What a gantt timeline is
A Gantt chart lays each phase of work along a time axis as a horizontal bar, so duration, sequence and overlap are visible at a glance. It answers the two questions every sponsor asks: what is happening now, and when does it finish.
When to use one
- Presenting a delivery schedule to stakeholders who will not read a task list
- Planning phased work where one stream cannot start until another finishes
- Showing how a slipped phase pushes everything downstream
The data format
Optional meta line sets the axis: meta, unit=month, start=2026-01. Then Task, Start, Duration.
Paste rows like this — copy the example straight into the builder to see it render:
meta, unit=month, start=2026-01 Discovery, 0, 2 Design, 2, 3 Build, 4, 6 QA, 9, 2 Launch, 11, 1
How to make one
- Paste your data into the Studio, or upload a CSV or XLSX file.
- Set your colours — by hand, from pasted brand hex codes, or extracted from your logo.
- Generate and export as PNG or SVG for your deck or report.
One thing people get wrong. Keep the bar count low enough to read on a slide. A Gantt with sixty rows communicates less than one with eight phases — put the detail in your tracker, not the chart.
Why it runs in your browser
Charts are parsed and drawn entirely on your own device. No rows, files or logos are uploaded, so a gantt timeline built from confidential project or process data never touches a server. You can verify it: open your browser's network tab while you generate one.