cover-image

Cover Image Generator

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

Usage

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

# Quick mode: skip confirmation
/cover-image article.md --quick

# Specify dimensions
/cover-image article.md --type conceptual --palette warm --rendering flat-vector

# Style presets (shorthand for palette + rendering)
/cover-image article.md --style blueprint

# With reference images
/cover-image article.md --ref style-ref.png

# Direct content input
/cover-image --palette mono --aspect 1:1 --quick
[paste content]

Options

Option	Description
`--type <name>`	hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal
`--palette <name>`	warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro
`--rendering <name>`	flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk
`--style <name>`	Preset shorthand (see Style Presets)
`--text <level>`	none, title-only, title-subtitle, text-rich
`--mood <level>`	subtle, balanced, bold
`--font <name>`	clean, handwritten, serif, display
`--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
`--ref <files...>`	Reference images for style/composition guidance

Five Dimensions

Dimension	Values	Default
Type	hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal	auto
Palette	warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro	auto
Rendering	flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk	auto
Text	none, title-only, title-subtitle, text-rich	title-only
Mood	subtle, balanced, bold	balanced
Font	clean, handwritten, serif, display	clean

Auto-selection rules: references/auto-selection.md

Galleries

Types: hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal
→ Details: references/types.md

Palettes: warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro
→ Details: references/palettes/

Renderings: flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk
→ Details: references/renderings/

Text Levels: none (pure visual) | title-only (default) | title-subtitle | text-rich (with tags)
→ Details: references/dimensions/text.md

Mood Levels: subtle (low contrast) | balanced (default) | bold (high contrast)
→ Details: references/dimensions/mood.md

Fonts: clean (sans-serif) | handwritten | serif | display (bold decorative)
→ Details: references/dimensions/font.md

File Structure

Output directory per default_output_dir preference:

same-dir: {article-dir}/

imgs-subdir: {article-dir}/imgs/

independent (default): cover-image/{topic-slug}/

<output-dir>/
├── source-{slug}.{ext}    # Source files
├── refs/                  # Reference images (if provided)
│   ├── ref-01-{slug}.{ext}
│   └── ref-01-{slug}.md   # Description file
├── prompts/cover.md       # Generation prompt
└── cover.png              # Output image

Slug: 2-4 words, kebab-case. Conflict: append -YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS

Workflow

Progress Checklist

Cover Image Progress:
- [ ] Step 0: Check preferences (EXTEND.md) ⛔ BLOCKING
- [ ] Step 1: Analyze content + save refs + determine output dir
- [ ] Step 2: Confirm options (6 dimensions) ⚠️ unless --quick
- [ ] Step 3: Create prompt
- [ ] Step 4: Generate image
- [ ] Step 5: Completion report

Flow

Input → [Step 0: Preferences] ─┬─ Found → Continue
                               └─ Not found → First-Time Setup ⛔ BLOCKING → Save EXTEND.md → Continue
        ↓
Analyze + Save Refs → [Output Dir] → [Confirm: 6 Dimensions] → Prompt → Generate → Complete
                                              ↓
                                     (skip if --quick or all specified)

Step 0: Load Preferences ⛔ BLOCKING

Check EXTEND.md existence (priority: project → user):

# macOS, Linux, WSL, Git Bash
test -f .gino-skills/cover-image/EXTEND.md && echo "project"
test -f "$HOME/.gino-skills/cover-image/EXTEND.md" && echo "user"

# PowerShell (Windows)
if (Test-Path .gino-skills/cover-image/EXTEND.md) { "project" }
if (Test-Path "$HOME/.gino-skills/cover-image/EXTEND.md") { "user" }

Result	Action
Found	Load, display summary → Continue
Not found	⛔ Run first-time setup (references/config/first-time-setup.md) → Save → Continue

CRITICAL: If not found, complete setup BEFORE any other steps or questions.

Step 1: Analyze Content

Save reference images (if provided) → references/workflow/reference-images.md

Save source content (if pasted, save to source.md)

Analyze content: topic, tone, keywords, visual metaphors

Deep analyze references ⚠️: Extract specific, concrete elements (see reference-images.md)

Detect language: Compare source, user input, EXTEND.md preference

Determine output directory: Per File Structure rules

Step 2: Confirm Options ⚠️

Full confirmation flow: references/workflow/confirm-options.md

Condition	Skipped	Still Asked
`--quick` or `quick_mode: true`	6 dimensions	Aspect ratio (unless `--aspect`)
All 6 + `--aspect` specified	All	None

Step 3: Create Prompt

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

CRITICAL - References in Frontmatter:

Files saved to refs/ → Add to frontmatter references list

Style extracted verbally (no file) → Omit references, describe in body

Before writing → Verify: test -f refs/ref-NN-{slug}.{ext}

Reference elements in body MUST be detailed, prefixed with "MUST"/"REQUIRED", with integration approach.

Step 4: Generate Image

Backup existing cover.png if regenerating

Check image generation skills; if multiple, ask preference

Process references from prompt frontmatter:

- direct usage → pass via --ref (use ref-capable backend)
- style/palette → extract traits, append to prompt

Generate: Call skill with prompt file, output path, aspect ratio

On failure: auto-retry once

Step 5: Completion Report

Cover Generated!

Topic: [topic]
Type: [type] | Palette: [palette] | Rendering: [rendering]
Text: [text] | Mood: [mood] | Font: [font] | Aspect: [ratio]
Title: [title or "visual only"]
Language: [lang] | Watermark: [enabled/disabled]
References: [N images or "extracted style" or "none"]
Location: [directory path]

Files:
✓ source-{slug}.{ext}
✓ prompts/cover.md
✓ cover.png

Image Modification

Action	Steps
Regenerate	Backup → Update prompt file FIRST → Regenerate
Change dimension	Backup → Confirm new value → Update prompt → Regenerate

Composition Principles

Whitespace: 40-60% breathing room

Visual anchor: Main element centered or offset left

Characters: Simplified silhouettes; NO realistic humans

Title: Use exact title from user/source; never invent

Extension Support

Custom configurations via EXTEND.md. See Step 0 for paths.

Schema: references/config/preferences-schema.md

References

Dimensions: text.md | mood.md | font.md
Palettes: references/palettes/
Renderings: references/renderings/
Types: references/types.md
Auto-Selection: references/auto-selection.md
Style Presets: references/style-presets.md
Compatibility: references/compatibility.md
Visual Elements: references/visual-elements.md

Workflow: confirm-options.md	prompt-template.md	reference-images.md

Author

Category

Install