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README

Dr. Alex Bajcz, Quantitative Ecologist, Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center 2026-06-09

ggplotplus – Universal Design additions for ggplot2

Quick Start Guide

To begin using the ggplotplus package, you’ll first need to install it from GitHub using the pak package:

# install.packages("devtools")  #IF NOT ALREADY INSTALLED
pak::pak("MAISRC/ggplotplus")

Then, load it alongside ggplot2:

# install.packages("ggplot2")  #IF NOT ALREADY INSTALLED
library(ggplot2)
library(ggplotplus)

Once loaded, you can start layering its _plus() tools onto your ggplot2 calls to improve their base design with minimal effort.

Using the tools

To access changes to ggplot2’s default design choices related to default color palettes, common geometry layers, and theme specifications, just add theme_plus() to your ggplot2 calls:

ggplot(iris, 
       mapping = aes(x = Petal.Length, 
                     y = Sepal.Length)) +
  geom_point(mapping = aes(color = Species)) + 
  theme_plus() #<--OVERHAULS THEME, GEOM, AND PALETTE RELATED DEFAULTS IN MANY WAYS. 

Taking it a step further

If you want to add thoughtful gridlines, bolster your continuous scales, and/or move your y-axis title to somewhere more thoughtful, add gridlines_plus(), scale_continuous_plus(), and yaxis_title_plus() to your ggplot calls, respective:

ggplot(iris, 
       mapping = aes(x = Petal.Length, 
                     y = Sepal.Length)) +
  geom_point(mapping = aes(color = Species)) + 
  theme_plus() +
  scale_continuous_plus( #<--OVERHAULS AXIS BREAKS AND LIMITS (FOR CONTINUOUS AXES ONLY!)
    scale = "x",
    name = "Petal length (cm)",
    thin.labels = TRUE) +  
  scale_continuous_plus(
    scale = "y", 
    name = "Sepal length (cm)") +
  yaxis_title_plus() + #<--RELOCATES AND RE-ORIENTS Y AXIS TITLE.
  gridlines_plus() + #<--ADDS THOUGHTFUL GRIDLINES, IF YOU *REALLY* WANT THEM.
  labs(color = expression(italic("Iris")*" species")) #<--THIS IS BASE GGPLOT2, BUT A NICE TOUCH!

Trying out some new shapes

ggplotplus also introduces a new palette of shapes designed to be more distinctive than the base point shapes available in R, accessible using geom_point_plus():

ggplot(iris, 
       mapping = aes(x = Petal.Length, 
                     y = Sepal.Length)) +
  geom_point_plus( #<--SWITCH TO THIS FUNCTION TO ACCESS THE NEW SHAPES
    mapping = aes(shape = Species, #<--YOU MUST MAP SHAPE HERE TO A VARIABLE OR CONSTANT
                  fill = Species),
    chosen_shapes = c("squircle", #<--CHOOSE YOUR CUSTOM SHAPES, IF DESIRED.
                      "waffle",
                      "oval")
    ) + 
  theme_plus() +
  scale_continuous_plus(
    scale = "x",
    name = "Petal length (cm)",
    thin.labels = TRUE) +  
  scale_continuous_plus(
    scale = "y", 
    name = "Sepal length (cm)") +
  yaxis_title_plus() +
  gridlines_plus() +
  labs(fill = expression(italic("Iris")*" species"), #<--WE NEED BOTH SCALES TO MATCH IN NAME EXACTLY FOR THEM TO COLLAPSE INTO 1.
       shape = expression(italic("Iris")*" species"))

The above graphs demonstrates how ggplotplus’s tools rethink the default design features of ggplot2. The intention is to yield a more opinionated, more universal product more quickly so you can spend less time fiddling with your graphs than you otherwise might.

However, there’s a lot more to know! If you want to dive deeper, please check out the full package guide.

Development

ggplotplus is currently under active development. Core functions are expected to remain relatively stable, but some parameters, features, and default settings may continue to evolve rapidly, and addressing bugs, inconsistencies, and gaps remains a high priority.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Allan Cameron (@Allan Cameron) for answers to Stack Overflow questions 79654995 and 79682150, which provided key coding elements enabling the functionality of yaxis_title_plus() and geom_point_plus(). Also, many thanks to Dr. Grant Vagle, who frequently provides testing and feedback on the development of this package.

These binaries (installable software) and packages are in development.
They may not be fully stable and should be used with caution. We make no claims about them.
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