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SVG Vector Export

Export simulation traces as publication-quality SVG vector graphics. The SVG includes axes, grid lines, colour-coded state variable traces, spike markers, a legend, and a model name watermark. Suitable for LaTeX documents, Inkscape editing, and journal figures.

Export Formats

The Studio supports three data export formats:

Format Button Contents Use Case
SVG SVG Vector traces with axes and legend Paper figures, presentations
CSV CSV Time column + state variable columns External tools (MATLAB, R, pandas)
JSON JSON Full result (time, states, spikes, params) Reproducibility, archival

Frontend SVG Generation

Click the SVG button in the header toolbar after running a simulation. The browser generates the SVG client-side from the current simulation result — no server round-trip needed.

The generated SVG:

  • 800×400 viewport (configurable via API)
  • Dark background (#0d1117) matching the Studio theme
  • 5 horizontal grid lines for visual reference
  • Colour-coded polylines: #4fc3f7 (cyan), #81c784 (green), #ffb74d (orange), #e57373 (red), #ce93d8 (purple)
  • Spike markers as short red vertical lines at the top
  • X-axis label: "time (ms)", Y-axis label: "mV"
  • Monospace Y-axis tick labels (5 ticks)
  • Legend with colour swatches and variable names
  • Model name watermark (top right, subtle)

Downsampling

Traces with more than 2000 data points are stride-sampled to keep the SVG file size reasonable (~50–100 KB) while preserving the overall trace shape. A 100ms simulation at dt=0.01 (10,000 points) produces 2000 SVG polyline vertices.

Backend API

For headless/automated export (CLI scripts, CI pipelines, paper builds):

POST /api/export/svg
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "AdExNeuron",
  "params": {},
  "dt": 0.025,
  "duration": 100.0,
  "current": 0.5,
  "protocol": "step"
}

Returns image/svg+xml response body. Save directly to file:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8001/api/export/svg \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"AdExNeuron","dt":0.025,"duration":100,"current":0.5,"protocol":"step"}' \
  -o adex_trace.svg

Python API

The SVG generator is also available as a Python function:

from sc_neurocore.studio.svg_export import traces_to_svg

svg = traces_to_svg(
    time=[0.0, 0.1, 0.2, ...],
    states={"v": [-65.0, -64.8, ...], "w": [0.0, 0.01, ...]},
    spikes=[42, 87, 134],
    model_name="AdExNeuron",
    dt=0.1,
    width=800,
    height=400,
)

with open("figure.svg", "w") as f:
    f.write(svg)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Default Description
time list[float] required Time points (ms)
states dict[str, list[float]] required State variable traces
spikes list[int] None Spike indices into time array
model_name str "" Watermark text (top right)
dt float 0.1 Timestep for spike index fallback
width int 800 SVG width in pixels
height int 400 SVG height in pixels

Returns a complete SVG string. Empty data produces a placeholder SVG with "No data" text.

Editing in Inkscape

The generated SVG uses standard elements (polyline, line, text, rect) with no embedded scripts or fonts. Open in Inkscape to:

  • Change colours for journal requirements (e.g. colourblind-safe palette)
  • Add annotations or arrows
  • Adjust font sizes for specific column widths
  • Convert to PDF/EPS for LaTeX \includegraphics

Implementation

  • src/sc_neurocore/studio/svg_export.py — traces_to_svg() generator
  • src/sc_neurocore/studio/app.py — POST /api/export/svg endpoint
  • studio/frontend/src/stores/studio.ts — exportSVG() action
  • tests/test_studio_svg_export.py — 14 tests