Text-to-Carousel

Generate professional social media carousel images (Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Xiaohongshu) from text content, articles, or URLs. Use when asked to create carousel, create slides, make social media graphics, convert article to carousel, generate carousel from text, text to carousel, or make Instagram/LinkedIn/TikTok carousel posts. Supports Chinese, English, Malay, and other languages. Outputs 1024x1024 PNG/JPG images.

Generate professional carousel images from text content using Gemini image generation API.

Requirements

• Gemini API key with billing enabled (check TOOLS.md or ask user)
• Model: gemini-3-pro-image-preview (REQUIRED for correct Chinese/CJK text rendering)
• VPN: May need US VPN if Gemini returns location errors

Workflow

1. Gather Input

Determine carousel content from one of:

• Direct text/bullet points from user
• Article URL (fetch and extract key points)
• WordPress post (fetch via API)
• User-provided topic (generate content)

Collect:

• Brand info: name, colors, style (check TOOLS.md for known brands)
• Product image: URL or path (for CTA slide)
• Slide count: default 6 slides
• Size: default 1024x1024
• Language: detect from content

2. Plan Slide Structure

For health/product carousels, use this proven 6-slide structure:

#	Type	Purpose
1	Cover	Hook + brand + topic
2	Problem	Why reader should care
3	Solution	How product/topic solves it
4	Details	Key features, data, ingredients
5	Social Proof	Testimonials, results, evidence
6	CTA	Product image + buy/contact

For other structures, see references/prompt-patterns.md.

3. Write Prompts

For each slide, write a Gemini prompt following these rules:

Design prompt structure:

Create a [SIZE] [STYLE_PRESET] Instagram slide for [BRAND].

LAYOUT:
- Background: [COLORS/GRADIENT]
- [ELEMENT DESCRIPTIONS WITH EXACT TEXT]
- "[SLIDE_NUM] / [TOTAL]" bottom right

CRITICAL: All Chinese/CJK text must be exactly as written above.

Key rules:

• Specify EXACT text to render — quote every Chinese character
• Include slide number (e.g., "01 / 06")
• Reference brand name and consistent color palette
• For CTA slide with product image: attach the image via inlineData in API call
• For style presets and templates, read references/prompt-patterns.md

4. Generate Images

Use scripts/generate_carousel.py or call Gemini API directly:

import urllib.request, json, base64

API_KEY = "..."  # from TOOLS.md
MODEL = "gemini-3-pro-image-preview"  # REQUIRED for CJK text
url = f"https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/{MODEL}:generateContent?key={API_KEY}"

parts = [{"text": prompt}]
# For CTA slide with product image:
# parts.insert(0, {"inlineData": {"mimeType": "image/jpeg", "data": base64_image}})

payload = {
    "contents": [{"parts": parts}],
    "generationConfig": {"responseModalities": ["image", "text"]}
}

data = json.dumps(payload).encode("utf-8")
req = urllib.request.Request(url, data=data, headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"})
resp = urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=180)
result = json.loads(resp.read())

Add 5-second delay between slides to avoid rate limits.

5. Verify Output

After generation, verify each slide with vision model:

• Chinese/CJK text accuracy (character-level check)
• Design consistency across slides
• Product image visibility on CTA slide
• Brand elements present (logo, colors, slide numbers)

If text is garbled, regenerate that slide. Pro model rarely fails on Chinese but verify anyway.

Model Selection Guide

Model	Chinese Text	Design Quality	Speed	Use When
gemini-3-pro-image-preview	✅ Perfect	✅ High	Slower	Default choice — CJK content
gemini-2.5-flash-image	❌ Garbled	✅ High	Fast	English-only content
gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview	⚠️ Untested	✅ High	Fast	Try for English content

Common Issues

Problem	Solution
429 quota exceeded	Check billing is linked to correct GCP project
Location not supported	Use US VPN
Chinese text garbled	Switch to gemini-3-pro-image-preview
Product image not matching	Attach actual product image via inlineData
Inconsistent design across slides	Include brand color hex codes and style description in every prompt

File Structure

text-to-carousel/
├── SKILL.md                          # This file
├── scripts/
│   └── generate_carousel.py          # Batch generation script (config-driven)
└── references/
    └── prompt-patterns.md            # Design presets, slide templates, tips