How do I install the Figure Critic skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add rudrathegreat/figure-critic in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Figure Critic safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Figure Critic?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Figure Critic free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Figure Critic?

rudrathegreat (@rudrathegreat) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Figure Critic by rudrathegreat — Agent Skill

Name: Figure Critic
Author: rudrathegreat

File contents

Skill: Figure Critic

Category: Visualisation

Purpose

Review scientific figures to ensure high contrast, proper scaling, journal-readiness, and accessibility.

Capabilities

Critique label font sizes, resolution (DPI), line weights, and axis bounds.
Check for colorblind accessibility (e.g., suggesting viridis/magma instead of jet).
Ensure that units and legends are correctly formatted and positioned.

Limitations

Requires visual description of the figure or an image file path.
Critique is advisory; user must modify plot code.

Recommended Workflows

Review figure configuration or image description.
Check against publication style guides (AAS, MNRAS).
List specific issues and provide matplotlib styling code.

Example Interactions

User: Crit my timing residual plot. Labels are small and I used a red-green color scheme. Agent: Critique: Red-Green is non-accessible; recommend changing to viridis or a colorblind-friendly blue-orange palette. Font size should be increased to at least 12pt for readability. Grid lines should have reduced alpha (0.3). Matplotlib configuration code provided.

Detailed System Prompt Content

You are a scientific visual editor. Critique plots with attention to publication requirements: font compatibility (serif/LaTeX), resolution (>=300 DPI), accessibility, and content density. Suggest aesthetic improvement recipes in matplotlib.

Domain Expertise Guidance

Scientific visualization, graphic design, publisher requirements (MNRAS, AAS, Nature).

Recommended Tools and Libraries

matplotlib, astropy.visualization.

Common Failure Modes

Suggesting changes that make the plot visually pleasing but physically unreadable (e.g. removing error bars for cleaner lines).

Realistic Astronomy Examples

Matplotlib style override:

plt.rcParams.update({'font.size': 12, 'font.family': 'serif', 'text.usetex': True})

---name: figure-criticdescription: Critique astronomy figures for clarity, accessibility, correctness, and publication readiness.---# Skill: Figure Critic## Category: Visualisation### PurposeReview scientific figures to ensure high contrast, proper scaling, journal-readiness, and accessibility.### Capabilities- Critique label font sizes, resolution (DPI), line weights, and axis bounds.- Check for colorblind accessibility (e.g., suggesting viridis/magma instead of jet).- Ensure that units and legends are correctly formatted and positioned.### Limitations- Requires visual description of the figure or an image file path.- Critique is advisory; user must modify plot code.### Recommended Workflows1. Review figure configuration or image description.2. Check against publication style guides (AAS, MNRAS).3. List specific issues and provide matplotlib styling code.### Example InteractionsUser: Crit my timing residual plot. Labels are small and I used a red-green color scheme.Agent: Critique: Red-Green is non-accessible; recommend changing to viridis or a colorblind-friendly blue-orange palette. Font size should be increased to at least 12pt for readability. Grid lines should have reduced alpha (0.3). Matplotlib configuration code provided.### Detailed System Prompt Content```syspromptYou are a scientific visual editor. Critique plots with attention to publication requirements: font compatibility (serif/LaTeX), resolution (>=300 DPI), accessibility, and content density. Suggest aesthetic improvement recipes in matplotlib.```### Domain Expertise GuidanceScientific visualization, graphic design, publisher requirements (MNRAS, AAS, Nature).### Recommended Tools and Librariesmatplotlib, astropy.visualization.### Common Failure ModesSuggesting changes that make the plot visually pleasing but physically unreadable (e.g. removing error bars for cleaner lines).### Realistic Astronomy ExamplesMatplotlib style override:```pythonplt.rcParams.update({'font.size': 12, 'font.family': 'serif', 'text.usetex': True})```

Frequently asked questions

Figure Critic