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Visual glyph review

Use this workflow when an agent needs visual evidence for cubic curvature, events, continuity, or a candidate outline difference.

Native curvature overlay​

Curvature review now uses the Reporter built into the Glyphs MCP plug-in. Enable it with set_curve_review_overlay(enabled=true, overlays=["curvature", "curve_events"]) or choose View > Show Glyphs MCP Curvature. It draws directly over the active Edit View glyph, updates when nodes move, and remains available while the MCP server is stopped.

  • Teal (#009E9E) teeth and envelope runs show positive signed curvature; pink (#DB2E8C) shows negative signed curvature. Both use 0.65 alpha so the outline remains visible beneath the review drawing.
  • Placement uses curvature magnitude along the path right normal. With correct Glyphs winding, outer-contour combs point outside the black shape and counter combs point into the white counter. Reversing a path reverses the placement side and signed color; magnitudes are unchanged.
  • The editor renderer starts with 51 samples per cubic, reduces sampling deterministically, and enforces a 2,000-stroke frame cap.
  • Display length uses a 0.010 linear scale, normally clamps to 0.12em, and cannot exceed the 0.25em hard guard.
  • Raw editable paths are analyzed. Components are not expanded.
  • Curve-event markers identify extrema, inflections, cusps, and continuity warnings. Pass only curvature or only curve_events when a quieter view is preferable.

Call get_curve_review_overlay_state to confirm whether the Reporter is loaded and active and to inspect its bounded last-draw record: glyph/layer, cubic and stroke counts, clamp/cap state, cache status, and omitted components. Both MCP controls change only global UI display state; they never dirty or save a font.

{
  "enabled": true,
  "overlays": ["curvature", "curve_events"]
}

When to use it​

  • Enable curvature while editing handles or comparing curvature magnitude.
  • Enable curve_events when locating extrema, inflections, cusps, or continuity warnings.
  • Enable both for a complete curve review, then disable one if the view becomes noisy.
  • Use View > Show Glyphs MCP Candidate separately for geometric proposal differences.

Call review_curve_quality for the numeric evidence behind the Reporter. Use review_curve_quality_across_masters only after explicit compatible master targets are available. Neither Reporter changes or saves the font.

Safe prompt template​

Review curve quality for my current selection.
Use review_curve_quality for the explicit path, then enable the native overlay with set_curve_review_overlay(enabled=true).
Tell me to inspect View > Show Glyphs MCP Curvature and verify the last draw with get_curve_review_overlay_state.
Do not mutate or save the font.
Report only measurements, conservative warnings, and suggested next checks.