Fix px scrambling categorical axis order when data is split into traces

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ This project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 - Fix Plotly Express mutating lists passed to the `x` or `y` arguments in wide mode [[#5727](https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/pull/5727)], with thanks to @cpruijsen for the contribution!
 - Fix `px.sunburst`, `px.treemap` and `px.icicle` listing sectors in a different order on every run when `path` is used with a Polars DataFrame; sectors now follow their order of first appearance for all dataframe backends [[#5766](https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/pull/5766)], with thanks to @Irahan2 for the contribution!
 - Fix `mpl_to_plotly` conversion of matplotlib contour lines and line collections: close contour rings ending with `Z` codes, support dash styles, convert date x-axes, separate disjoint subpaths with `None` separators, hide line collection traces from the legend by default, and group consecutive same-style lines into single traces [[#5770](https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/pull/5770)], with thanks to @robertoffmoura for the contribution!
+- Fix Plotly Express scrambling the order of the categorical x-axis when the data is split into several traces (e.g. by `color`); the x-axis now follows the order of first appearance in the underlying data [[#3198](https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/issues/3198), [#3291](https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/issues/3291)]
 
 ## [7.1.0] - 2026-09-15
 

plotly/express/_core.py

@@ -2530,6 +2530,41 @@ def get_groups_and_orders(args, grouper):
     return groups, orders
 
 
+def _default_category_orders_for_axes(args, groups, orders):
+    """
+    Add data-appearance order for the categorical x column.
+
+    When the data is split into several traces (e.g. by `color`), plotly.js
+    orders categories by first appearance across traces, which can differ from
+    the order in the underlying data. Recording the data-appearance order here
+    lets `set_cartesian_axis_opts` emit an explicit `categoryarray`, matching
+    the documented behavior that Plotly Express lays out categorical data in
+    the order in which it appears in the data. See #3198.
+
+    Only the x axis is handled: y categoricals are intentionally left alone
+    because `set_cartesian_axis_opts` reverses y orders for top-down display
+    and figures such as `px.timeline` / horizontal `px.bar` pair that with
+    `autorange="reversed"` (see `doc/python/gantt.md`), so an explicit y
+    `categoryarray` would double-reverse and flip the documented order.
+    """
+    if len(groups) <= 1:
+        return orders
+    df = args["data_frame"]
+    col = args.get("x")
+    if not isinstance(col, str) or col in orders or col not in df.columns:
+        return orders
+    uniques = df.get_column(col).unique(maintain_order=True).to_list()
+    categories = [
+        value
+        for value in uniques
+        if value is not None
+        and not (isinstance(value, float) and math.isnan(value))
+    ]
+    if categories and all(isinstance(value, str) for value in categories):
+        orders[col] = categories
+    return orders
+
+
 def make_figure(args, constructor, trace_patch=None, layout_patch=None):
     trace_patch = trace_patch or {}
     layout_patch = layout_patch or {}
@@ -2556,6 +2591,7 @@ def make_figure(args, constructor, trace_patch=None, layout_patch=None):
     )
     grouper = [x.grouper or one_group for x in grouped_mappings] or [one_group]
     groups, orders = get_groups_and_orders(args, grouper)
+    orders = _default_category_orders_for_axes(args, groups, orders)
 
     col_labels = []
     row_labels = []

tests/test_optional/test_px/test_px.py

@@ -361,6 +361,57 @@ def test_category_order_with_category_as_x(backend):
         assert set(trace["x"]) == {"Thur", "Fri", "Sat", "Sun"}
 
 
+def test_category_order_defaults_to_data_order_with_color():
+    # https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/issues/3198
+    # Splitting into one trace per color must not change the axis order:
+    # it should follow first appearance in the underlying data.
+    fig = px.line(
+        x=["A", "B", None, "B", "C", None, "C", "D", None, "D", "E", None],
+        y=[1, 1, None, 2, 2, None, 3, 3, None, 4, 4, None],
+        color=[1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1],
+    )
+    assert fig["layout"]["xaxis"]["categoryorder"] == "array"
+    assert fig["layout"]["xaxis"]["categoryarray"] == ("A", "B", "C", "D", "E")
+
+
+def test_category_order_defaults_to_data_order_with_color_bar():
+    # https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/issues/3291
+    df = pd.DataFrame(
+        {"x": ["a", "b", "c", "d"], "y": [1, 2, 3, 4], "z": ["p", "q", "p", "q"]}
+    )
+    fig = px.bar(df, x="x", y="y", color="z")
+    assert fig["layout"]["xaxis"]["categoryorder"] == "array"
+    assert fig["layout"]["xaxis"]["categoryarray"] == ("a", "b", "c", "d")
+
+
+def test_no_default_category_array_for_single_trace_or_numeric():
+    # A single trace already follows data order, and numeric axes
+    # must never get a category array.
+    fig = px.line(x=["A", "B", "C"], y=[1, 2, 3])
+    assert fig["layout"]["xaxis"]["categoryorder"] is None
+    fig = px.line(x=[1, 2, 3], y=[1, 2, 3], color=["a", "b", "a"])
+    assert fig["layout"]["xaxis"]["categoryorder"] is None
+
+
+def test_no_default_category_array_for_y_with_color():
+    # https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/pull/5776#pullrequestreview-5478271667
+    # y categoricals must stay untouched so the `autorange="reversed"`
+    # pattern from doc/python/gantt.md keeps listing tasks top-down.
+    df = pd.DataFrame(
+        [
+            dict(Task="Job A", Start="2009-01-01", Finish="2009-02-28", Resource="Alex"),
+            dict(Task="Job B", Start="2009-03-05", Finish="2009-04-15", Resource="Alex"),
+            dict(Task="Job C", Start="2009-02-20", Finish="2009-05-30", Resource="Max"),
+        ]
+    )
+    fig = px.timeline(df, x_start="Start", x_end="Finish", y="Task", color="Resource")
+    assert fig["layout"]["yaxis"]["categoryorder"] is None
+    assert fig["layout"]["yaxis"]["categoryarray"] is None
+    fig = px.bar(x=[1, 2, 3, 4], y=list("abcd"), color=list("ppqq"), orientation="h")
+    assert fig["layout"]["yaxis"]["categoryorder"] is None
+    assert fig["layout"]["yaxis"]["categoryarray"] is None
+
+
 def test_permissive_defaults():
     msg = "'PxDefaults' object has no attribute 'should_not_work'"
     with pytest.raises(AttributeError, match=msg):