Five Dimensions

| Dimension | Values | Default | |-----------|--------|---------| | Type | hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene, minimal | auto | | Palette | warm, elegant, cool, dark, earth, vivid, pastel, mono, retro, duotone | auto | | Rendering | flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk, screen-print | 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, duotone → Details: references/palettes/

Renderings: flat-vector, hand-drawn, painterly, digital, pixel, chalk, screen-print → 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 .baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md && echo "project"
test -f "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md" && echo "xdg"
test -f "$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md" && echo "user"

# PowerShell (Windows)
if (Test-Path .baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md) { "project" }
$xdg = if ($env:XDG_CONFIG_HOME) { $env:XDG_CONFIG_HOME } else { "$HOME/.config" }
if (Test-Path "$xdg/baoyu-skills/baoyu-cover-image/EXTEND.md") { "xdg" }
if (Test-Path "$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-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

1. Save reference images (if provided) → references/workflow/reference-images.md
2. Save source content (if pasted, save to source.md)
3. Analyze content: topic, tone, keywords, visual metaphors
4. Deep analyze references ⚠️: Extract specific, concrete elements (see reference-images.md)
5. Detect language: Compare source, user input, EXTEND.md preference
6. Determine output directory: Per File Structure rules

⚠️ People in Reference Images:

If reference images contain people who should appear in the cover:

• Model supports --ref (default): Copy image to refs/, pass via --ref at generation. No description file needed — the model sees the face directly.
• Model does NOT support --ref (Jimeng, Seedream 3.0): Create refs/ref-NN-{slug}.md with per-character description (hair, glasses, skin tone, clothing). Embed as MUST/REQUIRED instructions in prompt text.

See reference-images.md for full decision table.

Step 2: Confirm Options ⚠️

MUST use AskUserQuestion tool to present options as interactive selection — NOT plain text tables. Present up to 4 questions in a single AskUserQuestion call (Type, Palette, Rendering, Font + Settings). Each question shows the recommended option first with reason, followed by alternatives.

Full confirmation flow and question format: 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}

...