| name | eikon |
| description | Guide the user through making or editing a herm sidebar avatar (eikon) using herm's built-in Eikon Studio tab. The agent's role is advisory (what makes a good source, which knob to reach for); source generation is /eikon-create and all rasterize/bake happens in-app. |
| related_skills | ["eikon-create"] |
Building an eikon in herm
An eikon is a 48×24 monochrome text avatar. It lives on disk as:
~/.hermes/eikons/<name>/
<name>.eikon packed NDJSON — written by Studio on Ctrl+S
studio.json Studio's workspace state
source/ base.<ext>, <state>.<ext>
You do not write .eikon or studio.json. Studio does.
Where the user does the work
Herm's built-in Eikon tab (Studio / Gallery). Tell the user: "open
the Eikon tab" or "Ctrl+K → Eikon". In Studio:
eikon row → pick / New…
source row → Local file… / Generate image… / Generate video…
input section → contrast / invert / flip (pixel-domain, shared)
<rasterizer> section → symbols / fill / dither (glyph-domain)
- Preview pane → wheel pans, Ctrl+wheel zooms, Shift+wheel pans X
- Ctrl+S bakes all six states and sets it active
What makes a good source
One line, once: 48×24, one color. Light subject on black, high
contrast, strong silhouette. Fine detail disappears; outline is
everything.
When to do what
| user says | you do |
|---|
| "make me an eikon of X" | Load eikon-create and follow it. |
| drops an image path | cp it to ~/.hermes/eikons/<name>/source/base.<ext> → "Eikon tab, pick ". |
| "edit my eikon" | "Eikon tab → eikon row → ." |
| "too dark / washed out" | "invert toggle, then contrast slider — under input." |
| "off-center / too small" | "Ctrl+wheel to zoom, wheel/drag to pan on the preview." |
| "make it move" | eikon-create §5 (video), or Studio's source → Generate video…. |
Quick poster
To show a candidate in chat without Studio:
chafa --size=48x24 --symbols=braille --colors=none --format=symbols --stretch "<path>"
Preview-only; Studio's output will differ (it tone-maps first).
Don'ts
- Don't hand-write
.eikon NDJSON.
- Don't pick knob values for the user. Name the knob.
- Don't repeat the 48×24 brief.