comic-metadata-curator

name	comic-metadata-curator
description	Standardized workflows and instructions for AI agents auditing, updating, normalizing, and extracting comic metadata (.cbz/.cbr) using InkTag CLI and MCP tools.

Comic Metadata Curator Skill

This skill guides AI agents on auditing, updating, and standardizing metadata embedded in .cbz and .cbr comic archives using InkTag.

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🛠️ Tooling & Interface Options

AI agents can interact with the comic metadata library through three interfaces:

1. CLI Tool (InkTag.Cli): Ideal for terminal subagent executions via shell commands.
2. MCP Server (InkTag.Mcp): Ideal for model-context-protocol stdio tool calls.
3. C# Domain Library (InkTag.Core): Ideal for programmatic .NET applications.

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📋 Recommended Curation Workflows

1. Auditing & Discovering Missing Metadata

Before modifying files, scan the target directory to locate incomplete or malformed metadata:

CLI Command:

dotnet run --project src/InkTag.Cli/InkTag.Cli.csproj -- scan /path/to/comics --missing "Writer,Series,Year,Genre" --json

MCP Tool Call:

{
  "name": "scan_comics",
  "arguments": {
    "directory": "/path/to/comics",
    "missingFields": ["Writer", "Series", "Year", "Genre"]
  }
}

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2. Multimodal Vision Cover Inspection

If metadata (like Title, Series, Number, Writer) is missing or uncertain, extract the cover image and use vision capabilities to visually inspect the comic cover:

CLI Command:

dotnet run --project src/InkTag.Cli/InkTag.Cli.csproj -- cover /path/to/comics/issue1.cbz --output /tmp/issue1_cover.jpg --json

MCP Tool Call:

{
  "name": "extract_cover_image",
  "arguments": {
    "path": "/path/to/comics/issue1.cbz",
    "returnBase64": true
  }
}

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3. Dry-Run Validation (Safety Preview)

Always perform a dry-run before applying bulk modifications to verify target changes:

CLI Command:

dotnet run --project src/InkTag.Cli/InkTag.Cli.csproj -- update /path/to/comics --patch '{"Publisher":"Marvel", "Manga":"No"}' --dry-run --json

MCP Tool Call:

{
  "name": "update_comic_metadata",
  "arguments": {
    "path": "/path/to/comics/issue1.cbz",
    "patch": { "Publisher": "Marvel", "LanguageISO": "en" },
    "dryRun": true
  }
}

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4. Automated Bulk Tagging with ComicVine & Visual dHash

Automatically query ComicVine and verify visual cover matches:

CLI Command:

dotnet run --project src/InkTag.Cli/InkTag.Cli.csproj -- scrape /path/to/comics --mode fill-missing --dry-run --json

MCP Tool Call:

{
  "name": "bulk_scrape_directory",
  "arguments": {
    "directory": "/path/to/comics",
    "mode": "fill-missing",
    "dryRun": false
  }
}

---

5. Executing Safe Metadata Updates

Apply validated property changes back into comic archives. The library automatically creates pre-write backup snapshots and atomic swap files:

CLI Command:

dotnet run --project src/InkTag.Cli/InkTag.Cli.csproj -- update /path/to/comics/issue1.cbz --patch '{"Writer":"Stan Lee", "Penciller":"Steve Ditko", "Year":1962}' --json

MCP Tool Call:

{
  "name": "update_comic_metadata",
  "arguments": {
    "path": "/path/to/comics/issue1.cbz",
    "patch": { "Writer": "Stan Lee", "Penciller": "Steve Ditko", "Year": 1962 },
    "dryRun": false
  }
}

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6. Atomic Disaster Recovery & Batch Rollback

If a modification needs to be undone, query history and rollback single files or entire batch jobs:

MCP Rollback Tool Calls:

// Rollback single file snapshot
{
  "name": "restore_comic_backup",
  "arguments": {
    "path": "/path/to/comics/issue1.cbz",
    "timestamp": "2026-08-22T23:30:00Z"
  }
}

// Rollback entire multi-file batch
{
  "name": "restore_batch_job",
  "arguments": {
    "batchJobId": "batch_20260822_123456_a4f910"
  }
}

---

📐 Metadata Standardization Guidelines

When normalizing comic metadata, follow these rules:

• LanguageISO: Use 2-letter ISO 639-1 codes ("en", "ja", "fr", "es").
• Manga: Set to "Yes" for right-to-left reading direction, "No" for standard left-to-right.
• Creator Fields: Separate multiple creators with commas (e.g. "Stan Lee, Jack Kirby").
• Dates: Ensure Year, Month, and Day are valid numeric integers.
• Issue Numbers: Use standard numeric or issue strings ("1", "1.5", "Annual 1").
• Tagging Attribution: Ensure automated ComicVine scrapers append standard tagging notes in <Notes> with [Issue ID XXXX] and [Cover Match XX%].