flint-chart
🪄 Flint is a visualization language that lets AI agents reliably create expressive, good-looking charts from simple, human-editable chart specs.
Runssource: GitHubhomepageTypeScriptMITcommit 683d5de1ffd0
TypeScript, MIT licensed. The project labels itself: ai agents, charting library, data visualization and mcp server.
flint-chart runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 22 minutes and hit 4 errors and fixed every one without help on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
npm install succeeds, all 1739 Vitest tests pass, both JS library and MCP server build to working dist output with functioning CLI binaries
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 100 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
What went wrong, in the agent's own words
The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.
- tsup DTS worker runs out of memory with default 512MB heap on Node 184 minutes
- [email protected] requires Node ^20 (module 'node:util' does not provide 'styleText')3 minutes
- vite@8 uses rolldown which requires Node 20+, blocks MCP UI build3 minutes
- vite-plugin-singlefile@2 depends on rolldown transitively via vite 82 minutes
- Install time
- 22 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 14 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 4 hit, 4 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- npm run test reported 73 test files 1653 passed (flint-js) and 7 test files 86 passed (flint-mcp); node -e 'import{assembleVegaLite}...' produced a valid Vega-Lite scatter plot spec; timeout 5 node dist/cli.js --help printed MCP server usage and tool list
- Model tokens used
- 61,173
- Exact commit tested
- 683d5de1ffd0
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
3. **Build** — succeeded with increased memory (`NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=4096"`) 4. **Library API** — verified `assembleVegaLite()` produces a valid Vega-Lite spec from real data 5. **CLI binaries** — `flint-chart-mcp --help` and `flint-chart --help` both print usage tokens used 61,173 All verified. Let me compile the report. **Summary of work done:** 1. **npm install** — succeeded (636 packages, some engine warnings due to Node 18) 2. **Tests** — all 1739 pass (1653 in `flint-js` + 86 in `flint-mcp`) 3. **Build** — succeeded with increased memory (`NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=4096"`) 4. **Library API** — verified `assembleVegaLite()` produces a valid Vega-Lite spec from real data 5. **CLI binaries** — `flint-chart-mcp --help` and `flint-chart --help` both print usage
Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Recovered from all 4 errors without a human stepping in, which says the failures are documented well enough to solve.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Licensed MIT, as reported by its host.
What did not, or is not known
- Took 22 minutes to install, slower than the median of the 31 comparable projects Argusic has measured.
- Measured once so far. A single attempt shows it can run, not that it runs reliably.
Of the 32 ai-agents projects Argusic has installed and timed, flint-chart was the 28th fastest to reach a running state, and 22 of 32 reached one at all.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
Topics (from GitHub)
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/flint-chart)Questions
- Does flint-chart run?
- Yes. flint-chart runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 22 minutes, hitting 4 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test flint-chart?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit 683d5de1ffd0. One attempt is recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test flint-chart?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.07: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does flint-chart take to install?
- 22 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does flint-chart need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing flint-chart?
- 4 things broke in the recorded run, and 4 were fixed without human help. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
- How does flint-chart compare with the alternatives?
- Of the 32 ai-agents projects Argusic has installed and timed, flint-chart was the 28th fastest to reach a running state, and 22 of 32 reached one at all.
- Where is the evidence for flint-chart?
- The recorded run is on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.