novel-uploader-guidelines-r2

name	novel-uploader-guidelines-r2
description	Guidelines for formatting novel content for R2 upload. Use when helping users prepare, format, or upload novel content (chapters, metadata, cover art) to Cloudflare R2 for web novel viewer applications.
metadata	{"author":"jerow","version":"1.0"}

Novel Content Formatting Guide for R2 Upload

This skill provides the file structure and format specifications for preparing novel content to be uploaded to Cloudflare R2 buckets for web novel viewer applications.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• User asks how to format novel content for upload
• User needs to prepare chapters, metadata, or cover art
• User wants to upload content to R2
• User asks about the structure of meta.json
• User needs validation rules for novel content
• User asks about chapter numbering or file formats

R2 Directory Structure

Each novel MUST follow this exact structure in R2:

novels/
└── {novel-slug}/
    ├── meta.json
    ├── chapters/
    │   ├── 00001.md
    │   ├── 00002.md
    │   ├── 00003.md
    │   └── ... (continue numbering)
    └── assets/
        └── cover_art.{jpg|png|webp}

Path Conventions

• Novel slug: Use kebab-case (lowercase with hyphens). Example: the-wandering-immortal, sword-masters-journey
• Chapter numbering: Zero-padded 5-digit numbers (00001, 00002, ..., 99999)
• Cover art: Must be named cover_art with a supported extension (.jpg, .png, .webp)

meta.json Format

Each novel MUST have a meta.json file at novels/{novel-slug}/meta.json with the following structure:

{
  "title": "The Wandering Immortal",
  "author": "Author Name",
  "description": "A captivating story of cultivation and adventure. This description appears on novel cards and the detail page. Keep it concise but compelling (2-3 sentences recommended).",
  "status": "ongoing",
  "genre": ["Fantasy", "Adventure"],
  "tags": ["Cultivation", "Reincarnation", "Progression"],
  "work-type": ["Original Work", "AI Assisted"],
  "language": "en",
  "publishedAt": "2024-01-15",
  "updatedAt": "2024-12-01"
}

Field Specifications

Field	Type	Required	Description
title	string	✅ Required	The novel's display title
author	string	✅ Required	Author's name or pen name
description	string	✅ Required	Brief synopsis shown in novel cards and detail page. 2-3 sentences recommended.
status	enum	✅ Required	Must be one of: "ongoing", "completed", "hiatus"
genre	string[]	✅ Required	Array selected from the supported genre list. Examples: "Fantasy", "Sci-fi", "Romance", "Mystery"
tags	string[]	⚠️ Optional	Array selected from the supported Royal Road-style tag list. Examples: "Reincarnation", "Time Travel", "Magic", "Progression"
work-type	string[]	⚠️ Optional	Array selected from: "Original Ideas", "Original Work", "Doujin", "AI Assisted", "AI-generated"
language	string	✅ Required	ISO 639-1 language code. Examples: "en", "es", "zh", "ja"
publishedAt	string	✅ Required	ISO 8601 date when the novel was first published. Format: YYYY-MM-DD
updatedAt	string	✅ Required	ISO 8601 date of the last chapter update. Format: YYYY-MM-DD

Supported genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Contemporary, Drama, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Romance, Satire, Sci-fi, Short Story, Thriller, Tragedy.

Supported tags: Anti-Hero Lead, Anti-Villain Lead, Apocalypse, Artificial Intelligence, Attractive Lead, Chivalry, Competing Love Interest, Cozy, Crafting, Cultivation, Cyberpunk, Deck Building, Dungeon Core, Dungeon Crawler, Dystopia, Female Lead, First Contact, GameLit, Gender Bender, Genetically Engineered, Grimdark, Hard Sci-fi, High Fantasy, Kingdom Building, Lesbian Romance, LitRPG, Local Protagonist, Low Fantasy, Magic, Magical Girl, Magitech, Male Gay Romance, Male Lead, Martial Arts, Mecha, Modern Knowledge, Monster Evolution, Multiple Lead Characters, Multiple Lovers, Mythos, Non-Human Lead, Non-Humanoid Lead, Otome, Portal Fantasy / Isekai, Post Apocalyptic, Progression, Reader Interactive, Reincarnation, Romance Subplot, Ruling Class, School Life, Secret Identity, Slice of Life, Soft Sci-fi, Space Opera, Sports, Steampunk, Strategy, Strong Lead, Super Heroes, Supernatural, Survival, System Invasion, Technologically Engineered, Time Loop, Time Travel, Tower, Urban Fantasy, Villainous Lead, Virtual Reality, War and Military, Wuxia.

Example meta.json Files

Fantasy Novel:

{
  "title": "Sword Master's Journey",
  "author": "Wei Chen",
  "description": "A young blacksmith discovers an ancient sword technique that sets him on a path to become the greatest sword master in history. But power comes with a price.",
  "status": "ongoing",
  "genre": ["fantasy", "action", "cultivation"],
  "tags": ["swords", "martial-arts", "weak-to-strong", "master-disciple"],
  "language": "en",
  "publishedAt": "2025-03-12",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-05"
}

Science Fiction Novel:

{
  "title": "Echoes of the Void",
  "author": "Sarah Kim",
  "description": "When humanity's first faster-than-light ship vanishes into deep space, a rescue mission uncovers secrets that threaten the fabric of reality itself.",
  "status": "completed",
  "genre": ["sci-fi", "thriller", "space-opera"],
  "tags": ["space-exploration", "aliens", "mystery", "hard-sci-fi"],
  "language": "en",
  "publishedAt": "2024-06-01",
  "updatedAt": "2025-11-30"
}

Chapter File Format (.md)

Each chapter file is a Markdown document with optional YAML frontmatter.

File Path

novels/{novel-slug}/chapters/{chapter-number}.md

Example: novels/the-wandering-immortal/chapters/00001.md

Frontmatter (Optional)

---
title: The Awakening
---

• title (optional): Human-readable chapter title. If omitted, the reader will display "Chapter {number}" (e.g., "Chapter 1")

Chapter Content

The chapter body is standard Markdown. Supported elements:

• Headings: #, ##, ### (avoid using # as it conflicts with the chapter title)
• Paragraphs: Separate with blank lines
• Emphasis: *italic*, **bold**
• Lists: Unordered (-) and ordered (1.)
• Blockquotes: > quoted text
• Code blocks: Triple backticks
• Horizontal rules: ---

Do NOT use:

• Inline HTML (it will be rendered as text for security)
• Embedded images (use descriptive text instead)
• External links (or use with caution)

Example Chapter File

novels/my-novel/chapters/00001.md:

---
title: The Awakening
---

The morning sun crept through the wooden shutters, casting long shadows across the dusty workshop floor. Li Wei sat cross-legged on the cold stone, his eyes closed in meditation.

He had been practicing the *Iron Body Technique* for three years now, but today felt different. The qi flowing through his meridians moved with an unfamiliar intensity.

"Focus," he whispered to himself. "It's almost time."

## The Breakthrough

As the sun reached its zenith, Li Wei felt a sudden surge of energy. His body began to tremble—not from weakness, but from an overwhelming power awakening within.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

---

*To be continued...*

Cover Art Requirements

File Specifications

• Path: novels/{novel-slug}/assets/cover_art.{extension}
• Supported formats: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp
• Recommended dimensions: 800x1200px (2:3 aspect ratio) minimum
• File size: Under 500KB recommended for fast loading
• Quality: High-quality, legible at thumbnail sizes

Naming Convention

The file MUST be named exactly cover_art with a supported extension:

• ✅ cover_art.jpg
• ✅ cover_art.png
• ✅ cover_art.webp
• ❌ cover.jpg (incorrect name)
• ❌ cover_art_v2.png (no suffixes allowed)

If no cover art is provided, the viewer will display a placeholder with the novel's initials.

Upload Checklist

Before uploading a novel to R2, verify:

• meta.json exists at novels/{slug}/meta.json
• All required fields in meta.json are present and valid
• status is one of: "ongoing", "completed", "hiatus"
• genre array has at least one entry
• Dates in meta.json use YYYY-MM-DD format
• Chapter files are numbered starting from 00001.md
• Chapter numbers are zero-padded to 5 digits
• Each chapter is valid Markdown
• Cover art (if provided) is named cover_art.{jpg|png|webp}
• All paths use forward slashes and lowercase (except file extensions)

R2 Upload Methods

Using Wrangler CLI

# Upload meta.json
wrangler r2 object put YOUR_BUCKET_NAME/novels/my-novel/meta.json --file=./meta.json --remote

# Upload a chapter
wrangler r2 object put YOUR_BUCKET_NAME/novels/my-novel/chapters/00001.md --file=./chapters/00001.md --remote

# Upload cover art
wrangler r2 object put YOUR_BUCKET_NAME/novels/my-novel/assets/cover_art.jpg --file=./cover_art.jpg --remote

Bulk Upload Script Example

#!/bin/bash
NOVEL_SLUG="my-novel"
BUCKET="YOUR_BUCKET_NAME"  # Replace with your R2 bucket name

# Upload meta
wrangler r2 object put $BUCKET/novels/$NOVEL_SLUG/meta.json --file=./meta.json --remote

# Upload all chapters
for chapter in chapters/*.md; do
  filename=$(basename "$chapter")
  wrangler r2 object put $BUCKET/novels/$NOVEL_SLUG/chapters/$filename --file="$chapter" --remote
done

# Upload cover art
wrangler r2 object put $BUCKET/novels/$NOVEL_SLUG/assets/cover_art.jpg --file=./cover_art.jpg --remote

Validation Tips

Validate JSON

Before uploading, validate your meta.json:

# Using jq
jq empty meta.json && echo "Valid JSON" || echo "Invalid JSON"

Validate Markdown

Test your Markdown renders correctly using any Markdown preview tool before uploading.

Check File Names

Ensure chapter numbering is sequential and zero-padded:

# List chapter files
ls -1 chapters/ | sort
# Expected output:
# 00001.md
# 00002.md
# 00003.md

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. ❌ Using spaces in the novel slug → ✅ Use hyphens instead
2. ❌ Chapter files like 1.md, 2.md → ✅ Use 00001.md, 00002.md
3. ❌ Missing required fields in meta.json → ✅ Double-check all required fields
4. ❌ Using incorrect status values → ✅ Only use: ongoing, completed, hiatus
5. ❌ Cover art with wrong name → ✅ Must be named cover_art.{ext}
6. ❌ HTML tags in Markdown → ✅ Use pure Markdown syntax
7. ❌ Inconsistent date formats → ✅ Always use YYYY-MM-DD

Quick Reference Card

Structure:
  novels/{slug}/meta.json
  novels/{slug}/chapters/00001.md
  novels/{slug}/assets/cover_art.jpg

meta.json required fields:
  title, author, description, status, genre, language, publishedAt, updatedAt

meta.json optional arrays:
  tags, work-type

Chapter frontmatter (optional):
  ---
  title: Chapter Title Here
  ---

Status values:
  "ongoing" | "completed" | "hiatus"

AI Agent Usage Instructions

When helping users format content:

1. Validate the structure — Check that all required paths and files are present
2. Generate meta.json — Ask user for novel details and generate a valid meta.json
3. Format chapters — Help convert raw text to properly formatted markdown with frontmatter
4. Create upload script — Generate a bulk upload script for the user's specific novel
5. Validate before upload — Run through the checklist above

Output Format: Always provide ready-to-use files and scripts. Don't just explain — generate the actual content the user needs.

Need Help?

• Check existing novels in R2 for reference examples
• Validate JSON before uploading: https://jsonlint.com/
• Test Markdown rendering: https://markdownlivepreview.com/