stan-dev/bayesplot

Remove y-axis for plots where y-axis has no purpose

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#418 opened on Jan 23, 2026

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good first issueplot aesthetics

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Description

This would technically break visual backwards compatibility although wouldn't affect anyone's code. @avehtari pointed out that for some plots we have a y-axis that serves no purpose and the plots look better without it. For example, the new mcmc_dots() function doesn't include the y-axis for this reason, but functions like mcmc_dens() and others include the y-axis for no reason.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Identify which bayesplot functions (e.g., mcmc dens) add an unnecessary y axis by examining their ggplot code, then remove the y axis specification for plots where it has no purpose.
Tech stack
r
Domain
data
Issue type
Refactor
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
Git
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
75