TikZ Package: Drawing Graphics in LaTeX

TikZ: Graphics in LaTeX

TikZ lets you create publication-quality diagrams directly in LaTeX.

TikZ in LaTeX: Draw Graphics

The smallest complete TikZ document:

1\documentclass{article}
2\usepackage{tikz}
3\begin{document}
4\begin{tikzpicture}
5  \draw (0,0) -- (2,1);
6\end{tikzpicture}
7\end{document}
Copy

A cheat sheet with lines, rectangles, circles, nodes, arrows and libraries. It compiles as written:

1\documentclass{article}
2\usepackage{tikz}
3\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta, positioning, shapes.geometric} % arrow tips, below=of, diamond
4\begin{document}
5\begin{tikzpicture}
6  % lines and shapes
7  \draw (0,0) -- (2,0);                          % line
8  \draw[thick, dashed, blue] (0,-0.5) -- (2,-0.5); % styled line
9  \draw (3,-0.5) rectangle (4.5,0.5);           % rectangle
10  \draw[fill=red!20] (6,0) circle (0.5);         % filled circle
11  % arrows
12  \draw[-{Stealth}] (0,-1.5) -- (2,-1.5);        % arrow at the end
13  \draw[{Stealth}-{Stealth}] (3,-1.5) -- (5,-1.5); % arrows at both ends
14  % nodes (text boxes) placed relative to each other
15  \node[draw, rounded corners] (a) at (0,-3) {Start};
16  \node[draw, diamond, aspect=2, right=of a] (b) {Test?};
17  \node[draw, circle, right=of b] (c) {End};
18  \draw[-{Stealth}] (a) -- (b);
19  \draw[-{Stealth}] (b) -- node[above] {yes} (c);
20\end{tikzpicture}
21\end{document}
Copy

Getting Started

\usepackage{tikz}

Basic drawing environment:

\begin{tikzpicture} ...drawing commands... \end{tikzpicture}

Basic Shapes

Lines

\draw (0,0) -- (2,0); — horizontal line

\draw (0,0) -- (2,2); — diagonal line

Rectangles

\draw (0,0) rectangle (2,1);

Circles

\draw (0,0) circle (1cm);

Ellipses

\draw (0,0) ellipse (2cm and 1cm);

Coordinates

Cartesian

(x, y) — x units right, y units up

Relative

++(1,1) — relative to current position

Named

\coordinate (A) at (0,0); \draw (A) -- (B);

Nodes

Nodes are points with optional labels:

Basic Node

\node at (0,0) {Text};

Positioned Node

\node[above] at (0,0) {Label above};

\node[below right] at (0,0) {Below right};

Styled Node

\node[circle, draw, fill=blue!20] {A};

Paths

Draw (stroked path)

\draw (0,0) -- (1,1) -- (2,0);

Fill (filled path)

\fill[blue] (0,0) rectangle (1,1);

Filldraw (both)

\filldraw[fill=yellow, draw=black] (0,0) circle (1);

Styling

Line Styles

\draw[dashed] (0,0) -- (2,0);

\draw[dotted] (0,0) -- (2,0);

\draw[thick] (0,0) -- (2,0);

\draw[line width=2pt] (0,0) -- (2,0);

Colors

\draw[red] (0,0) -- (1,1);

\draw[blue!50] (0,0) -- (1,1); — 50% blue

Arrows

\draw[->] (0,0) -- (2,0); — arrow at end

\draw[<->] (0,0) -- (2,0); — arrows both ends

\draw[->, thick] (0,0) -- (2,0);

Curved Paths

Bezier Curves

\draw (0,0) .. controls (1,1) .. (2,0);

Smooth Curves Through Points

\draw plot[smooth] coordinates {(0,0) (1,1) (2,0)};

Arcs

\draw (0,0) arc (0:90:1cm); — start:end:radius

Grids

\draw[step=1cm, gray, thin] (0,0) grid (4,4);

Transformations

Shift

\draw[shift={(1,1)}] (0,0) circle (0.5);

Scale

\draw[scale=2] (0,0) rectangle (1,1);

Rotate

\draw[rotate=45] (0,0) rectangle (1,1);

TikZ Libraries

Load additional features:

\usetikzlibrary{shapes, arrows, positioning}

Common libraries: - shapes — more shapes - arrows — arrow styles - positioning — relative positioning - calc — coordinate calculations - patterns — fill patterns

Flowcharts

With shapes and arrows:

\node[rectangle, draw] (start) {Start}; \node[rectangle, draw, below=of start] (process) {Process}; \draw[->] (start) -- (process);

Mathematical Plots

\draw[domain=0:2*pi, samples=100] plot (\x, {sin(\x r)});

Common Patterns

Labeled Diagram

\node[circle, draw] (A) at (0,0) {A}; \node[circle, draw] (B) at (2,0) {B}; \draw[->] (A) -- node[above] {edge} (B);

Coordinate System

\draw[->] (-0.5,0) -- (3,0) node[right] {$x$}; \draw[->] (0,-0.5) -- (0,3) node[above] {$y$};

Common TikZ Errors and Fixes

"Package tikz Error: Giving up on this path. Did you forget a semicolon?" Every \draw, \node, \fill and \path command must end with ;. The error points at the line after the missing semicolon.

"I do not know the key '/tikz/...'" The option is misspelled or comes from a library you have not loaded: -{Stealth} needs arrows.meta, diamond and ellipse shapes need shapes.geometric, and below=of a needs positioning (without it TikZ reports "Unknown function 'of'").

"No shape named a is known" A path refers to a node name before the node is defined, or the name is misspelled. Define nodes first, then draw the edges between them.

"Dimension too large" in plots. A plotted function grows beyond TeX's limit (about 16384 pt). Restrict the domain, for example domain=0:2, or use pgfplots with \pgfplotsset{compat=1.18} for function plots.

"Undefined control sequence \usetikzlibrary" \usetikzlibrary is used before \usepackage{tikz}. Load tikz first. The old arrows library still works but is deprecated; use arrows.meta.

TikZ FAQ

What is TikZ in LaTeX?

TikZ is a LaTeX package (built on the PGF graphics layer) for drawing vector graphics with code: diagrams, flowcharts, graphs, circuits and plots. Load it with \usepackage{tikz} and draw inside a tikzpicture environment.

Do I need to install TikZ?

No. TikZ is part of the pgf package, which ships with TeX Live, MacTeX and MiKTeX (MiKTeX installs it on first use). Online editors such as Octree have it ready.

How do I export a TikZ picture as a PDF or PNG?

Put the picture in its own file with \documentclass[tikz]{standalone}; the PDF is cropped to the drawing and can be included elsewhere with \includegraphics or converted to PNG.

Can I convert an image to TikZ code?

Yes: Image to TikZ turns a sketch, screenshot or photo of a diagram into editable TikZ, and the TikZ generator writes TikZ from a text description.

What is the difference between TikZ and pgfplots?

TikZ draws general graphics; pgfplots is built on TikZ and is designed for data and function plots with axes, legends and ticks (\begin{axis}...\end{axis}).

Create TikZ Diagrams with Octree

Octree helps with TikZ:

- Preview diagrams in real-time - AI suggests correct syntax - Visual coordinate feedback - Export vector graphics

Try it at https://useoctree.com