--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/metaformer_setup.py	Fri Nov 21 15:58:13 2025 +0000
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import logging
+from typing import Any, Dict
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("ImageLearner")
+
+# Optional MetaFormer configuration registry
+META_DEFAULT_CFGS: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+try:
+    from MetaFormer import default_cfgs as META_DEFAULT_CFGS  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - optional dependency
+    logger.debug("MetaFormer default configs unavailable: %s", exc)
+    META_DEFAULT_CFGS = {}
+
+# Try to import Ludwig visualization registry (may fail due to optional dependencies)
+_ludwig_viz_available = False
+try:
+    from ludwig.visualize import get_visualizations_registry as _raw_get_visualizations_registry
+    _ludwig_viz_available = True
+    logger.info("Ludwig visualizations available")
+except ImportError as exc:  # pragma: no cover - optional dependency
+    logger.warning(
+        "Ludwig visualizations not available: %s. Will use fallback plots only.",
+        exc,
+    )
+    _raw_get_visualizations_registry = None
+except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - defensive
+    logger.warning(
+        "Ludwig visualizations not available due to dependency issues: %s. Will use fallback plots only.",
+        exc,
+    )
+    _raw_get_visualizations_registry = None
+
+
+def get_visualizations_registry():
+    """Return the Ludwig visualizations registry or an empty dict if unavailable."""
+    if not _raw_get_visualizations_registry:
+        return {}
+    try:
+        return _raw_get_visualizations_registry()
+    except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - defensive
+        logger.warning("Failed to load Ludwig visualizations registry: %s", exc)
+        return {}
+
+
+# --- MetaFormer patching integration ---
+_metaformer_patch_ok = False
+try:
+    from MetaFormer.metaformer_stacked_cnn import patch_ludwig_stacked_cnn as _mf_patch
+
+    if _mf_patch():
+        _metaformer_patch_ok = True
+        logger.info("MetaFormer patching applied for Ludwig stacked_cnn encoder.")
+except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - optional dependency
+    logger.warning("MetaFormer stacked CNN not available: %s", exc)
+    _metaformer_patch_ok = False
+
+# Note: CAFormer models are now handled through MetaFormer framework