Baoyu Image Cards

Reference Images

User-supplied refs are separate from the internal "image-1 as anchor" chain (Step 3) — they layer on top of it.

Intake: via --ref <files...> or paths pasted in conversation.

• File path → copy to refs/NN-ref-{slug}.{ext}
• Pasted with no path → ask for the path, or extract style traits as a text fallback

Usage modes (per reference):

Record refs in each affected card's prompt frontmatter:

references:
  - ref_id: 01
    filename: 01-ref-brand.png
    usage: direct

At generation time: verify files exist. Image 1 with usage: direct + backend that accepts refs → pass via the backend's ref parameter (becomes the chain anchor). Images 2+ keep using image-1 as --ref per Step 3 — do NOT re-stack user refs on top (avoids conflicting signals). For style/palette, embed extracted traits in every prompt.

File Layout

image-cards/{topic-slug}/
├── source-{slug}.{ext}
├── analysis.md
├── outline-strategy-{a,b,c}.md    # Path C only
├── outline.md
├── prompts/NN-{type}-{slug}.md
├── NN-{type}-{slug}.png
└── refs/                          # only if --ref used

Slug: 2-4 words, kebab-case. "AI 工具推荐" → ai-tools-recommend. On collision, append -YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.

Backup rule (applies throughout): before overwriting any file — source, outline, prompt, image — rename the existing one to <name>-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.<ext>. This protects user edits.

Workflow

- [ ] Step 0: Load EXTEND.md ⛔ BLOCKING (interactive only)
- [ ] Step 1: Analyze content → analysis.md
- [ ] Step 2: Smart Confirm ⚠️ REQUIRED (Path A / B / C)
- [ ] Step 3: Generate images
- [ ] Step 4: Completion report

Step 0: Load EXTEND.md ⛔ BLOCKING

Check these paths in order; first hit wins:

• Found → read, parse, print a summary (style / layout / watermark / language), continue.
• Not found + interactive → run first-time setup (see references/config/first-time-setup.md) and save before anything else. Do NOT analyze content or ask style questions until preferences exist — this keeps first-run behavior predictable.
• Not found + --yes → skip setup, use built-in defaults (no watermark, style/layout auto-selected, language from content). Do not prompt, do not create EXTEND.md.

EXTEND.md keys: watermark, preferred style/layout, custom style definitions, language preference, preferred image backend, generation batch size. Schema: references/config/preferences-schema.md.

Step 1: Analyze Content → analysis.md

1. Save the source (backup rule applies if source.md exists).
2. Run the deep analysis in references/workflows/analysis-framework.md: content type, hook potential, audience, engagement signals, visual opportunity map, swipe flow.
3. Detect source language, pick recommended image count (2-10).
4. Auto-recommend strategy + style + layout + palette using the Auto-Selection table above.
5. Write everything to analysis.md.

Step 2: Smart Confirm ⚠️ REQUIRED

Hard gate: this step is mandatory per the Confirmation Policy — Step 3 cannot start until the user confirms here (or explicitly opts out with --yes / equivalent wording in the current request).

Goal: present the auto-recommended plan and let the user confirm or adjust. Skip this step entirely under --yes — proceed with Path A using the analysis and any CLI overrides.

Display summary before asking:

📋 内容分析
  主题：[topic] | 类型：[content_type]
  要点：[key points]
  受众：[audience]

🎨 推荐方案（自动匹配）
  策略：[A/B/C] [name]（[reason]）
  风格：[style] · 布局：[layout] · 配色：[palette or 默认] · 预设：[preset]
  图片：[N]张（封面+[N-2]内容+结尾）
  元素：[background] / [decorations] / [emphasis]

Then ask one question — three paths. Verbatim option copy: references/confirmation.md.

Path A — Quick confirm (trust auto-recommendation): generate a single outline using the recommended strategy + style → save to outline.md → Step 3.

Path B — Customize: ask five questions (strategy/style, layout, palette, count, optional notes) with the recommendation pre-filled — blanks keep the recommendation. Generate one outline with the user's choices → outline.md → Step 3. See references/confirmation.md.

Path C — Detailed mode: two sub-confirmations.

• Step 2a — Content understanding: ask selling points (multi-select), audience, style preference (authentic / professional / aesthetic / auto), optional context. Update analysis.md.
• Step 2b — Three outline variants: generate outline-strategy-a.md, outline-strategy-b.md, outline-strategy-c.md. Each MUST have a different structure AND a different recommended style — include style_reason in the frontmatter. Page-count heuristic: A ~4-6, B ~3-5, C ~3-4. Template: references/workflows/outline-template.md; frontmatter example in references/confirmation.md.
• Step 2c — Selection: ask three questions (outline A/B/C/Combined, style, visual elements). Save selected/merged outline to outline.md → Step 3.

Step 3: Generate Images

With confirmed outline + style + layout + palette:

Visual consistency — image-1 anchor chain: character / mascot / color rendering drifts between calls unless you anchor them. Generate image 1 (cover) first WITHOUT --ref, then pass image 1 as --ref to every subsequent image. This is the single most important consistency trick for this skill — don't skip it even if the backend also supports a session ID.

Generation flow:

1. Write the full prompt for every image to prompts/NN-{type}-{slug}.md in the user's preferred language (backup rule applies), then verify all selected prompt files exist.
2. Generate image 1 first without --ref; backup rule applies to the PNG file. This establishes the anchor.
3. Build a task list for images 2+ using image 1 as --ref <path-to-image-01.png>.
4. Dispatch images 2+ in batches per the ## Batch Generation Policy: backend native batch first, runtime parallel tool calls second, sequential only as fallback.
5. Report progress after each completed image. On failure, retry only the failed item once from the same saved prompt file.

Watermark (if enabled in EXTEND.md): append to the generation prompt:

Include a subtle watermark "[content]" positioned at [position].
The watermark should be legible but not distracting.

See references/config/watermark-guide.md.

Backend selection: per the Image Generation Tools rule at the top — use whatever is available, ask once if multiple, before any generation. Under --yes, use the EXTEND.md preference and fall back to the first available backend. Prompt files MUST exist before invoking any backend.

Session ID (if the backend supports --sessionId): use cards-{topic-slug}-{timestamp} for every image; combined with the ref chain this gives maximum consistency.

Step 4: Completion Report

Image Card Series Complete!

Topic: [topic]
Mode: [Quick / Custom / Detailed]
Strategy: [A/B/C/Combined]
Style: [name]
Palette: [name or "default"]
Layout: [name or "varies"]
Location: [directory]
Images: N total

✓ analysis.md
✓ outline.md
✓ outline-strategy-a/b/c.md (detailed mode only)

- 01-cover-[slug].png ✓ Cover (sparse)
- 02-content-[slug].png ✓ Content (balanced)
- ...
- NN-ending-[slug].png ✓ Ending (sparse)

Content Breakdown Principles

For the style × layout compatibility matrix, see the Style × Layout Matrix above.

Image Modification

Always update the prompt file before regenerating — it's the source of truth and makes changes reproducible.

Text correction policy:

• If a card's title, body copy, tags, or any other rendered text 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.

References

Notes

• Auto-retry once on generation failure before reporting an error.
• For sensitive public figures, use stylized cartoon alternatives.
• Smart Confirm (Step 2) is required; Detailed mode adds a second confirmation (2a + 2c).

Changing Preferences

EXTEND.md lives at the first matching path listed 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-image-cards 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.
  • generation_batch_size: 4 — default number of images to render concurrently when the backend/runtime supports batch or parallel generation.
  • preferred_style: notion, preferred_layout: dense, preferred_palette: macaron, language: zh.
  • watermark.enabled: true + watermark.content: "@handle" — add a watermark.