---
title: "Ridgeline"
description: "Stacked distributions. What the ridgeline is for, the data it needs and every option it has."
section: "Widgets"
canonical: "https://banksync.io/docs/widgets/chart-ridgeline"
specs: ["dashboards"]
operationBindings: [{"capability":"dashboards","operation":"dashboards.author"}]
---

Stacked distributions. It sits in the **Distribution** group of the widget library.

![Example ridgeline on a BankSync dashboard](https://cdn.banksync.io/screenshots/docs/charts/ridgeline.44c9dd6d5f01e946.png)

## When to use it

Use a ridgeline to compare the shape of amounts across many groups, one smooth curve per row, stacked with a little overlap. It suits questions like "how do transaction sizes differ by month?" or "which categories have lots of small charges?", where a row of box plots would feel cramped.

## When to pick something else

- Only one to three groups? A **Density** chart overlays them more directly.
- Readers need medians and ranges? Use a **Box plot**.
- Want to see every value? Use a **Strip plot** or **Beeswarm**.

## The data it needs

Pick these in the **Data** tab of the inspector. BankSync suggests a column for each when your source has an obvious match.

| Field        | Needed   | Pick       | Notes |
| ------------ | -------- | ---------- | ----- |
| **Category** | Optional | a category |       |
| **Value**    | Yes      | a number   |       |
| **Series**   | Optional | a category |       |

Each row is drawn as it is, so shape the rows first if you need totals. See [Shaping data](/docs/dashboards/dashboards-shaping-data).

## Ridgeline options

This chart has no options of its own; everything on its **Style** tab is the shared chart styling below.

## Shared chart styling

Every chart also has the shared styling options. These apply to this one:

- [Legend](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#legend): position, layout and which series show.
- [Axes](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#axes): titles, tick labels and number format.
- [Grid](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#grid), [title](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#title), [padding](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#padding) and [background](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#background).
- [Value labels](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#value-labels) on the marks.
- [Categories and labels](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#categories-and-labels): top N with "Other", sort order, readable labels, the handwritten callout.
- [Style](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#style): corner radius, line width, opacity and animation.
- [Tooltip](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#tooltip) on hover.
- Click to filter: clicking a mark can filter the rest of the dashboard. See [Filters and cross-filtering](/docs/dashboards/filters-and-cross-filtering).
- [Colours](/docs/widgets/chart-styling#palette): follow the dashboard palette or pick one for this chart.

## Messy data

- Blank or non-numeric values are skipped, not treated as zero. With none left you see "No numbers to show".
- The number of rows depends on the card's height (up to 30); extra groups fold into "Other (n)", keeping those with the most values.
- All ridges share one height scale, so a group with a sharp peak can dwarf flatter groups.
- Very small groups still get a smooth curve that can look more certain than the data allows.
- When rows are tighter than the text, some group labels are skipped.

## On a phone

A phone card is short, so fewer ridges fit and some row labels are skipped. It reads best with a handful of groups; with many, give the widget more height on phones or use a **Box plot**.

## Related charts

- [Scatter plot](/docs/widgets/chart-scatter): Two measures on x/y
- [Histogram](/docs/widgets/chart-histogram): Distribution of one measure
- [Box plot](/docs/widgets/chart-boxplot): Quartiles with whiskers
- [Violin](/docs/widgets/chart-violin): Density per category
- [Beeswarm](/docs/widgets/chart-beeswarm): Non-overlapping dot plot
- [Density](/docs/widgets/chart-density): Kernel-smoothed distribution
- [Strip plot](/docs/widgets/chart-strip): Each value as a tick
- [Jitter plot](/docs/widgets/chart-jitter): Scattered dots per category