Baoyu Cover Image

Generates article cover images with 5 dimensions (type, palette, rendering, text, mood) combining 11 color palettes and 7 rendering styles. Supports cinemati...

Security Scan

The skill is an instruction-only cover-image generator whose declared requirements and runtime instructions are internally consistent and proportionate to its stated purpose.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description (cover image generator) align with the content of SKILL.md and the included reference docs. The skill does not request unrelated binaries, environment variables, or external credentials.

Instruction Scope

Instructions are focused on image generation, user prompts, and preference management. They do require writing reproducibility prompt files under prompts/ and creating/saving an EXTEND.md preference file (.baoyu-skills/ in-project or ~/.baoyu-skills/) during first-time setup (the setup is explicitly blocking). This file I/O and blocking setup are consistent with the stated behavior but are notable because they change filesystem state and must complete before other workflows.

Install Mechanism

No install spec or code files are present; the skill is instruction-only, so there is no package download or arbitrary code installation risk.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables, credentials, or config paths beyond writing its own EXTEND.md and prompt files. Requested access is proportional to its purpose.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does persist user preferences and prompt files in either a project-local directory or the user's home (~/.baoyu-skills) per the setup flow. It is not always-enabled and does not request elevated system-wide privileges, but the blocking first-time setup and writing to the filesystem are behavioral considerations the user should expect.

Assessment

This skill is instruction-only and appears coherent with its purpose. Before installing or using it, be aware it will: (1) run a mandatory first-time setup that asks preference questions and writes an EXTEND.md preference file (project-local or in your home directory), (2) save each full, final prompt to prompts/ before invoking an image backend, and (3) prefer runtime-native image tools or any pinned backend. It does not request credentials or network endpoints in its manifest, but it will invoke whatever image backend the agent/runtime exposes — confirm which backend will be used. Also note a prompt guideline: it instructs the generator to produce stylized likenesses rather than refusing in cases involving sensitive/copyrighted figures; ensure you are comfortable with legal and policy implications before proceeding.

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):
   • If the current runtime exposes a native image tool (e.g., Codex imagegen, Hermes image_generate), use it. Runtime-native tools are preferred by default — agents that know their own tool inventory should surface the native one here.
   • Otherwise, if exactly one non-native backend is installed (e.g., baoyu-imagine), 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.

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, image_generate, baoyu-imagine) 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.

Options

Option	Description
--type <name>	hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal
--palette <name>	warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro, duotone, macaron
--rendering <name>	flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk, screen-print
--style <name>	Preset shorthand (see Style Presets)
--text <level>	none, title-only, title-subtitle, text-rich
--mood <level>	subtle, balanced, bold
--font <name>	clean, handwritten, serif, display
--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
--ref <files...>	Reference images for style/composition guidance

Five Dimensions

Dimension	Values	Default
Type	hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal	auto
Palette	warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro, duotone, macaron	auto
Rendering	flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk, screen-print	auto
Text	none, title-only, title-subtitle, text-rich	title-only
Mood	subtle, balanced, bold	balanced
Font	clean, handwritten, serif, display	clean

Auto-selection rules: references/auto-selection.md

Galleries

Types: hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal → Details: references/types.md

Palettes: warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro, duotone, macaron → Details: references/palettes/

Renderings: flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk, screen-print → Details: references/renderings/

Text Levels: none (pure visual) | title-only (default) | title-subtitle | text-rich (with tags) → Details: references/dimensions/text.md

Mood Levels: subtle (low contrast) | balanced (default) | bold (high contrast) → Details: references/dimensions/mood.md

Fonts: clean (sans-serif) | handwritten | serif | display (bold decorative) → Details: references/dimensions/font.md

File Structure

Output directory per default_output_dir preference:

• same-dir: {article-dir}/
• imgs-subdir: {article-dir}/imgs/
• independent (default): cover-image/{topic-slug}/

<output-dir>/
├── source-{slug}.{ext}    # Source files
├── refs/                  # Reference images (if provided)
│   ├── ref-01-{slug}.{ext}
│   └── ref-01-{slug}.md   # Description file
├── prompts/cover.md       # Generation prompt
└── cover.png              # Output image

Slug: 2-4 words, kebab-case. Conflict: append -YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS

Workflow

Progress Checklist

Cover Image Progress:
- [ ] Step 0: Check preferences (EXTEND.md) ⛔ BLOCKING
- [ ] Step 1: Analyze content + save refs + determine output dir
- [ ] Step 2: Confirm options (6 dimensions) ⚠️ unless --quick
- [ ] Step 3: Create prompt
- [ ] Step 4: Generate image
- [ ] Step 5: Completion report

Flow

Input → [Step 0: Preferences] ─┬─ Found → Continue
                               └─ Not found → First-Time Setup ⛔ BLOCKING → Save EXTEND.md → Continue
        ↓
Analyze + Save Refs → [Output Dir] → [Confirm: 6 Dimensions] → Prompt → Generate → Complete
                                              ↓
                                     (skip if --quick or all specified)

Step 0: Load Preferences ⛔ BLOCKING

Check EXTEND.md in priority order — the first one found wins:

Priority	Path	Scope
1	.baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md	Project
2	${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md	XDG
3	$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md	User home

Result	Action
Found	Load, display summary → Continue
Not found	⛔ Run first-time setup (references/config/first-time-setup.md) → Save → Continue

CRITICAL: If not found, complete setup BEFORE any other steps or questions.

Step 1: Analyze Content

1. Save reference images (if provided) → references/workflow/reference-images.md
2. Save source content (if pasted, save to source.md)
3. Analyze content: topic, tone, keywords, visual metaphors
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 for full decision table.

Step 2: Confirm Options ⚠️

Hard gate: this step is mandatory per the 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

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

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
6. On failure: auto-retry once

Step 5: Completion Report

Cover Generated!

Topic: [topic]
Type: [type] | Palette: [palette] | Rendering: [rendering]
Text: [text] | Mood: [mood] | Font: [font] | Aspect: [ratio]
Title: [title or "visual only"]
Language: [lang] | Watermark: [enabled/disabled]
References: [N images or "extracted style" or "none"]
Location: [directory path]

Files:
✓ source-{slug}.{ext}
✓ prompts/cover.md
✓ cover.png

Image Modification

Action	Steps
Regenerate	Backup → Update prompt file FIRST → Regenerate
Change dimension	Backup → Confirm new value → Update prompt → Regenerate

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.
• 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-imagine — pin to the baoyu-imagine 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.

References

Dimensions: text.md | mood.md | font.md Palettes: references/palettes/ Renderings: references/renderings/ Types: references/types.md Auto-Selection: references/auto-selection.md Style Presets: references/style-presets.md Compatibility: references/compatibility.md Visual Elements: references/visual-elements.md Workflow: confirm-options.md | prompt-template.md | reference-images.md Config: preferences-schema.md | first-time-setup.md | watermark-guide.md