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

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.)
├── 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"

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. Save source content (if pasted, save to source.md in target directory; if file path, use as-is)
2. Content analysis: Extract topic, core message, tone, keywords; identify visual metaphors; detect content type
3. Language detection: Detect source language, note user's input language, compare with EXTEND.md preference
4. 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

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

Step 4: Generate Image

1. Backup existing cover.png → cover-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png (if regenerating)
2. Check available image generation skills; if multiple, ask user preference
3. Call selected skill with prompt file path, output path (cover.png), aspect ratio
4. 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

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: 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