thumbnail-and-title-generator

name

thumbnail-and-title-generator

description

Guided generator that turns a hyper-frames video's working title into three production-ready YouTube thumbnails (1280x720) or Shorts/TikTok covers (1080x1920). Each variant REPLICATES the layout of a real, high-performing thumbnail picked from the `thumbnailInspo/` reference library (composition from the reference; the channel's "Specimen" style vocabulary — Inter 900 2-tone headline + JetBrains Mono stat tell + precision pointer + accent palette — for the voice), PAIRED with a corpus-derived YouTube title, in an iterative render-and-score review loop. Use whenever the user wants to create, draft, generate, design, or A/B test thumbnails AND/OR titles for a hyper-frames video — phrases like "make a thumbnail", "I need thumbnails", "generate thumbnail variants", "design a cover", "write the title", "title this video", or any request that names a `videos/<slug>-<date>/` folder and asks for a thumbnail or title. Vertical/Shorts/TikTok mode activates when the invoking message contains any of: vertical, portrait, tiktok, shorts, reels, 9:16, 1080x1920. Also triggers when run from inside a video folder after the script is drafted.

thumbnail-and-title-generator

You guide the user through creating three YouTube thumbnails — each paired with a YouTube title — for a single hyper-frames video. Output per round: three HTML variants + a contact-sheet review page + three rendered PNGs, scored by a subagent; on approval, three PNGs ready for YouTube's native A/B test.

You never design a thumbnail from a blank canvas. Every variant replicates the layout of a proven thumbnail picked from the thumbnailInspo/ reference library (top thumbnails harvested from creators who win this niche's click), then rebuilds that same composition with OUR content. Read reference/inspiration-mimicry.md — it is the spine of this skill — and the library contract in thumbnailInspo/CLAUDE.md.

Two halves, kept distinct:

• Composition comes from the chosen reference — archetype, where each element sits, the device that stops the scroll, the size hierarchy. Read off a measuring grid (tools/thumbnail-inspo/grid.py) so positions are exact.
• Style vocabulary comes from the locked "Specimen" signature (reference/specimen-signature.md + templates/styles.css) — the Inter 900 2-tone headline, the JetBrains Mono stat tell, the precision annotation kit, the face compositing, and the accent palette (the one per-video hue variable).

We copy the arrangement (a public, uncopyrightable pattern) and swap ALL the content — our headline, accent hue, face still, icons, stat. We never reproduce a reference's face, artwork, screenshot, or text.

Pre-flight check

Verify the signature is locked: templates/styles.css contains real CSS and reference/specimen-signature.md exists. If either is missing/empty, refuse:

"Visual signature not yet locked. See reference/specimen-signature.md for the rebrand process before generating thumbnails."

Verify the reference library exists: thumbnailInspo/README.md has a populated ## Quick index table. If it's missing or empty, refuse and point at the harvester:

"Thumbnail reference library empty. Run python3 tools/thumbnail-inspo/fetch.py then catalog it (see thumbnailInspo/CLAUDE.md) before generating thumbnails — this skill replicates a reference, it does not design from scratch."

Division of labor (hard rule)

The user supplies and credits the face image; you composite it (cut out, defringe, bleed, rim-light, place). You do not source third-party copyrighted imagery yourself. If no usable face is provided, ask for one (see reference/compositing.md for what "usable" means) — do not fabricate or scrape one.

Workflow

Step 1 — Resolve the target folder + orientation mode

Resolve the folder: (1) a videos/<slug>-<date>/ path in the message; else (2) the CWD if it matches **/videos/<slug>-<date>/; else (3) ask, listing videos/* plus a "create new" option (user supplies slug; date = today). Convert to an absolute path and use it for every subsequent read/write.

Bootstrap the folder if it doesn't exist (idempotent — skip mkdir + npx hyperframes init when it already exists), per CLAUDE.md.

Resolve the orientation mode (case-insensitive): the message contains any of vertical, portrait, tiktok, shorts, reels, 9:16, 1080x1920 → vertical; else horizontal (default). Print one line:

• Horizontal: Mode: horizontal (1280×720) — YouTube thumbnail.
• Vertical: Mode: vertical (1080×1920) — Shorts/TikTok cover.

If vertical, load reference/vertical-mode.md now and apply its overrides.

Round folders are mode-tagged with independent counters: horizontal scans round-(\d+)/, vertical scans round-(\d+)-vertical/. Next round = max + 1 (NOT count + 1 — handles user-deleted rounds).

Step 2 — Read the title + topic context

From <video-dir>: read outline.md (H1 = working title) and script.md (prose body — mine candidate nouns, emotional beats, a citable stat for the mono tell). If outline.md is missing/unusable, ask for the title + a 2-line summary. If script.md is missing, warn but proceed.

Then probe <video-dir>/seo/research.json: present → load it for Step 5 (Using SEO research from <date>.); missing → ask once: run the youtube-seo-research skill now (~25s)? On yes, invoke it and load the result; on no/skip, proceed without and don't re-prompt this session. Never block on it.

Step 3 — Pick + grid the reference layouts (drives Steps 4–8)

Load reference/inspiration-mimicry.md now — it is the spine of the build. Then open thumbnailInspo/README.md and scan the ## Quick index table only.

Pick three references, one per variant, deliberately spread across different archetypes/devices so the round is a real choice (e.g. a face-reaction, a giant-number stat, a comparison-vs) — matched to the video's beats via each row's archetype / device / mimic-for. (If the user asked for variations on a single idea, pick ONE reference and vary headline/accent/face across a/b/c.) In vertical mode, prefer references that survive a 9:16 crop. Print the picks, and open each picked reference image so the user can see it (open thumbnailInspo/<channel>/<file>) — then print the per-direction source list of <label> · <youtube-source-url> (no file://, no local path; the image is already on screen):

A ← thumbnailInspo/<channel>/<file> (<slug>): <archetype>/<device> — why it fits.

Then grid each picked reference and read its element positions in the same 1280×720 space the templates use:

python3 tools/thumbnail-inspo/grid.py thumbnailInspo/<channel>/<file>.jpg \
  --out <video-dir>/thumbnails/round-N/ref/<letter>.grid.png

Read each gridded PNG and record, per variant: the face/object zone (cells + x,y + fill), the headline zone (cells + baseline y + which word pops), and the device/stat/badge position. Cross-check against that entry's Layout map: line. These positions drive the headline sizing (Step 4), accent (Step 6), face side (Step 7), and the composition (Step 8). Picking + gridding a reference is mandatory for every variant — never design a layout from scratch.

Step 4 — Write the 2-tone headlines (shaped to each reference's text zone)

Load reference/headline-recipes.md. Produce three headline texts that differ on direction (direct upgrade / sweeping reframe / punchy declarative). Each is the Specimen 2-tone shape: white flanking row(s) + ONE accent punch row

• a monospace // tell (carry a concrete stat/number when one exists). ALL CAPS for the headline rows. Size + shape each headline to fit its variant's reference text zone (the cells/width you read in Step 3) — a centered big-text reference wants a short punchy line; a text-left-face-right reference wants the multi-row stack in the left column. If a line won't fit its zone, rewrite shorter — never overflow. Sizing: flanking base on .thumbnail-text, .punch = 1.7em, mono tell = 0.42em.

Step 5 — Pair a YouTube title to each headline

Load reference/title-engine.md. Write one paired YouTube title per variant — the searchable, grounded version of the thumbnail's bigger claim (one concrete searchable noun + an emotional beat; 38–46 chars; sentence case; curiosity resolving to a named enemy/reversal, or an open What/Why/How). If seo/research.json is loaded, print the compressed digest first (top nouns, demand phrases, saturation warning) and let it inform — not dictate — the titles. The thumbnail and title do different jobs; never make the title a sentence-cased copy of the headline.

Step 6 — Pick the accent word + accent hue

Load reference/accent-recipes.md. Per variant: (a) which word is the punch/ accent (Tier 1 topic noun always; Tier 2 tension verb/adjective; ≤2 accent regions); (b) which hue from the palette (acc-teal default; choose by topic/emotion). Use acc-red only for emotionally-red beats — it is the niche's most-saturated accent; lean cooler/unclaimed hues for contrast. If the reference's device is a danger/worst beat in red, acc-red is the right call; otherwise keep the reference's role (one hot accent) in our cooler palette.

Step 7 — Source-prep the face (+ optional brand chip)

Only if the chosen reference has a face. Faceless references (logo-grid, object-hero, code-screenshot, diagram, big-text) take no face — do not force one in; build their hero element instead (Step 8).

When the reference has a face, the user supplies the still. Cut it out and defringe/despill per reference/compositing.md (npx hyperframes remove-background, then the ImageMagick erode/despill recipes). Save the cleaned cutout under <video-dir>/thumbnails/cutouts/. Same face across a round's three variants unless the concepts call for different emotions. CSS glow does not fix a matte fringe — fix the PNG.

Optional brand chip: load reference/brand-chip.md only if the topic IS a nameable brand (JS, React, Docker…). Most thumbnails need none.

Step 8 — Compose by replication + write the variant HTML + contact sheet

Create <video-dir>/thumbnails/round-N/ (or round-N-vertical/). Each variant rebuilds its Step-3 reference's composition with our content, in the Specimen style vocabulary. Per reference/inspiration-mimicry.md: land OUR elements at the positions you read off the reference grid — face/object on the reference's side (override the CSS default via inline style), headline in its zone, the scroll-stopping device reproduced with a signature primitive (annotation kit, .chip, mono .stat, or a bespoke absolutely-positioned hero block) at the reference's coordinates. Faceless references get no face. Copy the arrangement; never the reference's face/artwork/screenshot/text.

templates/variant.html is the scaffold — read variant.html + templates/contact-sheet.html and substitute tokens globally (regex /g in JS, re.sub in Python — token names appear in both the doc comment and the markup). For layouts that differ from the default Specimen silhouette, add inline style position overrides to the .thumbnail-text / .face-wrap / .anno / .chip elements (and bespoke hero divs) so the composition matches the reference — the token slots cover the common face-right case; the overrides cover the rest.

variant.html tokens: STYLES_HREF (absolute file:// to templates/styles.css), TITLE_PLAIN, THUMBNAIL_CLASS (""|vertical), ACCENT_CLASS (acc-*), WARM_CLASS (""|warm), FACE_IMAGE_URL (absolute file:// to the defringed cutout), ROW_FONT_SIZE_PX (flanking base), TITLE_ROW_1..5 + ROW_1..3_CLASS (the punch row gets punch accent; vertical Variant C kicker gets kicker), MONO_TELL, CHIP_HTML ("" or a positioned .chip), ANNOTATION_SVG ("" or a positioned .anno inline-SVG from reference/annotation-kit.md).

Place every element against BOTH grids: read the target (x, y) off the reference's ref/<letter>.grid.png (Step 3), then append ?grid to our variant URL to see the 20px/100px graph + numbered x/y axes + title-safe border and set the element's left/top (+ any annotation endpoint) to the matching coordinate. Our position should mirror the reference's. Use the precision pointer / bracket / ring from the kit — never a hand-drawn scribble arrow, never the leader-line library.

Write a.html, b.html, c.html, contact-sheet.html into the round folder. In vertical mode use the per-variant block from reference/vertical-mode.md; the horizontal {{VARIANTS_HTML}} block is three copies of:

<div class="variant">
  <div class="variant-header">
    <span class="variant-letter">{{LETTER_UPPER}}</span>
    <span class="variant-text">{{TITLE_PLAIN}}</span>
  </div>
  <div class="variant-yt-title">
    <span class="variant-yt-label">YouTube title</span>
    <span class="variant-yt-text">{{YOUTUBE_TITLE}}</span>
  </div>
  <div class="row">
    <div><div class="row-label">Full size (40% of 1280×720)</div>
      <div class="full-wrap">{{THUMBNAIL_DIV}}</div></div>
    <div><div class="row-label">YouTube feed grid (~210px)</div>
      <div class="grid-wrap">{{THUMBNAIL_DIV}}</div></div>
  </div>
  <div class="variant-links">
    <a href="{{LETTER_LOWER}}.html">view full</a> ·
    <a href="{{LETTER_LOWER}}.html?grid">view with grid</a>
  </div>
</div>

Do NOT rename variant-letter / variant-text / variant-yt-text — create-srt extract_titles.py parses them. {{THUMBNAIL_DIV}} = the variant's .thumbnail markup (the <div class="thumbnail …">…</div> block without the trailing <script>), inlined in both wraps; {{TITLE_PLAIN}} = the headline text, {{YOUTUBE_TITLE}} = the paired title.

Step 9 — Render the round + self-verify + score

Render each variant to round-N/out/{a,b,c}.png (single-file mode):

node <repo-root>/tools/thumbnail-render/bin/render.mjs \
  <video-dir>/thumbnails/round-N/<letter>.html \
  --out <video-dir>/thumbnails/round-N/out/<letter>.png

Then load reference/qa-loop.md and run it: Read each PNG yourself, crop-zoom the risky edges (magick … -crop … +repage), then spawn a subagent to score each (Sonnet to iterate, Opus to verify). Add a resemblance check: put each rendered PNG next to its reference's ref/<letter>.grid.png and confirm the composition matches (element positions, size hierarchy, device, reading path) — content is all ours, layout is the reference's. If it doesn't read as the same layout family, re-place. Fix the top issues (cutout fringe is priority), re-render, re-score. Do not present until each variant is ≥8/10 AND zero FAIL on cutout edges AND the composition matches its reference AND your own eyes agree. Never report unverified output.

Step 10 — Present + iterate

Tell the user the round is ready and open the contact sheet for them (open <video-dir>/thumbnails/round-N/contact-sheet.html) — each card shows the paired YouTube title; append ?grid to a variant URL to overlay the numbered coord grid. Also open the three rendered PNGs. open is how the user actually sees them — file:// and markdown links won't open in their terminal; print paths only as a written record. Interpret feedback per reference/iteration-recipes.md and generate the next round (default: a new round folder). Loop.

Never pick a winner among the three, and never declare "good enough" — the user judges and YouTube's A/B mechanism measures. The loop ends only when the user says "ship it" / "export" / "approved".

Step 11 — Final export

On approval, render the chosen round to the video folder:

# horizontal
node <repo-root>/tools/thumbnail-render/bin/render.mjs \
  <video-dir>/thumbnails/round-N --variants --out-dir <video-dir>
# vertical
node <repo-root>/tools/thumbnail-render/bin/render.mjs \
  <video-dir>/thumbnails/round-N-vertical --variants --orientation vertical --out-dir <video-dir>

Writes thumbnail-{a,b,c}.png (or thumbnail-vertical-{a,b,c}.png). Print the three absolute paths + the three paired titles so the user can load them into YouTube's A/B upload. Record the face image credit where the video tracks sources (description/credits).

Hard rules (always in effect)

• Every variant replicates a thumbnailInspo/ reference — never design from scratch. Pick the reference (Step 3), grid it, read positions, rebuild the composition with our content. Copy the arrangement; swap ALL content. Never reproduce a reference's face, artwork, screenshot, or text. Spread the three variants across different archetypes.
• The user supplies + credits the face; you composite. Never source third-party imagery yourself. Always defringe/despill the cutout. Faceless references take no face.
• 2-tone headline: white flanking + ONE accent punch row + a mono // tell. ALL CAPS headline. ≤2 accent regions.
• Accent = one palette hue per video (acc-*). Red is available but is the saturated niche hue — use it sparingly.
• Annotation = the inline-SVG kit, precision grammar. No hand-drawn scribble arrows. No leader-line. Place by reading the numbered coord grid.
• Render + LOOK + crop-zoom + subagent-score every round before presenting; ship ≥8/10 with zero cutout-edge FAILs.
• Never pick a winner; never declare done unilaterally. User judges, YouTube A/B measures. The loop ends on the user's "ship it".
• No editorial chrome beyond the signature (the coord grid is design-only, never in the final PNG).
• To show the user any local image, open it. When you reference a file for the user to view — candidate references, gridded refs, rendered PNGs, the contact sheet — run open <path> (macOS) so it launches in Preview/browser. file:// URLs and relative markdown links do not open in the user's Claude Code terminal. Alongside the open, print a written record as a per-direction list of <label> · <youtube-source-url> (the source URL from the reference's ## Entries block / channel _manifest.json) — never a file:// or local path in that list; the file is already on screen, the list is for the source.
• Preserve the consumer contract: a/b/c.html, contact-sheet.html, the variant-letter/variant-text/variant-yt-text spans, <span class="thumbnail-row"> rows + <title>, and the output PNG names — other skills (create-srt-and-translate, the renderer, shorts-creator) depend on them.

Reference files (load on demand)

• reference/inspiration-mimicry.md — the spine: pick a thumbnailInspo/ reference, grid it, replicate the layout with our content. Load at Step 3.
• reference/specimen-signature.md — the locked style vocabulary (type/color/annotation/face) + accent palette + why. Load at pre-flight / rebrand discussion.
• reference/headline-recipes.md — the 2-tone headline patterns. Load at Step 4.
• reference/title-engine.md — corpus-derived paired-title formulas. Load at Step 5.
• reference/accent-recipes.md — accent word + hue selection. Load at Step 6.
• reference/compositing.md — cutout / defringe / despill / rim-light + source-image requirements. Load at Step 7.
• reference/brand-chip.md — the optional per-topic brand chip. Load at Step 7 only if the topic is a brand.
• reference/annotation-kit.md — the inline-SVG primitives + coord-grid placement. Load at Step 8.
• reference/qa-loop.md — the subagent QA checklist + ship threshold. Load at Step 9.
• reference/iteration-recipes.md — feedback interpretation. Load at Step 10.
• reference/vertical-mode.md — portrait (1080×1920) overrides. Load at Step 1 if mode is vertical.

Things this skill does NOT do

• Generate the script (that's script-writer) or the voiceover/transcript.
• Source the face image (the user supplies + credits it).
• Pick a winner among variants (the user picks; YouTube measures).
• Upload to YouTube (the user does the upload + A/B setup).
• Render thumbnails for non-hyper-frames content (assumes the videos/<slug>-<date>/ layout).