MetForge Figure

Treat each figure as a visual scientific argument. Define what it must show, render it with the user's existing stack when possible, and inspect the exported result before delivery.

Figure loop

1. Inspect the data, existing plotting code, target medium, and relevant prior figures.
2. Write a compact figure contract using references/figure-contract.md.
3. Choose the smallest figure grammar that tests the claim. Read references/atmospheric-patterns.md for atmospheric defaults.
4. Implement within the user's language and project conventions. For a new Python workflow, prefer xarray + matplotlib and use cartopy only when geographic projection is needed.
5. Render at final or representative size. Open the actual output and audit it with references/qa-checklist.md.
6. Fix high-impact scientific or readability failures, rerender, and reinspect. Stop polishing when the contract is satisfied.

Execution mode and processing record

Before rendering, inspect data size, memory needs, expected runtime, available CPUs, whether sbatch/Slurm is available, whether the session is already inside a Slurm job, and existing project conventions.