Ethyl 2-[(3-chloro­phen­yl)hydrazono]-3-oxobutanoate

The mol­ecule of the title oxobutanoate derivative, C(12)H(13)ClN(2)O(3), adopts a keto–hydrazo tautomeric form and is roughly planar, the angle between the benzene ring and the mean plane through the hydrazone and aliphatic chain being 1.49 (6)°. This planarity is further aided by the formation of an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond which generates an S(6) ring motif. The aromatic ring and aliphatic chain have a trans configuration with respect to the N—N bond. In the crystal packing, centrosymmetric R (2) (2)(16) dimers are formed through pairs of weak C—H⋯O(3-oxo) inter­actions. These dimers are linked together through weak C—H⋯O(carboxyl­ate C=O) inter­actions into ribbons along the b-axis direction. These ribbons are stacked along the a-axis direction. The crystal also exhibits Cl⋯Cl [3.4988 (6) Å] and C⋯O [3.167 (2)–3.335 (2) Å] short contacts.