Scientific Figure Maker
Create publication-ready matplotlib figures for academic papers and reports.
Installation
- Make sure Claude is on your device and in your terminal.
Skills load from
~/.claude/skills/when Claude Code starts up — so you need it on your machine first. If you don't have it yet, install it once with the command below, then runclaudein any terminal to verify.One-time setupnpm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-codeAlready have it? Skip ahead.
- Paste into Claude Code or into your terminal.
This copies the whole skill folder into
~/.claude/skills/scientific-figure-making-chenliu-1996/— the SKILL.md plus any scripts, reference docs, or templates the skill ships with. Safe default: works for every skill.Faster alternative (instruction-only skills)
Skips the clone and grabs only the SKILL.md file. Don't use this if the skill ships Python scripts, reference markdowns, or asset templates — they won't be downloaded and the skill will fail when it tries to load them.
Quick install (SKILL.md only)Sign up to copy - Restart Claude Code.
Quit and reopen Claude Code (or any other agent that loads from
~/.claude/skills/). New skills are picked up on startup. - Just ask Claude.
Skills auto-activate when your request matches the skill's description — no slash command needed. Trigger phrases live in the skill's own frontmatter; you can read them in the “What this skill does” section above.
Prefer to read the source first? Open on GitHub.
When Claude uses it
Covers publication-ready matplotlib figures for academic papers, slides, and reports—bars, trends, scatter, heatmaps, and multi-panel layouts—with this repository’s house style, print/vector export conventions, and parity with figures4papers demos. Use when the user is finalizing or creating such figures in matplotlib. Do not use for interactive dashboards or web viz (Plotly, Altair, Bokeh), exploratory-only plots without a publication target, dominant 3D or geographic mapping, or Illustrator/Figma-first infographic workflows.
What this skill does
Scientific figure making
Open references/ only as needed; do not preload every file. Start from the table below, then follow links inside the document you opened (and into figure_* code via references/demos.md) instead of loading the full reference set up front.
When to load this skill
- Matplotlib figures for papers, slides, or reports that must match this repo’s publication look (fonts, palette, spines, legends, export).
- Requests involving grouped bars, trend lines, heatmaps, multi-panel grids, or PDF/SVG/high-DPI output in a scientific-figure context.
- References to figures4papers
figure_*projects or “same style as the repo figures.”
When not to load
- Plotly, Altair, Bokeh, or other interactive / web-first plotting.
- EDA-only plots where seaborn or pandas is enough until there is a publication target.
- Primary workflow is 3D, GIS, or non-matplotlib tooling.
- Illustrator / Figma–first layout or infographic (not matplotlib data plots).
Related files
| File | Open when |
|---|---|
| references/tutorials.md | End-to-end walkthroughs (bar, trends, heatmap) |
| references/api.md | Function signatures, PALETTE, validation rules |
| references/common-patterns.md | Layout patterns, legend panel, print-safe bars |
| references/design-theory.md | Typography, export policy, palette rationale |
| references/demos.md | Canonical figure_* demo links in figures4papers |
Related skills
Canvas Design
Prat011
Create original visual designs as PNG and PDF files using design philosophy.
Poster & Visual Design
anthropics
Create original posters and visual art in PNG and PDF formats.
Fusion 360 Design Review
AugmentClaude
Run a structured DFM review of a Fusion 360 part — wall thickness, draft, fasteners, stack-up.
Investor Board Deck Builder
alirezarezvani
Build compelling board decks that weave metrics and narratives into cohesive investor updates.