Academic Figure Skill
A skill for scientific figures to Nature, Cell and Science standards: 29 figure types, data checks and vector PDF output.
- 555 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- Apache-2.0
Minimal access
Why this level
- The agent runs Python and R scripts on your data locally.
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add skills/academic-figure-skillDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewMinimal accessThe tool runs nothing and makes no network calls.
- The agent runs Python and R scripts on your data locally.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
The skill gives an agent an 8-step order for a scientific figure: parse the research question, pick a figure type, agree the panels with you, detect the Python or R runtime, inject one font and palette baseline, find a ready script, render and verify. Journal rules live in `SKILL.md` and 16 reference files: Arial or Helvetica type, 89 and 183 mm column widths, vector PDF and a 300 dpi raster preview. `assets/figures/` holds production scripts for 29 types (heatmaps, volcano plots, box plots, ROC curves, PCA and more), and the agent delivers a PDF, a PNG and a statistics report. With no matching script, visual parameters are inherited from a close type. Data pass a check before rendering and four QA passes catch common styling errors.
Who it is for. Researchers and graduate students who build paper figures in Python or R and lose time on manual tuning of sizes, fonts and colors.
Good fit when
- A Nature-style figure is needed from a data table.
- A multi-panel figure is assembled from Python and R scripts.
- A figure needs checking for common styling mistakes before journal submission.
- A volcano plot or ROC curve is needed from the bundled scripts.
Not a fit when
- The figure is for marketing or slides and no paper is involved.
- Neither Python nor R is available.
- The data are too small for a meaningful conclusion; the set rejects such panels.
Example request
Use academic-figure-skill to build a Nature-style volcano plot from data.csv and deliver a vector PDF with a report.Limitations
Python or R is required, and some scripts use R packages with Cairo. Installation needs the whole directory (`references/`, `scripts/`, `assets/`, `install/`), and copying `SKILL.md` alone does not work. The data check may reject a panel, such as a volcano plot without enough significant genes. The README is in Chinese with an English version. The skill constrains the model but does not guarantee journal acceptance.
How to disable. Delete `~/.claude/skills/academic-figure-skill` or `~/.codex/skills/academic-figure-skill`; for Cursor remove the block from `.cursorrules`.
FAQ
Which figure types are supported?
29 types, including heatmaps, volcano plots, box plots, ROC, PCA, Sankey and UpSet diagrams, each with `.py` and `.R` scripts.
What does the skill output?
A vector PDF main file, a 300 dpi PNG preview and a statistics report with n definitions and spread measures.
Does it work in Cursor and Codex?
Yes. For Codex copy the files to `~/.codex/skills/academic-figure-skill/` and for Cursor copy `.cursorrules` from `install/cursor/`.
Does it replace Python or R?
No. It supplies constraints and styles while the agent builds the figure code in Python or R.
How do I update the skill?
Run `git pull` in the cloned folder and copy it again into `~/.claude/skills/academic-figure-skill/`.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
Related
SkillsSciPilot Figure
scipilot-figure-skill
A scientific visualization advisor skill: it profiles the data and picks a chart for the argument first, then renders it to journal-grade quality
A skill that picks a scientific chart from nearly 100 templates for CSV or Excel data and outputs PNG, SVG, PDF and Python code.
A data visualization skill for agents: turns data into polished interactive HTML charts and full reports with one visual language
A Claude Code and Codex skill that plots your data in the style of a figure from a scientific paper
Around 200 skills for Claude Code on bioinformatics, chemistry and biostatistics, from RNA-seq analysis to molecular docking
166 skills for scientific work: bioinformatics, cheminformatics, clinical data, geospatial analysis and 100+ databases
Comparison with similar tools
Cards that share the main search query, and how they differ.
| Tool | Official | Repository stars | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Figure Skill (this card) | no | 555 | |
| schematic-figure | no | 169 | a skill for schematics and illustrations; here data plots from numeric tables with checks and a report |
| SciPilot Figure | no | 2,789 | another scientific figure skill; here a set of working scripts for 29 types and four QA passes |
README in short
The README covers design principles, the 8-step process, capabilities, 29 figure types, installation for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor, and the project layout.