A hive plot arranges network nodes on radial axes based on node properties (such as degree, category, or other attributes), enabling reproducible and directly comparable network visualizations. Unlike force-directed layouts which can produce different arrangements for identical networks, hive plots always render the same network identically, solving the "hairball" problem of traditional network graphs and making structural comparisons reliable.
#' anyplot.ai
#' hive-basic: Basic Hive Plot
#' Library: ggplot2 3.5.1 | R 4.4.1
#' Quality: 90/100 | Created: 2026-09-05
library(ggplot2)
library(dplyr)
library(tibble)
library(ragg)
set.seed(42)
# --- Theme tokens -----------------------------------------------------------
THEME <- Sys.getenv("ANYPLOT_THEME", "light")
PAGE_BG <- if (THEME == "light") "#FAF8F1" else "#1A1A17"
ELEVATED_BG <- if (THEME == "light") "#FFFDF6" else "#242420"
INK <- if (THEME == "light") "#1A1A17" else "#F0EFE8"
INK_SOFT <- if (THEME == "light") "#4A4A44" else "#B8B7B0"
INK_MUTED <- if (THEME == "light") "#6B6A63" else "#A8A79F"
IMPRINT_PALETTE <- c("#009E73", "#C475FD", "#4467A3", "#BD8233",
"#AE3030", "#2ABCCD", "#954477", "#99B314")
# --- Data: software module dependency network -------------------------------
module_types <- c("core", "utility", "interface")
n_per_type <- c(core = 12, utility = 10, interface = 8)
nodes <- bind_rows(lapply(module_types, function(m) {
tibble(id = paste0(m, "_", seq_len(n_per_type[[m]])), type = m)
}))
sample_edges <- function(from_type, to_type, n) {
from_ids <- nodes$id[nodes$type == from_type]
to_ids <- nodes$id[nodes$type == to_type]
tibble(
from = sample(from_ids, n, replace = TRUE),
to = sample(to_ids, n, replace = TRUE),
weight = sample(1:5, n, replace = TRUE)
)
}
# Layered dependency edges: core -> utility -> interface, plus core -> interface
edges <- bind_rows(
sample_edges("core", "utility", 22),
sample_edges("utility", "interface", 18),
sample_edges("core", "interface", 10)
) %>%
filter(from != to) %>%
distinct(from, to, .keep_all = TRUE) %>%
mutate(edge_id = row_number())
# Node position along its axis is degree-based: higher-degree modules sit
# farther from the hive center, surfacing the busiest dependency hubs.
degree_tbl <- tibble(id = c(edges$from, edges$to)) %>% count(id, name = "degree")
nodes <- nodes %>%
left_join(degree_tbl, by = "id") %>%
mutate(degree = ifelse(is.na(degree), 0, degree)) %>%
group_by(type) %>%
mutate(radius = 0.18 + 0.78 * (rank(degree, ties.method = "first") - 1) / (n() - 1)) %>%
ungroup()
# --- Axis geometry: 3 radial axes, 120 degrees apart ------------------------
axis_angle <- c(core = pi / 2, utility = pi / 2 + 2 * pi / 3, interface = pi / 2 + 4 * pi / 3)
max_radius <- 1.0
nodes <- nodes %>%
mutate(angle = axis_angle[type], x = radius * cos(angle), y = radius * sin(angle))
axis_lines <- tibble(
type = module_types,
angle = axis_angle[module_types],
x0 = 0, y0 = 0,
x1 = max_radius * cos(axis_angle[module_types]),
y1 = max_radius * sin(axis_angle[module_types])
)
axis_labels <- axis_lines %>%
mutate(
x = 1.14 * cos(angle),
y = 1.14 * sin(angle),
label = tools::toTitleCase(type)
)
# --- Edge curves: quadratic Bezier bent toward the hive center --------------
# Bundling curves through a shared interior control point (rather than
# straight chords) is the classic hive-plot device for keeping dense
# cross-axis connections legible.
bezier_points <- function(x0, y0, x1, y1, n = 30) {
cx <- (x0 + x1) / 2.5
cy <- (y0 + y1) / 2.5
t <- seq(0, 1, length.out = n)
tibble(
x = (1 - t)^2 * x0 + 2 * (1 - t) * t * cx + t^2 * x1,
y = (1 - t)^2 * y0 + 2 * (1 - t) * t * cy + t^2 * y1
)
}
edge_coords <- edges %>%
left_join(nodes %>% select(id, x, y), by = c("from" = "id")) %>%
rename(x0 = x, y0 = y) %>%
left_join(nodes %>% select(id, x, y), by = c("to" = "id")) %>%
rename(x1 = x, y1 = y)
edge_curves <- bind_rows(lapply(seq_len(nrow(edge_coords)), function(i) {
row <- edge_coords[i, ]
bind_cols(bezier_points(row$x0, row$y0, row$x1, row$y1),
edge_id = row$edge_id, weight = row$weight)
}))
# --- Plot --------------------------------------------------------------------
p <- ggplot() +
geom_segment(
data = axis_lines,
aes(x = x0, y = y0, xend = x1, yend = y1),
color = INK_SOFT, linewidth = 0.6
) +
geom_path(
data = edge_curves,
aes(x = x, y = y, group = edge_id, alpha = weight),
color = INK_MUTED, linewidth = 0.5
) +
scale_alpha_continuous(range = c(0.12, 0.55), guide = "none") +
annotate(
"point", x = 0, y = 0, shape = 21,
size = 3.4, stroke = 0.7, color = INK_SOFT, fill = PAGE_BG
) +
geom_point(
data = nodes,
aes(x = x, y = y, color = type),
size = 2.8
) +
scale_color_manual(
values = setNames(IMPRINT_PALETTE[1:3], module_types),
labels = setNames(tools::toTitleCase(module_types), module_types),
name = "Module type"
) +
geom_text(
data = axis_labels,
aes(x = x, y = y, label = label),
color = INK, size = 3.5, fontface = "bold"
) +
labs(title = "hive-basic · r · ggplot2 · anyplot.ai") +
coord_equal(xlim = c(-1.05, 1.05), ylim = c(-0.62, 1.18), clip = "off") +
theme_void(base_size = 8) +
theme(
plot.background = element_rect(fill = PAGE_BG, color = PAGE_BG),
panel.background = element_rect(fill = PAGE_BG, color = NA),
plot.title = element_text(color = INK, size = 12, hjust = 0.5, margin = margin(b = 14)),
legend.position = "bottom",
legend.background = element_rect(fill = ELEVATED_BG, color = NA),
legend.text = element_text(color = INK_SOFT, size = 8),
legend.title = element_text(color = INK, size = 10),
plot.margin = margin(20, 30, 20, 30)
)
# --- Save --------------------------------------------------------------------
ggsave(
filename = sprintf("plot-%s.png", THEME),
plot = p,
device = ragg::agg_png,
width = 6,
height = 6,
units = "in",
dpi = 400
)
Runnable source as JSON, for any HTTP client: https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/hive-basic/ggplot2/code. Any spec id and library id listed in llms-full.txt fit the same URL shape; every URL below is complete and callable.
{
"spec_id": "hive-basic",
"language": "r",
"library": "ggplot2",
"page": "https://anyplot.ai/hive-basic/r/ggplot2",
"hub": "https://anyplot.ai/hive-basic",
"code_json": "https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/hive-basic/ggplot2/code",
"spec_json": "https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/hive-basic",
"render_light_png": "https://storage.googleapis.com/anyplot-images/plots/hive-basic/r/ggplot2/plot-light.png",
"render_dark_png": "https://storage.googleapis.com/anyplot-images/plots/hive-basic/r/ggplot2/plot-dark.png",
"quality_score": 90.0,
"license": "MIT",
"guide": "https://anyplot.ai/llms.txt"
}Part of Basic Hive Plot on anyplot.ai.