nodes. That choice is visible in the README's first line and in the package description in package.json. For a candlestick chart, which redraws a dense series on every pan, zoom and crosshair move, canvas avoids the per-element cost that a node-based chart pays. The trade-off is that nothing in the chart is a DOM element, so you cannot select a candle with a CSS selector or attach a normal event listener to it. Interaction has to go through the library's API. The README lists built-in indicators and line drawing models as features, and says the chart is highly scalable through style configuration and API. That is the extension story: you configure appearance and add behaviour rather than forking the renderer. The README does not enumerate which indicators ship in the box, so treat the exact list as something to confirm on the documentation site before you plan around it. The package layout backs the module story. package.json declares "type": "module" and an exports map with three entries: dist/index.esm.js for import, dist/index.cjs for default, and dist/index.d.ts for types. A separate unpkg field points at dist/umd/klinecharts.min.js, which is the file the CDN snippets load. The published files array is short: LICENSE, README.md, dist/, licenses/ and NOTICE. That is a small install footprint and no build step on your side. ## Installing klinecharts and drawing a first chart The README gives npm and yarn as the two package-manager routes. Both install the same package under the name klinecharts. ```bash npm install klinecharts --save ``` After the install, klinecharts appears in your dependencies and the importable entry points are the ones in the exports map. The README does not print a JavaScript usage snippet, so the initialization call itself is not shown in the repository's front page. The online documentation at klinecharts.com is where the README sends you for that, and the preview site is described as a more complete example. Read those before writing the first chart, because the v10 API is what the current documentation describes. If you would rather not go through a bundler, the README offers two CDN script tags, one for unpkg and one for jsDelivr, both loading the minified UMD build. ```html ``` The script tag exposes the library globally, which is the path for a plain HTML page or a CMS template. The same file is available from jsDelivr at https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/klinecharts/dist/klinecharts.min.js. If you want to run the documentation locally instead of reading the hosted site, the README gives these commands from the repository root, and notes that Node.js is required. ```bash pnpm install pnpm run docs:dev ``` The README states that after a successful start the documentation is served at http://localhost:8888. Building the library itself uses pnpm install followed by pnpm run build, with output written to the dist folder. ## Where KLineChart is the wrong tool The README does not document rollback, and it does not describe a migration path between major versions. v10.0.3 is the current release, with v10.0.1 and v10.0.2 shipped within the preceding month. If you are upgrading from an older major line, the repository front page gives you nothing to plan with. Budget time to read the documentation's own version notes rather than assuming the API is stable across majors. The bigger boundary is scope. This is a financial time-series chart. If your data is a scatter plot, a network graph, a geographic map or a generic dashboard metric, the candlestick and indicator machinery is weight you will not use. A general charting library is the better fit there. There is also a ceiling on how much the library does for you. The README describes configuration and extension APIs, not a finished product. It links KLineChart Pro separately, calling it a financial chart built out of the box based on KLineChart. That link is the project's own admission that the base library leaves assembly work to you: panels, symbol search, timezone handling, data plumbing. If you expected a drop-in terminal, you are looking at the wrong package in the family. Finally, the 40k gzip figure is the README's claim about the library, not a measurement of your bundle. Your build, your indicator set and your wrapper code all sit on top of it. ## KLineChart compared with TradingView's lightweight-charts The closest widely used alternative for the same job is TradingView's lightweight-charts, which appears in the related searches as "Lightweight charts candlestick example". Both render candles to canvas and both aim at a small bundle, so the difference is not the rendering model. The difference is what comes in the box. KLineChart's README lists built-in indicators and line drawing models as first-class features, and its topics include technical-indicators. That means the indicator and drawing-tool layer is part of the library's own API. A lightweight-charts integration typically puts that layer in your application code or in a separate package, which gives you more control over the math and more code to write. The second difference is the ecosystem around the project. KLineChart points to KLineChart Pro as an out-of-the-box financial chart built on top of the library, and to preview.klinecharts.com as a fuller example. If you want a maintained, opinionated layer above the primitives, that is the path. If you want the smallest possible primitive and intend to own everything above it, the trade runs the other way. Neither choice is settled by bundle size alone. Decide by asking which indicators and drawing behaviours you need on day one, and whether you want to implement them or configure them. ## Licence, maintenance and upgrade cost KLineChart is released under the Apache License V2, stated both in the README and in the license field of package.json. The published package includes LICENSE, NOTICE and a licenses/ directory, so the distribution carries attribution material alongside the code. Apache-2.0 includes an explicit patent grant and requires that notices be preserved. If you redistribute the library inside a product, read NOTICE and the licenses/ folder rather than assuming the licence file alone tells the whole story. This is a description of what the repository ships, not legal advice. The repository is not archived, and its last push was on 2026-09-18, days before the current release line. Releases are frequent: v10.0.1, v10.0.2 and v10.0.3 all landed between 2026-07-31 and 2026-08-27. That cadence is good for fixes and less good for stability, because a fast patch stream on a major version means you should pin a version and read the release notes before moving. Upgrade cost is the part the README does not help with. There is no migration guide on the front page, no deprecation table, and no statement about how long a major line is supported. The repository does carry a SECURITY.md and a CONTRIBUTING.md, so the process for reporting problems exists, but version policy is not documented on the front page. Plan to pin klinecharts in package.json and to verify each bump against the docs site. ## Conclusion Adopt klinecharts when you are building a trading or market-data view in TypeScript and want candle rendering, indicators and drawing tools that you style yourself, with no third-party runtime dependencies. Skip it if you need charts that are not financial time series, or if you want a finished trading terminal rather than a charting library, since the README points to KLineChart Pro for that. Before committing, check the v10 API on klinecharts.com against the version you pin, confirm the 40k gzip figure against your own bundle, and read NOTICE and licenses/ to see what the Apache-2.0 distribution carries. ## FAQ ### How do I install klinecharts? The README gives two package-manager commands: npm install klinecharts --save, or yarn add klinecharts. There are also unpkg and jsDelivr script tags that load dist/klinecharts.min.js directly in a browser. ### Does klinecharts have any third-party dependencies? The README states the library is zero dependencies and about 40k under gzip compression. The published package contains only LICENSE, README.md, dist/, licenses/ and NOTICE. ### Can I use klinecharts on mobile? Yes. Mobile support is listed as a feature in the README, described as one chart handling multiple terminals. The chart renders to html5 canvas rather than DOM nodes. ### How do I run the klinecharts documentation locally? From the repository root, run pnpm install and then pnpm run docs:dev. The README states the documentation is then served at http://localhost:8888. Node.js is required. ## Sources - [klinecharts/KLineChart on GitHub](https://github.com/klinecharts/KLineChart) - [License: Apache-2.0](https://github.com/klinecharts/KLineChart/blob/main/LICENSE) - [Project website](https://klinecharts.com/) - [README](https://github.com/klinecharts/KLineChart/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/klinecharts/KLineChart/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/klinecharts-klinechart