Social Export Generator Skill

Social Export Generator

Generate a production social export pipeline with platform-specific formatters, aspect ratio handling, branding overlays, and a complete SwiftUI export flow. Different from share-card (which creates the visual image) — this handles the full export pipeline to each social platform.

When This Skill Activates

Use this skill when the user:

Asks to "export to Instagram" or "share to Instagram Stories"
Wants "social media export" or "social sharing pipeline"
Mentions "share to TikTok" or "export for TikTok"
Asks about "platform-specific sharing" or "export to Twitter/X"
Wants to "format content for social platforms"
Mentions "story export" or "share to stories"

Pre-Generation Checks

1. Project Context Detection

[ ] Check Swift version (requires Swift 5.9+)
[ ] Check deployment target (iOS 16+ / macOS 13+)
[ ] Check for @Observable support (iOS 17+ / macOS 14+)
[ ] Identify source file locations

2. Conflict Detection

Search for existing social export or sharing code:

Glob: **/*SocialExport*.swift, **/*ShareExport*.swift, **/*StoryExport*.swift
Grep: "UIActivityViewController" or "instagram-stories" or "SocialPlatform"

If existing share infrastructure found:

Ask if user wants to extend or replace it
If extending, integrate with existing sharing code

3. Framework Detection

Check for frameworks already in use:

Grep: "import Photos" or "import PhotosUI" or "import LinkPresentation"
Grep: "UIDocumentInteractionController" or "UIActivityViewController"

If Photos framework is used, export pipeline can integrate save-to-library as a fallback.

Configuration Questions

Ask user via AskUserQuestion:

Target platforms? (multi-select)
- Instagram Stories (URL scheme + pasteboard)
- TikTok (URL scheme + share API)
- Twitter/X (URL scheme + activity controller)
- General share sheet (UIActivityViewController fallback)
Content type?
- Image only (photo, illustration, screenshot)
- Video (short-form video export)
- Text + Image (quote cards, text overlays on images)
Include app branding overlay?
- Yes — add app logo/name watermark to exported content
- No — export clean content
Watermark style? (if branding selected)
- Corner logo (small, unobtrusive)
- Bottom banner (app name + URL strip)
- None

Generation Process

Step 1: Read Templates

Read templates.md for production Swift code.

Step 2: Create Core Files

Generate these files:

SocialPlatform.swift — Enum for supported platforms with requirements (aspect ratio, max file size, URL scheme)
ExportConfiguration.swift — Configuration struct for export options (platform, quality, branding, watermark)
SocialExporter.swift — Protocol + platform-specific implementations for each social network

Step 3: Create Content Formatting

ContentFormatter.swift — Formats content per platform (resize, crop to aspect ratio, add metadata)

Step 4: Create UI Files

ExportPreviewView.swift — SwiftUI preview showing how content will look on each platform
SocialExportSheet.swift — Complete export flow with platform picker, preview, and share action

Step 5: Determine File Location

Check project structure:

If Sources/ exists -> Sources/SocialExport/
If App/ exists -> App/SocialExport/
Otherwise -> SocialExport/

Output Format

After generation, provide:

Files Created

SocialExport/
├── SocialPlatform.swift       # Platform enum with requirements
├── ExportConfiguration.swift  # Export options configuration
├── SocialExporter.swift       # Protocol + platform exporters
├── ContentFormatter.swift     # Resize, crop, metadata
├── ExportPreviewView.swift    # Platform-specific preview
└── SocialExportSheet.swift    # Complete export flow UI

Integration Steps

Export an image to Instagram Stories:

let config = ExportConfiguration(
    platform: .instagramStories,
    quality: .high,
    branding: .cornerLogo(UIImage(named: "AppLogo")!)
)

let exporter = SocialExporter()
try await exporter.export(image: myImage, configuration: config)

Present the export sheet:

struct ContentDetailView: View {
    let content: AppContent
    @State private var showExportSheet = false

    var body: some View {
        VStack {
            ContentView(content: content)
            Button("Share to Social") {
                showExportSheet = true
            }
        }
        .sheet(isPresented: $showExportSheet) {
            SocialExportSheet(image: content.renderedImage)
        }
    }
}

Quick share with fallback:

let exporter = SocialExporter()

// Tries platform-specific export first, falls back to share sheet
try await exporter.export(
    image: shareImage,
    configuration: .init(platform: .instagramStories),
    fallbackToShareSheet: true,
    presentingViewController: viewController
)

Testing

@Test
func instagramStoriesExportFormatsCorrectly() async throws {
    let formatter = ContentFormatter()
    let testImage = UIImage.testSolidColor(.red, size: CGSize(width: 1000, height: 1000))
    let formatted = try formatter.format(testImage, for: .instagramStories)

    // Instagram Stories expects 9:16 aspect ratio (1080x1920)
    #expect(formatted.size.width == 1080)
    #expect(formatted.size.height == 1920)
}

@Test
func fallsBackToShareSheetWhenAppNotInstalled() async throws {
    let exporter = MockSocialExporter(installedApps: [])
    let config = ExportConfiguration(platform: .instagramStories)

    let result = try await exporter.export(
        image: UIImage.testSolidColor(.blue, size: CGSize(width: 500, height: 500)),
        configuration: config,
        fallbackToShareSheet: true
    )

    #expect(result == .fallbackUsed)
}

@Test
func brandingOverlayApplied() async throws {
    let formatter = ContentFormatter()
    let logo = UIImage.testSolidColor(.white, size: CGSize(width: 50, height: 50))
    let config = ExportConfiguration(
        platform: .general,
        branding: .cornerLogo(logo)
    )

    let image = UIImage.testSolidColor(.red, size: CGSize(width: 1080, height: 1080))
    let result = try formatter.format(image, for: config.platform, branding: config.branding)

    // Image should still be the correct size after overlay
    #expect(result.size.width == 1080)
    #expect(result.size.height == 1080)
}

Common Patterns

Instagram Stories Export

Instagram Stories uses URL scheme + pasteboard for background images:

// Key details:
// - URL scheme: instagram-stories://share?source_application=YOUR_APP_ID
// - Pasteboard: set image data with key "com.instagram.sharedSticker.backgroundImage"
// - Aspect ratio: 9:16 (1080x1920)
// - Max file size: ~12 MB for images
// - Supports background image, sticker image, and background color

General Share Sheet Fallback

Always provide UIActivityViewController as a fallback when the target app is not installed:

// Check canOpenURL before attempting URL scheme
// If unavailable, present UIActivityViewController with formatted content
// Include UTType metadata for proper previews in share sheet

Video Export Pipeline

For video content, use AVAssetExportSession to transcode to platform-required formats:

// Instagram/TikTok: H.264, 9:16, max 60s (Stories) or 3min (Reels)
// Twitter/X: H.264, max 2:20, max 512 MB
// General: H.264, original aspect ratio

Gotchas

Instagram URL Scheme Requirements

Must register instagram-stories in LSApplicationQueriesSchemes (Info.plist)
Facebook App ID is required as the source_application parameter
Pasteboard items must be set BEFORE opening the URL scheme
Data must be set as Data on the pasteboard, not UIImage

Aspect Ratios Per Platform

| Platform | Stories | Feed Post | Reels/Short | |----------|---------|-----------|-------------| | Instagram | 9:16 (1080x1920) | 1:1 (1080x1080) or 4:5 (1080x1350) | 9:16 (1080x1920) | | TikTok | 9:16 (1080x1920) | 9:16 (1080x1920) | 9:16 (1080x1920) | | Twitter/X | 16:9 (1200x675) | 16:9 or 1:1 | N/A |

File Size Limits

| Platform | Image Max | Video Max | |----------|-----------|-----------| | Instagram Stories | ~12 MB | ~100 MB (H.264) | | TikTok | ~10 MB | ~287 MB | | Twitter/X | 5 MB (JPEG/PNG) | 512 MB (H.264) |

App Detection

UIApplication.shared.canOpenURL() requires LSApplicationQueriesSchemes in Info.plist
iOS limits you to 50 URL schemes in LSApplicationQueriesSchemes
Always test on physical device — simulator does not have social apps installed

Thread Safety

UIPasteboard.general must be accessed on the main thread
UIApplication.shared.open() must be called on the main thread
Image formatting/resizing should happen on a background thread to avoid UI lag

References

templates.md — All production Swift templates for social export
Related: generators/share-card — Generate the visual share image/card
Related: generators/watermark-engine — Advanced watermark and branding overlays

Agent Skills: Social Export Generator

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Skill Files