Curve and Reference Inspectors
The two optional companions work independently of an MCP client. Install either or both using the installer, then restart Glyphs to load them.
Curve Inspector
Enable View → Curve Inspector and select an editable layer. The reporter draws a curvature comb and endpoint envelopes from cached geometry. Activation schedules an initial refresh without requiring a canvas click.
Same-layer edits retain the last completed overlay while a replacement is calculated. Results for an obsolete context are discarded. The reporter reads a bounded set of curves and computes the display outside the draw callback.
Changes Against Reference
Enable View → Changes Against Reference. Choose Edit → Comparison Reference to select a source:
| Reference | Selection |
|---|---|
| Last Saved | The active font's saved file; follows native Save. |
| Font File | Another .glyphs or .glyphspackage file. |
| Local Git | A local repository, revision and repository-relative font path. |
| Public GitHub | A public repository, revision and repository-relative font path. |
The active reference type has a native checkmark. Its menu entry includes the filename and, for Git, the requested revision. Hover for the full file path or repository, revision and font path. The checked command remains editable.
Menu indicators update for the active font when the menu opens, without polling. Commands are disabled and stale details cleared when no font is open or the active font has never been saved.
File and Git references stay pinned until Refresh Reference. Switching glyphs keeps the selected snapshot. Preferences are stored per font path, separately from the font data. Git sources need system Git; ordinary files do not.
Read the overlay
Reference geometry is mint; current changes are cyan. The reporter compares layer geometry and width. It does not compare kerning tables, metadata or the history of operations. Text such as “Last Saved · No changes” is confined to the edited glyph, so other occurrences and preview glyphs do not acquire that status label.
Differences at or below 0.001 font units are ignored by reference comparison. This display tolerance does not change exact native writes or history.
Updates without blinking
While you drag a node, the last completed overlay remains visible. A replacement is prepared after mouse release and 150 ms of quiet interface updates. Repeated keyboard edits use the same delay. Completed geometry replaces the overlay together; switching font, layer or reference clears the obsolete context.
Enabling an inspector or reopening a restored tab schedules its initial refresh. Publication invalidates the native canvas, without a global redraw notification. A reference refresh failure retains the last usable result for that context and shows an error in its label.
Inspect the actual glyph. For an applied MCP job, use accept_job only when the
task authorizes persistence; it saves the whole document. The overlays provide
comparison and curve evidence, not an automatic design-quality verdict.