Cover Image Generator Skill

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]

Options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | --type <name> | Cover type: hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal | | --palette <name> | Color palette: warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro | | --rendering <name> | Rendering style: flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk | | --style <name> | Preset shorthand (expands to palette + rendering, see Style Presets) | | --text <level> | Text density: none, title-only, title-subtitle, text-rich | | --mood <level> | Emotional intensity: subtle, balanced, bold | | --aspect <ratio> | 16:9 (default), 2.35:1, 4:3, 3:2, 1:1, 3:4 | | --lang <code> | Title language (en, zh, ja, etc.) | | --no-title | Alias for --text none | | --quick | Skip confirmation, use auto-selection for missing dimensions |

Five Dimensions

| Dimension | Controls | Values | Default | |-----------|----------|--------|---------| | Type | Visual composition, information structure | hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal | auto | | Palette | Colors, color scheme, decorative hints | warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro | auto | | Rendering | Line quality, texture, depth, element style | flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk | auto | | Text | Text density, information hierarchy | none, title-only, title-subtitle, text-rich | title-only | | Mood | Emotional intensity, visual weight | subtle, balanced, bold | balanced |

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

Type Gallery

| Type | Description | Best For | |------|-------------|----------| | hero | Large visual impact, title overlay | Product launch, brand promotion, major announcements | | conceptual | Concept visualization, abstract core ideas | Technical articles, methodology, architecture design | | typography | Text-focused layout, prominent title | Opinion pieces, quotes, insights | | metaphor | Visual metaphor, concrete expressing abstract | Philosophy, growth, personal development | | scene | Atmospheric scene, narrative feel | Stories, travel, lifestyle | | minimal | Minimalist composition, generous whitespace | Zen, focus, core concepts |

Type composition details: references/types.md

Palette Gallery

| Palette | Vibe | Primary Colors | |---------|------|----------------| | warm | Friendly, approachable | Orange, golden yellow, terracotta | | elegant | Sophisticated, refined | Soft coral, muted teal, dusty rose | | cool | Technical, professional | Engineering blue, navy, cyan | | dark | Cinematic, premium | Electric purple, cyan, magenta | | earth | Natural, organic | Forest green, sage, earth brown | | vivid | Energetic, bold | Bright red, neon green, electric blue | | pastel | Gentle, whimsical | Soft pink, mint, lavender | | mono | Clean, focused | Black, near-black, white | | retro | Nostalgic, vintage | Muted orange, dusty pink, maroon |

Palette definitions: references/palettes/

Rendering Gallery

| Rendering | Description | Key Characteristics | |-----------|-------------|---------------------| | flat-vector | Clean modern vector | Uniform outlines, flat fills, geometric icons | | hand-drawn | Sketchy organic illustration | Imperfect strokes, paper texture, doodles | | painterly | Soft watercolor/paint | Brush strokes, color bleeds, soft edges | | digital | Polished modern digital | Precise edges, subtle gradients, UI components | | pixel | Retro 8-bit pixel art | Pixel grid, dithering, chunky shapes | | chalk | Chalk on blackboard | Chalk strokes, dust effects, board texture |

Rendering definitions: references/renderings/

Text & Mood

| Text Level | Title | Subtitle | Tags | Use Case | |------------|:-----:|:--------:|:----:|----------| | none | - | - | - | Pure visual, no text | | title-only | ✓ (≤8 字) | - | - | Simple headline (default) | | title-subtitle | ✓ | ✓ (≤15 字) | - | Title + supporting context | | text-rich | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (2-4) | Information-dense |

| Mood | Contrast | Saturation | Weight | Use Case | |------|:--------:|:----------:|:------:|----------| | subtle | Low | Muted | Light | Corporate, thought leadership | | balanced | Medium | Normal | Medium | General articles (default) | | bold | High | Vivid | Heavy | Announcements, promotions |

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:

| Preference | Output Path | |------------|-------------| | same-dir | {article-dir}/ | | imgs-subdir | {article-dir}/imgs/ | | independent (default) | cover-image/{topic-slug}/ | | Pasted content | cover-image/{topic-slug}/ (always) |

<output-dir>/
├── source-{slug}.{ext}    # Source files (text, images, etc.)
├── 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) ⚠️ REQUIRED if not found
- [ ] Step 1: Analyze content + determine output directory ⚠️ MUST ask if not configured
- [ ] Step 2: Confirm options (5 dimensions) ⚠️ REQUIRED unless --quick or all specified
- [ ] Step 3: Create prompt
- [ ] Step 4: Generate image
- [ ] Step 5: Completion report

Flow

Input → [Step 0: Preferences/Setup] → Analyze → [Output Dir ⚠️] → [Confirm: 5 Dimensions] → Prompt → Generate → Complete
                                                                          ↓
                                                                  (skip if --quick or all specified)

Step 0: Load Preferences (EXTEND.md) ⚠️

Purpose: Load user preferences or run first-time setup. Do NOT skip setup if EXTEND.md not found.

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"

| Result | Action | |--------|--------| | Found | Read, parse, display preferences summary → Continue to Step 1 | | Not found | ⚠️ MUST run first-time setup (references/config/first-time-setup.md) → Then continue to Step 1 |

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"]

Schema: references/config/preferences-schema.md

Step 1: Analyze Content

Save source content (if pasted, save to source.md in target directory; if file path, use as-is)
Content analysis: Extract topic, core message, tone, keywords; identify visual metaphors; detect content type
Language detection: Detect source language, note user's input language, compare with EXTEND.md preference
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:

| Condition | Skipped | Still Asked | |-----------|---------|-------------| | --quick or quick_mode: true | 5 dimensions | Aspect ratio (unless --aspect) | | All 5 + --aspect specified | All | None |

Step 3: Create Prompt

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

Step 4: Generate Image

Backup existing cover.png → cover-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png (if regenerating)
Check available image generation skills; if multiple, ask user preference
Call selected skill with prompt file path, output path (cover.png), aspect ratio
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]
Location: [directory path]

Files:
✓ source-{slug}.{ext}
✓ prompts/cover.md
✓ cover.png
[✓ cover-backup-{timestamp}.png (if regenerated)]

Image Modification

| Action | Steps | |--------|-------| | Regenerate | Backup existing → Update prompt → Regenerate with same settings | | Change dimension | Backup existing → Confirm new value → Update prompt → Regenerate |

All modifications automatically backup existing cover.png before regenerating.

Notes

Cover must be readable at small preview sizes
Visual metaphors > literal representations
Title: max 8 chars, 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

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 Workflow: confirm-options.md | prompt-template.md Config: preferences-schema.md | first-time-setup.md | watermark-guide.md

Agent Skills: Cover Image Generator

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files