Generates article cover images with 5 dimensions (type, palette, rendering, text, mood) combining 11 color palettes and 7 rendering styles. Supports cinematic (2.35:1), widescreen (16:9), and square (1:1) aspects. Use when user asks to "generate cover image", "create article
Installs just this skill. Get the whole plugin for auto-invocation.
⚡ How it fires
How this skill gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.
Fires itselfClaude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.
You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
Slash command/baoyu-cover-image
👁️ Context preview
The summary Claude sees to decide when to auto-load this skill.
Generates article cover images with 5 dimensions (type, palette, rendering, text, mood) combining 11 color palettes and 7 rendering styles. Supports cinematic (2.35:1), widescreen (16:9), and square (1:1) aspects. Use when user asks to "generate cover image", "create article
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LanguageTypeScript
LicenseMIT
📦 Ships with baoyu-skills
</> SKILL.md
baoyu-cover-image.SKILL.md
---name: baoyu-cover-image
description: Generates article cover images with 5 dimensions (type, palette, rendering, text, mood) combining 11 color palettes and 7 rendering styles. Supports cinematic (2.35:1), widescreen (16:9), and square (1:1) aspects. Use when user asks to "generate cover image", "create article cover", or "make cover".
version: 1.117.5
metadata:
openclaw:
homepage: https://github.com/JimLiu/baoyu-skills#baoyu-cover-image
---# Cover Image Generator
Generate elegant cover images for articles with 5-dimensional customization.
## User Input Tools
When this skill prompts the user, follow this tool-selection rule (priority order):
1. **Prefer built-in user-input tools** exposed by the current agent runtime — e.g., `AskUserQuestion`, `request_user_input`, `clarify`, `ask_user`, or any equivalent.
2. **Fallback**: if no such tool exists, emit a numbered plain-text message and ask the user to reply with the chosen number/answer for each question.
3. **Batching**: if the tool supports multiple questions per call, combine all applicable questions into a single call; if only single-question, ask them one at a time in priority order.
Concrete `AskUserQuestion` references below are examples — substitute the local equivalent in other runtimes.
## Image Generation Tools
When this skill needs to render an image, resolve the backend in this order:
1. **Current-request override** — if the user names a specific backend in the current message, use it.
2. **Saved preference** — if `EXTEND.md` sets `preferred_image_backend` to a backend available right now, use it.
3. **Auto-select** (when the preference is `auto`, unset, or the pinned backend isn't available):
- **Codex (`imagegen`)** — first, inspect your available-skills / tool inventory. If a skill named `imagegen` is listed, you are running inside Codex and MUST use it: invoke via the `Skill` tool with `skill: "imagegen"`, passing the saved prompt file's content (plus output path and aspect ratio per Codex `imagegen`'s own args). Codex `imagegen` is the official raster backend in that runtime and outranks any non-native skill (e.g., `baoyu-image-gen`) unless the user has explicitly pinned a different `preferred_image_backend`.
- **Codex via `codex exec` (`codex-imagegen`)** — if the current runtime exposes no native `imagegen` skill but the `codex` CLI is on `PATH` with an active `codex login`, route through `baoyu-image-gen --provider codex-cli` (preferred), or — if baoyu-image-gen is unavailable — invoke the bundled wrapper directly. Details, parameters, and the runtime-discovery procedure live in [references/codex-imagegen.md](references/codex-imagegen.md) — load that file only when this branch is selected.
- **Cursor (`GenerateImage`)** — if the runtime exposes a native `GenerateImage` tool, you are running inside Cursor and it outranks any non-native skill the same way Codex `imagegen` does. Two hard caveats: (a) it has no aspect-ratio parameter — state the target aspect ratio / dimensions explicitly in the prompt text passed as `description`; (b) it does not accept an output directory — it saves to a tool-managed location, so after generation copy/move the file to the skill's expected output path (e.g., `outputs/.../NN-xxx.png`). Reference images go in `reference_image_paths`.
- **Other runtime-native tools** — if the runtime exposes a different native image tool (e.g., Hermes `image_generate`), use it the same way.
- Otherwise, if exactly one non-native backend is installed (e.g., `baoyu-image-gen`), use it.
- Otherwise (multiple non-native backends with no runtime-native tool), ask the user once — batch with any other initial questions.
4. **If none are available**, tell the user and ask how to proceed.
**⛔ Never substitute SVG, HTML, canvas, or other code-based rendering for raster image generation.** Codex `imagegen`'s own description says it should be used "when the output should be a bitmap asset rather than repo-native code or vector." If you cannot resolve a raster backend via step 3, fall through to step 4 and ask the user — do **not** silently emit SVG, write inline `<svg>` markup, or produce HTML/CSS art as a substitute. This applies even if the article/section seems "diagram-like": the consumer skill calling this rule has already decided that a raster image is what it needs.
**⛔ Never repair rendered text by painting over a generated bitmap.** Do not use ImageMagick, Pillow, Canvas, SVG, HTML/CSS, OCR scripts, or any other programmatic overlay to cover, rewrite, erase, stroke, or replace title/subtitle text inside an already generated cover image. If text is wrong or unclear, regenerate from a corrected prompt, switch to a lower-text or no-title variant, or ask the user which imperfect candidate to keep.
Setting `preferred_image_backend: ask` forces the step-3 prompt every run regardless of available backends. Users change the pinned backend via the `## Changing Preferences` section below.
**Prompt file requirement (hard)**: write each image's full, final prompt to a standalone file under `prompts/` (naming: `NN-{type}-[slug].md`) BEFORE invoking any backend. The backend receives the prompt file (or its content); the file is the reproducibility record and lets you switch backends without regenerating prompts.
Concrete tool names (`imagegen`, `GenerateImage`, `image_generate`, `baoyu-image-gen`) above are examples — substitute the local equivalents under the same rule.
## Confirmation Policy
Default behavior: **confirm before generation**.
- Treat explicit skill invocation, a file path, matched keywords/presets, `EXTEND.md` defaults, and any documented auto-selection as **recommendation inputs only**. None of them authorizes skipping confirmation.
- Do **not** start Step 3 or Step 4 until the user confirms the dimensions / aspect / language / backend choices.
- Skip confirmation only when the current request explicitly says to do so, for example: `--quick`, "直接生成", "不用确认", "跳过确认", "按默认出图", or equivalent wording. `quick_mode: true` in `EXTEND.md` counts as a standing explicit opt-out — set it only when you want every run to skip Step 2.
- If confirmation is skipped explicitly, state the assumed dimensions / aspect / language / backend in the next user-facing update before generating.
4. **Deep analyze references** ⚠️: Extract specific, concrete elements (see reference-images.md)
5. **Detect language**: Compare source, user input, EXTEND.md preference
6. **Determine output directory**: Per File Structure rules
**⚠️ People in Reference Images:**
If reference images contain **people** who should appear in the cover:
- **Model supports `--ref`** (default): Copy image to `refs/`, pass via `--ref` at generation. No description file needed — the model sees the face directly.
- **Model does NOT support `--ref`** (Jimeng, Seedream 3.0): Create `refs/ref-NN-{slug}.md` with per-character description (hair, glasses, skin tone, clothing). Embed as MUST/REQUIRED instructions in prompt text.
See [reference-images.md](references/workflow/reference-images.md) for full decision table.
### Step 2: Confirm Options ⚠️
**Hard gate**: this step is mandatory per the [Confirmation Policy](#confirmation-policy) — Steps 3–4 cannot start until the user confirms here (or explicitly opts out with `--quick` / `quick_mode: true` / equivalent wording in the current request).
**MUST use `AskUserQuestion` tool** to present options as interactive selection — NOT plain text tables. Present up to 4 questions in a single `AskUserQuestion` call (Type, Palette, Rendering, Font + Settings). Each question shows the recommended option first with reason, followed by alternatives.
Full confirmation flow and question format: [references/workflow/confirm-options.md](references/workflow/confirm-options.md)
| Condition | Skipped | Still Asked |
|-----------|---------|-------------|
| `--quick` or `quick_mode: true` | 6 dimensions | Aspect ratio (unless `--aspect`) |
| All 6 + `--aspect` specified | All | None |
### Step 3: Create Prompt
Save to `prompts/cover.md`. Template: [references/workflow/prompt-template.md](references/workflow/prompt-template.md)
**CRITICAL - References in Frontmatter**:
- Files saved to `refs/` → Add to frontmatter `references` list
- Style extracted verbally (no file) → Omit `references`, describe in body
- Before writing → Verify: `test -f refs/ref-NN-{slug}.{ext}`
**Reference elements in body** MUST be detailed, prefixed with "MUST"/"REQUIRED", with integration approach.
### Step 4: Generate Image
1. **Backup existing** `cover.png` if regenerating
2. **Select backend** via the `## Image Generation Tools` rule at the top: use whatever is available; if multiple, ask the user once. Do this once per session before any generation.
3. **Write the full final prompt** to `prompts/01-cover-[slug].md` (hard requirement) BEFORE invoking the backend.
4. **Process references** from prompt frontmatter:
- `direct` usage → pass via `--ref` (use ref-capable backend)
- `style`/`palette` → extract traits, append to prompt
5. **Generate**: Call the chosen backend with the prompt file, output path, aspect ratio.
- **`codex-imagegen`**: see [references/codex-imagegen.md](references/codex-imagegen.md) for the invocation contract (preferred `baoyu-image-gen --provider codex-cli` path, runtime wrapper discovery, parameter notes, stdout schema, batch semantics).
- **Codex `imagegen` (native)** or other runtime-native tools / `baoyu-image-gen` skill: per the rule in `## Image Generation Tools` above.
| **Change dimension** | Backup → Confirm new value → Update prompt → Regenerate |
Text correction policy:
- If the title/subtitle is misspelled, garbled, hard to read, or visually weak, do not patch the bitmap with code.
- For text-correction regenerations, write a new prompt file and a new output path so the flawed candidate is preserved for comparison.
- Post-processing is limited to crop, resize, compression, or format conversion that does not alter text or the main composition.
## Composition Principles
- **Whitespace**: 40-60% breathing room
- **Visual anchor**: Main element centered or offset left
- **Characters**: Simplified silhouettes; NO realistic humans
- **Title**: Use exact title from user/source; never invent
## Changing Preferences
EXTEND.md lives at the path noted in **Step 0**. Three ways to change it:
- **Edit directly** — open EXTEND.md and change fields. Full schema: [references/config/preferences-schema.md](references/config/preferences-schema.md).
- **Reconfigure interactively** — delete EXTEND.md (or ask "reconfigure baoyu-cover-image preferences" / "重新配置"). The next run re-triggers first-time setup.
- **Common one-line edits**:
- `preferred_image_backend: auto` — default; runtime-native tool wins, falls back to the only installed backend, asks only if multiple non-native are present.
- `preferred_image_backend: codex-imagegen` — pin to Codex's built-in.
- `preferred_image_backend: baoyu-image-gen` — pin to the baoyu-image-gen skill.
- `preferred_image_backend: ask` — confirm backend every run.
- `watermark.enabled: true`, `preferred_type`, `preferred_palette`, `preferred_rendering`, `default_aspect`, `quick_mode: true`, `language` — shift the auto-selection defaults and confirmation flow.
