baoyu-cover-image

name	baoyu-cover-image
description	Generates article cover images with 5 dimensions (type, palette, rendering, text, mood) combining 9 color palettes and 6 rendering styles. Supports cinematic (2.35:1), widescreen (16:9), and square (1:1) aspects. Use when user asks to "generate cover image", "create article cover", "make cover", or mentions "封面图".

Cover Image Generator

Generate elegant cover images for articles with 5-dimensional customization.

Usage

# Auto-select all dimensions based on content
/baoyu-cover-image path/to/article.md

# Quick mode: skip confirmation, use auto-selection
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --quick

# Specify dimensions (new 5D system)
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --type conceptual --palette warm --rendering flat-vector
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --text title-subtitle --mood bold

# Style presets (backward-compatible shorthand for palette + rendering)
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --style blueprint
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --style blueprint --rendering hand-drawn  # override rendering

# Visual only (no title text)
/baoyu-cover-image article.md --no-title

# Direct content input
/baoyu-cover-image
[paste content]

# Direct input with options
/baoyu-cover-image --palette mono --rendering digital --aspect 1:1 --quick
[paste content]

Options

Option	Description
--type <name>	Cover type: hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal
--palette <name>	Color palette: warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro
--rendering <name>	Rendering style: flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk
--style <name>	Preset shorthand (expands to palette + rendering, see Style Presets)
--text <level>	Text density: none, title-only, title-subtitle, text-rich
--mood <level>	Emotional intensity: subtle, balanced, bold
--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 for missing dimensions

Five Dimensions

Dimension	Controls	Values	Default
Type	Visual composition, information structure	hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal	auto
Palette	Colors, color scheme, decorative hints	warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro	auto
Rendering	Line quality, texture, depth, element style	flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk	auto
Text	Text density, information hierarchy	none, title-only, title-subtitle, text-rich	title-only
Mood	Emotional intensity, visual weight	subtle, balanced, bold	balanced

Dimensions can be freely combined. Auto-selection rules: references/auto-selection.md

Type Gallery

Type	Description	Best For
hero	Large visual impact, title overlay	Product launch, brand promotion, major announcements
conceptual	Concept visualization, abstract core ideas	Technical articles, methodology, architecture design
typography	Text-focused layout, prominent title	Opinion pieces, quotes, insights
metaphor	Visual metaphor, concrete expressing abstract	Philosophy, growth, personal development
scene	Atmospheric scene, narrative feel	Stories, travel, lifestyle
minimal	Minimalist composition, generous whitespace	Zen, focus, core concepts

Type composition details: references/types.md

Palette Gallery

Palette	Vibe	Primary Colors
warm	Friendly, approachable	Orange, golden yellow, terracotta
elegant	Sophisticated, refined	Soft coral, muted teal, dusty rose
cool	Technical, professional	Engineering blue, navy, cyan
dark	Cinematic, premium	Electric purple, cyan, magenta
earth	Natural, organic	Forest green, sage, earth brown
vivid	Energetic, bold	Bright red, neon green, electric blue
pastel	Gentle, whimsical	Soft pink, mint, lavender
mono	Clean, focused	Black, near-black, white
retro	Nostalgic, vintage	Muted orange, dusty pink, maroon

Palette definitions: references/palettes/

Rendering Gallery

Rendering	Description	Key Characteristics
flat-vector	Clean modern vector	Uniform outlines, flat fills, geometric icons
hand-drawn	Sketchy organic illustration	Imperfect strokes, paper texture, doodles
painterly	Soft watercolor/paint	Brush strokes, color bleeds, soft edges
digital	Polished modern digital	Precise edges, subtle gradients, UI components
pixel	Retro 8-bit pixel art	Pixel grid, dithering, chunky shapes
chalk	Chalk on blackboard	Chalk strokes, dust effects, board texture

Rendering definitions: references/renderings/

Text & Mood

Text Level	Title	Subtitle	Tags	Use Case
none	-	-	-	Pure visual, no text
title-only	✓ (≤8 字)	-	-	Simple headline (default)
title-subtitle	✓	✓ (≤15 字)	-	Title + supporting context
text-rich	✓	✓	✓ (2-4)	Information-dense

Mood	Contrast	Saturation	Weight	Use Case
subtle	Low	Muted	Light	Corporate, thought leadership
balanced	Medium	Normal	Medium	General articles (default)
bold	High	Vivid	Heavy	Announcements, promotions

Full guides: references/dimensions/text.md | references/dimensions/mood.md

Style Presets & Compatibility

• Style Presets: --style X expands to palette + rendering. See references/style-presets.md
• Compatibility Matrices: Palette×Rendering, Type×Rendering, Type×Text, Type×Mood. See references/compatibility.md
  • ✓✓ = highly recommended | ✓ = compatible | ✗ = not recommended

File Structure

Output directory depends on default_output_dir preference:

Preference	Output Path
same-dir	{article-dir}/
imgs-subdir	{article-dir}/imgs/
independent (default)	cover-image/{topic-slug}/
Pasted content	cover-image/{topic-slug}/ (always)

<output-dir>/
├── source-{slug}.{ext}    # Source files (text, images, etc.)
├── prompts/cover.md       # Generation prompt
└── cover.png              # Output image

Slug: Extract main topic (2-4 words, kebab-case). Example: "The Future of AI" → future-of-ai Conflict: If directory exists, append timestamp: {topic-slug}-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS Source Files: Copy all sources with naming source-{slug}.{ext} (multiple supported)

Workflow

Progress Checklist

Cover Image Progress:
- [ ] Step 0: Check preferences (EXTEND.md) ⚠️ REQUIRED if not found
- [ ] Step 1: Analyze content + determine output directory ⚠️ MUST ask if not configured
- [ ] Step 2: Confirm options (5 dimensions) ⚠️ REQUIRED unless --quick or all specified
- [ ] Step 3: Create prompt
- [ ] Step 4: Generate image
- [ ] Step 5: Completion report

Flow

Input → [Step 0: Preferences/Setup] → Analyze → [Output Dir ⚠️] → [Confirm: 5 Dimensions] → Prompt → Generate → Complete
                                                                          ↓
                                                                  (skip if --quick or all specified)

Step 0: Load Preferences (EXTEND.md) ⚠️

Purpose: Load user preferences or run first-time setup. Do NOT skip setup if EXTEND.md not found.

Use Bash to check EXTEND.md existence (priority order):

# Check project-level first
test -f .baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md && echo "project"

# Then user-level (cross-platform: $HOME works on macOS/Linux/WSL)
test -f "$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md" && echo "user"

Result	Action
Found	Read, parse, display preferences summary → Continue to Step 1
Not found	⚠️ MUST run first-time setup (references/config/first-time-setup.md) → Then continue to Step 1

Preferences Summary (when found):

Preferences loaded from [project/user]:
• Watermark: [enabled/disabled] [content if enabled]
• Type/Palette/Rendering: [value or "auto"]
• Text: [value or "title-only"] | Mood: [value or "balanced"]
• Aspect: [default_aspect] | Output: [dir or "not set — will ask in Step 1.5"]
• Quick mode: [enabled/disabled] | Language: [value or "auto"]

EXTEND.md Supports: Watermark | Preferred type | Preferred palette | Preferred rendering | Preferred text | Preferred mood | Default aspect ratio | Default output directory | Quick mode | Custom palette definitions | Language preference

Schema: references/config/preferences-schema.md

Step 1: Analyze Content

1. Save source content (if pasted, save to source.md in target directory; if file path, use as-is)
   • Backup rule: If source.md exists, rename to source-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md
2. Content analysis: Extract topic, core message, tone, keywords; identify visual metaphors; detect content type
3. Language detection: Detect source language, note user's input language, compare with EXTEND.md preference
4. Determine output directory per File Structure rules. If no default_output_dir preference + file path input, include in Step 2 Q4

Step 2: Confirm Options ⚠️

Validate all 5 dimensions + aspect ratio. Full confirmation flow: references/workflow/confirm-options.md

Skip Conditions:

Condition	Skipped	Still Asked
--quick or quick_mode: true	5 dimensions	Aspect ratio (unless --aspect)
All 5 + --aspect specified	All	None

Step 3: Create Prompt

Backup rule: If prompts/cover.md exists, rename to prompts/cover-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md

Save to prompts/cover.md. Full template: references/workflow/prompt-template.md

Step 4: Generate Image

1. Backup existing cover.png → cover-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png (if regenerating)
2. Check available image generation skills; if multiple, ask user preference
3. Call selected skill with prompt file path, output path (cover.png), aspect ratio
4. On failure: auto-retry once before reporting error

Step 5: Completion Report

Cover Generated!

Topic: [topic]
Type: [type] | Palette: [palette] | Rendering: [rendering]
Text: [text] | Mood: [mood] | Aspect: [ratio]
Title: [title text or "visual only"]
Language: [lang] | Watermark: [enabled/disabled]
Location: [directory path]

Files:
✓ source-{slug}.{ext}
✓ prompts/cover.md
✓ cover.png
[✓ cover-backup-{timestamp}.png (if regenerated)]

Image Modification

Action	Steps
Regenerate	Backup existing → Update prompt file FIRST → Regenerate with same settings
Change dimension	Backup existing → Confirm new value → Update prompt file FIRST → Regenerate

IMPORTANT: When regenerating, ALWAYS update the prompt file (prompts/cover.md) FIRST before regenerating. This ensures changes are documented and reproducible.

All modifications automatically backup existing cover.png before regenerating.

Notes

• Cover must be readable at small preview sizes
• Visual metaphors > literal representations
• Title: max 8 chars, readable, impactful
• Two confirmation points: Step 0 (first-time setup) + Step 2 (options) - skip Step 2 with --quick
• Use confirmed language for title text
• Maintain watermark consistency if enabled
• Check compatibility matrices when selecting combinations
• --no-title is alias for --text none
• --style presets are backward-compatible; explicit --palette/--rendering override preset values

References

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