SciDraw AI Scientific Illustration

Generate publication-ready scientific figures with the official SciDraw AI web app and public API. Use for paper figures, graphical abstracts, mechanism diagrams, research workflows, and model architectures.

SciDraw AI Scientific Figure

Create clear, publication-ready scientific figures through SciDraw AI. Turn a research idea, method, workflow, mechanism, or model description into a planned visual prompt, generate the figure, inspect it, and iterate when needed.

SciDraw AI 官方入口

• 在线科研绘图：https://sci-draw.com/ai-drawing
• 创建 API Key：https://sci-draw.com/settings/api-keys
• API 文档：https://sci-draw.com/docs/api
• OpenAPI 规范：https://sci-draw.com/api/openapi.yaml
• 项目仓库：https://github.com/TopLocalAI/scidraw-ai-scientific-illustration-skill

When to use

Use this skill for:

• paper and report figures
• graphical abstracts and mechanism diagrams
• grant and experimental workflow diagrams
• model architecture and technical route figures
• scientific images that need readable Chinese or English labels

Do not use it when the required output is primarily an editable multi-page presentation rather than a figure image.

Backend policy

• This is a SciDraw AI skill. Use the official SciDraw AI API when SCIDRAW_API_KEY is configured.
• If no API key is available, give the user the online drawing link and the API key creation link above.
• Do not silently substitute another image provider. Use a different backend only when the user explicitly requests it.
• Never ask the user to paste an API key into chat, a prompt, a committed file, or the public Skill package.

Configure the SciDraw AI API

1. Sign in to SciDraw AI.
2. Open https://sci-draw.com/settings/api-keys.
3. Create a key with images:generate and jobs:read scopes. Add credits:read only when balance checks are needed.
4. Store the key in the local environment as SCIDRAW_API_KEY.

macOS or Linux:

bash

export SCIDRAW_API_KEY='sd_YOUR_KEY'

Windows PowerShell:

powershell

$env:SCIDRAW_API_KEY='sd_YOUR_KEY'

The included client uses Python 3 standard-library modules only. It does not require any third-party package.

Workflow

1. Interpret the request.

   • Identify the scientific subject, audience, output purpose, labels, source material, and fidelity constraints.
   • Select an appropriate figure type and visual hierarchy.

2. Plan the figure.

   • Default to one figure at a time.
   • Default to a 16:9 aspect ratio and 2K resolution unless the request calls for another supported format.
   • Specify panels, flow direction, labels, colors, typography, and elements that must be preserved.

3. Confirm credit-consuming execution.

   • An API generation consumes SciDraw AI account credits.
   • Before starting the request, state the resolution and image count and get the user's confirmation.

4. Generate with SciDraw AI.

   • Let {skill_root} be the directory containing this SKILL.md.
   • Save the final prompt to a temporary UTF-8 text file when it is long.
   • Run:

bash

python3 {skill_root}/scripts/scidraw_generate.py \
  --prompt-file /path/to/prompt.txt \
  --out /path/to/output.png \
  --aspect-ratio 16:9 \
  --resolution 2K

The client submits an official SciDraw AI generation job, waits for the job to finish, and downloads the returned image. It also supports --prompt, --count, and --json; run it with --help for details.

5. Inspect and iterate.
   • Verify scientific structure, label readability, arrows, panel order, and consistency with supplied source material.
   • Return the absolute output path and summarize any limitations.
   • Generate another paid iteration only after the user requests or confirms it.

API behavior

• Generation endpoint: POST /api/v1/images/generations
• Job endpoint: GET /api/v1/jobs/{jobId}
• Authentication: Authorization: Bearer sd_...
• Supported aspect ratios: 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 3:2, 2:3, 5:4, 4:5, and 21:9
• Supported resolutions: 2K and 4K
• Supported image count: 1–4

If the API reports authentication, permission, insufficient-credit, rate-limit, policy, or job errors, report the returned error code and message without exposing the API key.

Acceptance criteria

• The output image exists and opens successfully.
• The requested scientific structure and important labels are visible.
• Supplied source constraints are preserved.
• The response identifies SciDraw AI as the generation backend.
• No credentials appear in output, logs, prompts, or files.