| name | shopify-feature-image |
| description | Create, critique, or regenerate Shopify App Store feature images for app listings using Shopify's current App Store media guidance and the $imagegen skill for actual image generation/editing. Use when the user asks for a Shopify app feature image, App Store listing hero image, marketing image, listing media, image prompt, image validation, or review-safe visual direction for Shopify app submission. |
Shopify Feature Image
Core Standard
Use this skill for Shopify App Store feature media images, not app icons or screenshots.
- Output size:
1600x900, 16:9.
- Format:
PNG or JPEG.
- Composition: simple, one focal point, benefit-led, clear at small listing sizes.
- Accessibility: good contrast, target at least
4.5:1 for meaningful text or UI text.
- Required companion: provide concise alt text.
- Avoid: Shopify logos/trademarks, pricing, reviews/testimonials, statistics, guarantees, "best/#1/only/most powerful", duplicate app card subtitle text, image made only of the app logo, browser chrome, desktop backgrounds.
For the source snapshot and rejection checklist, read references/shopify-app-store-feature-image-2026.md when exact standards matter.
Workflow
- Gather app context: app name, primary merchant benefit, target merchant, feature to highlight, brand colors, app UI screenshots/assets if available, and whether the user wants an actual generated image or only a prompt.
- Design first: define visual concept, focal point, hierarchy, color direction, safe zones, and text strategy before generating.
- Keep text minimal. Prefer no text, or one short benefit phrase that is not the app card subtitle and contains no pricing, stats, rankings, guarantees, or unsupported claims.
- If the user wants an actual image, invoke
$imagegen for generation or editing. Pass the prompt from the Prompt Pattern section and include Canvas: 1600x900, 16:9.
- If
$imagegen cannot produce exact dimensions, generate in 16:9, then resize/export to 1600x900 before final delivery.
- Validate the final image with
scripts/validate_feature_image.py <image-path>.
- Return the image path plus alt text and any compliance notes. If the image fails validation, fix it before finalizing.
- If the user only asks for a prompt or creative direction, do not generate an image; return a ready-to-use
$imagegen prompt plus the review checklist.
Imagegen Usage
When creating or editing a real bitmap image, explicitly use $imagegen.
- For new images: produce a concise, complete prompt using the Prompt Pattern section, then call
$imagegen.
- For edits from user-provided screenshots or existing images: preserve the useful product UI, remove browser chrome/unrelated backgrounds, and ask
$imagegen to create a polished 1600x900 feature image.
- After generation: validate dimensions and format with the script. If the image is not
1600x900, resize/export before delivering.
- Do not use
$imagegen when the user only asks for text instructions, a compliance review, or a reusable prompt.
Prompt Pattern
Use this structure for $imagegen prompts:
Create a Shopify App Store feature image for [APP_NAME], a [APP_TYPE] app for [TARGET_MERCHANT].
Canvas: 1600x900, 16:9, PNG/JPEG-ready.
Visual direction: [brand colors], clean modern SaaS, premium but not generic, strong contrast.
Core benefit to show: [single merchant outcome].
Composition: one clear focal point, generous padding, no Shopify logo, no pricing, no ratings, no rankings, no statistics, no guarantees.
Content: [abstract product UI, dashboard cards, merchant workflow, illustration, or provided screenshot treatment].
Text: [none OR one short phrase], do not repeat the app card subtitle.
Accessibility: ensure readable contrast for any text/UI.
Style constraints: avoid browser chrome, desktop background, testimonial cards, app-logo-only composition, cluttered feature list.
Visual Direction Rules
- Prefer a merchant outcome metaphor over a literal collage of features.
- Use one dominant object: a polished UI panel, product card, automation flow, backup timeline, analytics board, or before/after state.
- Keep edges and corners clean; assume Shopify may crop or display the image at reduced size.
- Use the app's real brand colors when supplied. If not supplied, choose a restrained palette and explain it.
- If screenshots are provided, crop into the app UI only; remove browser window chrome and unrelated backgrounds.
- If using text, keep it large, short, and factual.
Review-Safe Copy Rules
Allowed:
- "Automate backups"
- "Restore with confidence"
- "Sync product data"
- "Recover deleted products"
Not allowed:
- "Free", "$9/month", "50% off"
- "#1 backup app", "best", "only", "most powerful"
- "Trusted by 10,000 stores"
- Star ratings, quotes, testimonials, review snippets
- Shopify logo or Shopify bag mark
Validation Script
Run:
python3 /Users/devhugon/.codex/skills/shopify-feature-image/scripts/validate_feature_image.py /path/to/image.png
The script verifies file existence, PNG/JPEG format, exact 1600x900 dimensions, and 16:9 ratio. It cannot detect policy-copy violations, so still apply the checklist manually.
