Bug summary

Since Matplotlib 3.8.1, it no longer is possible to set axes properties, neither using Pyplot free functions nor Axis object methods.

This persists in the current latest release 3.8.3, and is not observed in 3.8.0.

Code for reproduction

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
plt.plot(np.random.randn(100))
plt.xlabel("x label")
plt.show()

Actual outcome

The "x label" text is not shown. The result is identical to just calling plt.plot(...) and plt.show().

Expected outcome

The "x label" text is shown.

Additional information

The above example applies to all functions that set axes properties.

I have tried in many different ways to create a figure with axes, none of them resulted in me being able to set properties.

Operating system

macOS 14.3.1 (aarch64)

Matplotlib Version

3.8.1

Matplotlib Backend

MacOSX

Python version

3.11.8

Jupyter version

No response

Installation

pip