Cover Image Generator

Generate elegant cover images for articles with 5-dimensional customization.

Usage

# Auto-select all dimensions based on content
/baoyu-cover-image path/to/article.md

# Quick mode: skip confirmation, use auto-selection
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --quick

# Specify dimensions (new 5D system)
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --type conceptual --palette warm --rendering flat-vector
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --text title-subtitle --mood bold

# Style presets (backward-compatible shorthand for palette + rendering)
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --style blueprint
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --style blueprint --rendering hand-drawn  # override rendering

# Visual only (no title text)
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --no-title

# Direct content input
/baoyu-cover-image
[paste content]

# Direct input with options
/baoyu-cover-image --palette mono --rendering digital --aspect 1:1 --quick
[paste content]

# With reference images
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --ref style-ref.png
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --ref ref1.png ref2.png --quick

Options

Five Dimensions

Dimensions can be freely combined. Auto-selection rules: references/auto-selection.md

Type Gallery

Type composition details: references/types.md

Palette Gallery

Palette definitions: references/palettes/

Rendering Gallery

Rendering definitions: references/renderings/

Text & Mood

Full guides: references/dimensions/text.md | references/dimensions/mood.md

Style Presets & Compatibility

• Style Presets: --style X expands to palette + rendering. See references/style-presets.md
• Compatibility Matrices: Palette×Rendering, Type×Rendering, Type×Text, Type×Mood. See references/compatibility.md
  • ✓✓ = highly recommended | ✓ = compatible | ✗ = not recommended

File Structure

Output directory depends on default_output_dir preference:

<output-dir>/
├── source-{slug}.{ext}    # Source files (text, images, etc.)
├── refs/                  # Reference images (if provided)
│   ├── ref-01-{slug}.{ext}
│   ├── ref-01-{slug}.md   # Description file (optional)
│   ├── ref-02-{slug}.{ext}
│   ├── ref-02-{slug}.md   # Description file (optional)
│   └── extracted-style.md # Verbally extracted style (if no file path)
├── prompts/cover.md       # Generation prompt
└── cover.png              # Output image

Slug: Extract main topic (2-4 words, kebab-case). Example: “The Future of AI” → future-of-ai Conflict: If directory exists, append timestamp: {topic-slug}-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS Source Files: Copy all sources with naming source-{slug}.{ext} (multiple supported)

Workflow

Progress Checklist

Cover Image Progress:
- [ ] Step 0: Check preferences (EXTEND.md) ⛔ BLOCKING
  - [ ] Found → load preferences → continue
  - [ ] Not found → run first-time setup → MUST complete before Step 1
- [ ] Step 1: Analyze content + determine output directory
  - [ ] 1.1 Reference images ⚠️ (if provided)
    - [ ] File path given → saved to refs/ ✓
    - [ ] No path → asked user OR extracted verbally
  - [ ] 1.2 Output directory determined
- [ ] Step 2: Confirm options (5 dimensions) ⚠️ REQUIRED unless --quick or all specified
- [ ] Step 3: Create prompt
  - [ ] References in prompt ONLY if files exist in refs/
  - [ ] Extracted style/palette appended to prompt body (if no file)
- [ ] Step 4: Generate image
  - [ ] 4.1 References verified before generation
  - [ ] 4.2 Pass refs via --ref if skill supports AND files exist
- [ ] Step 5: Completion report

Flow

Input → [Step 0: Preferences] ─┬─ Found → Continue
                               │
                               └─ Not found → First-Time Setup ⛔ BLOCKING
                                              │
                                              └─ Complete setup → Save EXTEND.md → Continue
                                                                                      │
        ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
        ↓
Analyze + Save Refs → [Output Dir ⚠️] → [Confirm: 5 Dimensions] → Prompt → Generate → Complete
                                                 ↓
                                        (skip if --quick or all specified)

Step 0: Load Preferences (EXTEND.md) ⛔ BLOCKING

Purpose: Load user preferences or run first-time setup.

CRITICAL: If EXTEND.md not found, MUST complete first-time setup before ANY other questions or steps. Do NOT proceed to content analysis, do NOT ask about reference images, do NOT ask about dimensions — ONLY complete the preferences setup first.

Use Bash to check EXTEND.md existence (priority order):

# Check project-level first
test -f .baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md && echo "project"

# Then user-level (cross-platform: $HOME works on macOS/Linux/WSL)
test -f "$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md" && echo "user"

Preferences Summary (when found):

Preferences loaded from [project/user]:
• Watermark: [enabled/disabled] [content if enabled]
• Type/Palette/Rendering: [value or "auto"]
• Text: [value or "title-only"] | Mood: [value or "balanced"]
• Aspect: [default_aspect] | Output: [dir or "not set — will ask in Step 1.5"]
• Quick mode: [enabled/disabled] | Language: [value or "auto"]

EXTEND.md Supports: Watermark | Preferred type | Preferred palette | Preferred rendering | Preferred text | Preferred mood | Default aspect ratio | Default output directory | Quick mode | Custom palette definitions | Language preference

Schema: references/config/preferences-schema.md

Step 1: Analyze Content

1.0 Detect & Save Reference Images ⚠️ REQUIRED if images provided

Check if user provided reference images. Handle based on input type:

CRITICAL: Only add references to prompt frontmatter if files are ACTUALLY SAVED to refs/ directory.

If user provides file path:

1. Copy to refs/ref-NN-{slug}.{ext} (NN = 01, 02, …)
2. Create description: refs/ref-NN-{slug}.md
3. Verify files exist before proceeding

If user can’t provide path (extracted verbally):

1. Analyze image visually, extract: colors, style, composition
2. Create refs/extracted-style.md with extracted info
3. DO NOT add references to prompt frontmatter
4. Instead, append extracted style/colors directly to prompt text

Description File Format (only when file saved):

---
ref_id: NN
filename: ref-NN-{slug}.{ext}
usage: direct | style | palette
---
[User's description or auto-generated description]

Verification (only for saved files):

Reference Images Saved:
- ref-01-{slug}.png ✓ (can use --ref)
- ref-02-{slug}.png ✓ (can use --ref)

Or for extracted style:

Reference Style Extracted (no file):
- Colors: #E8756D coral, #7ECFC0 mint...
- Style: minimal flat vector, clean lines...
→ Will append to prompt text (not --ref)

1.1 Save Source Content

• If pasted, save to source.md in target directory; if file path, use as-is
• Backup rule: If source.md exists, rename to source-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md

1.2 Content Analysis

• Extract topic, core message, tone, keywords
• Identify visual metaphors
• Detect content type

1.3 Reference Image Analysis (if provided in Step 1.0)

For each reference image:

1.4 Language Detection

• Detect source language
• Note user’s input language
• Compare with EXTEND.md preference

1.5 Determine Output Directory

• Per File Structure rules
• If no default_output_dir preference + file path input, include in Step 2 Q4

Step 2: Confirm Options ⚠️

Validate all 5 dimensions + aspect ratio. Full confirmation flow: references/workflow/confirm-options.md

Skip Conditions:

Step 3: Create Prompt

Backup rule: If prompts/cover.md exists, rename to prompts/cover-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md

Save to prompts/cover.md. Full template: references/workflow/prompt-template.md

CRITICAL – References in YAML Frontmatter:

When reference files are saved to refs/, MUST add references field in frontmatter:

---
type: cover
palette: warm
rendering: flat-vector
references:
  - ref_id: 01
    filename: refs/ref-01-podcast-thumbnail.jpg
    usage: style
---

Reference Embedding:

Step 4: Generate Image

4.1 Backup existing cover.png → cover-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png (if regenerating)

4.2 Check available image generation skills; if multiple, ask user preference

4.3 Process References ⚠️ REQUIRED if references in frontmatter

Read references from prompt frontmatter and process each entry:

1. Parse frontmatter to get references list:

   references:
     - ref_id: 01
       filename: refs/ref-01-podcast-thumbnail.jpg
       usage: style
   

2. VERIFY each file exists:

   test -f refs/ref-NN-{slug}.{ext} && echo "exists" || echo "MISSING"
   

   • If file MISSING → ERROR, fix prompt or remove from references
   • If file exists → proceed with processing

3. Process based on usage type:

3. Check image generation skill capability:

Verification: Before generating, confirm reference processing:

Reference Processing:
- ref-01-brand.png: using as direct reference ✓
- ref-02-style.png: extracted palette ✓

4.4 Generate

1. Call selected skill with prompt file path, output path (cover.png), aspect ratio
2. If references with direct usage AND skill supports --ref: include --ref parameter
3. On failure: auto-retry once before reporting error

Step 5: Completion Report

Cover Generated!

Topic: [topic]
Type: [type] | Palette: [palette] | Rendering: [rendering]
Text: [text] | Mood: [mood] | Aspect: [ratio]
Title: [title text or "visual only"]
Language: [lang] | Watermark: [enabled/disabled]
References: [N images (direct/style/palette) or "extracted style" or "none"]
Location: [directory path]

Files:
✓ source-{slug}.{ext}
[✓ refs/ref-01-{slug}.{ext} ... (if references saved)]
[✓ refs/ref-01-{slug}.md ... (description files)]
[✓ refs/extracted-style.md (if style extracted verbally)]
✓ prompts/cover.md
✓ cover.png
[✓ cover-backup-{timestamp}.png (if regenerated)]

Image Modification

IMPORTANT: When regenerating, ALWAYS update the prompt file (prompts/cover.md) FIRST before regenerating. This ensures changes are documented and reproducible.

All modifications automatically backup existing cover.png before regenerating.

Notes

• Cover must be readable at small preview sizes
• Visual metaphors > literal representations
• Title: readable, impactful
• Two confirmation points: Step 0 (first-time setup) + Step 2 (options) – skip Step 2 with --quick
• Use confirmed language for title text
• Maintain watermark consistency if enabled
• Check compatibility matrices when selecting combinations
• --no-title is alias for --text none
• --style presets are backward-compatible; explicit --palette/--rendering override preset values

Composition Principles

• Generous whitespace: 40-60% breathing room; avoid cluttered layouts
• Visual anchor: Main element centered or offset left (reserve right for title)
• Character handling: Simplified silhouettes or icon-style figures; NO realistic humans
• Icon vocabulary: Use simple, recognizable symbols (see references/visual-elements.md)

Title Handling

• Source: Use the exact title provided by user, or extract from source content
• Do NOT invent titles: Stay faithful to the original
• If no title in source and user doesn’t provide one, ask user to specify

References

Dimensions: text.md | mood.md Palettes: references/palettes/ Renderings: references/renderings/ Auto-Selection: references/auto-selection.md Style Presets: references/style-presets.md Compatibility: references/compatibility.md Types: references/types.md Visual Elements: references/visual-elements.md Workflow: confirm-options.md | prompt-template.md Config: preferences-schema.md | first-time-setup.md | watermark-guide.md