Article Illustrator

Analyze articles, identify illustration positions, generate images with Type × Style × Palette consistency.

User Input Tools

When this skill prompts the user, follow this tool-selection rule (priority order):

Prefer built-in user-input tools exposed by the current agent runtime — e.g.,
```
AskUserQuestion
```
,
```
request_user_input
```
,
```
clarify
```
,
```
ask_user
```
, or any equivalent.
Fallback: if no such tool exists, emit a numbered plain-text message and ask the user to reply with the chosen number/answer for each question.
Batching: if the tool supports multiple questions per call, combine all applicable questions into a single call; if only single-question, ask them one at a time in priority order.

Concrete

AskUserQuestion

references below are examples — substitute the local equivalent in other runtimes.

Image Generation Tools

When this skill needs to render an image, resolve the backend in this order:

Current-request override — if the user names a specific backend in the current message, use it.
Saved preference — if
```
EXTEND.md
```
sets
```
preferred_image_backend
```
to a backend available right now, use it.
Auto-select (when the preference is
```
auto
```
, unset, or the pinned backend isn't available):
- If the current runtime exposes a native image tool (e.g., Codex
```
imagegen
```
  , Hermes
```
image_generate
```
  ), use it. Runtime-native tools are preferred by default — agents that know their own tool inventory should surface the native one here.
- Otherwise, if exactly one non-native backend is installed (e.g.,
```
baoyu-imagine
```
  ), use it.
- Otherwise (multiple non-native backends with no runtime-native tool), ask the user once — batch with any other initial questions.
If none are available, tell the user and ask how to proceed.

Setting

preferred_image_backend: ask

forces the step-3 prompt every run regardless of available backends. Users change the pinned backend via the

## Changing Preferences

section below.

Prompt file requirement (hard): write each image's full, final prompt to a standalone file under

prompts/

(naming:

NN-{type}-[slug].md

) BEFORE invoking any backend. The backend receives the prompt file (or its content); the file is the reproducibility record and lets you switch backends without regenerating prompts.

Concrete tool names (

imagegen

image_generate

baoyu-imagine

) above are examples — substitute the local equivalents under the same rule.

Confirmation Policy

Default behavior: confirm before generation.

Treat explicit skill invocation, a file path, matched signals/presets, and
```
EXTEND.md
```
defaults as recommendation inputs only. None of them authorizes skipping confirmation.
Do not start Step 4 or later until the user completes Step 3.
Skip confirmation only when the current request explicitly says to do so, for example: "直接生成", "不用确认", "跳过确认", "按默认出图", or equivalent wording.
If confirmation is skipped explicitly, state the assumed type / density / style / palette / language / backend in the next user-facing update before generating.

Reference Images

Users may supply reference images via

--ref <files...>

or by providing file paths / pasting images in conversation. Refs guide style, palette, composition, or subject for specific illustrations.

Full detection, storage, and processing rules are in references/workflow.md (Step 1.0 saves to

references/NN-ref-{slug}.{ext}

; Step 5.3 processes per-illustration usage

direct | style | palette

). When the chosen backend supports batch input,

direct

-usage entries in each prompt file's

references:

frontmatter should be propagated into its batch payload so backends can pass them through (e.g.

baoyu-imagine

accepts

ref

per task).

Three Dimensions

Dimension	Controls	Examples
Type	Information structure	infographic, scene, flowchart, comparison, framework, timeline
Style	Rendering approach	notion, warm, minimal, blueprint, watercolor, elegant
Palette	Color scheme (optional)	macaron, warm, neon — overrides style's default colors

Combine freely:

--type infographic --style vector-illustration --palette macaron

Or use presets:

--preset edu-visual

→ type + style + palette in one flag. See Style Presets.

Types

Type	Best For
`infographic`	Data, metrics, technical
`scene`	Narratives, emotional
`flowchart`	Processes, workflows
`comparison`	Side-by-side, options
`framework`	Models, architecture
`timeline`	History, evolution

Styles

See references/styles.md for Core Styles, full gallery, and Type × Style compatibility.

Workflow

- [ ] Step 1: Pre-check (EXTEND.md, references, config)
- [ ] Step 2: Analyze content
- [ ] Step 3: Confirm settings (AskUserQuestion)
- [ ] Step 4: Generate outline
- [ ] Step 5: Generate images
- [ ] Step 6: Finalize

Step 1: Pre-check

1.5 Load Preferences (EXTEND.md) ⛔ BLOCKING

Check EXTEND.md in priority order — the first one found wins:

Priority	Path	Scope
1	`.baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md`	Project
2	`${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md`	XDG
3	`$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md`	User home

Result	Action
Found	Read, parse, display summary
Not found	⛔ Run first-time-setup

Full procedures: references/workflow.md

Step 2: Analyze

Analysis	Output
Content type	Technical / Tutorial / Methodology / Narrative
Purpose	information / visualization / imagination
Core arguments	2-5 main points
Positions	Where illustrations add value

CRITICAL: Metaphors → visualize underlying concept, NOT literal image.

Full procedures: references/workflow.md

Step 3: Confirm Settings ⚠️

Hard gate: this step is mandatory per the Confirmation Policy — Steps 4+ cannot start until the user confirms here (or explicitly opts out with "直接生成" / equivalent wording in the current request).

ONE AskUserQuestion, max 4 Qs. Q1-Q2 REQUIRED. Q3 required unless preset chosen.

Q	Options
Q1: Preset or Type	[Recommended preset], [alt preset], or manual: infographic, scene, flowchart, comparison, framework, timeline, mixed
Q2: Density	minimal (1-2), balanced (3-5), per-section (Recommended), rich (6+)
Q3: Style	[Recommended], minimal-flat, sci-fi, hand-drawn, editorial, scene, poster, Other — skip if preset chosen
Q4: Palette	Default (style colors), macaron, warm, neon — skip if preset includes palette or preferred_palette set
Q5: Language	When article language ≠ EXTEND.md setting

Full procedures: references/workflow.md

Step 4: Generate Outline

Save

outline.md

with frontmatter (type, density, style, palette, image_count) and entries:

## Illustration 1
**Position**: [section/paragraph]
**Purpose**: [why]
**Visual Content**: [what]
**Filename**: 01-infographic-concept-name.png

Full template: references/workflow.md

Step 5: Generate Images

⛔ BLOCKING: Prompt files MUST be saved before ANY image generation. This is a hard requirement regardless of which backend is chosen — the prompt file is the reproducibility record.

For each illustration, create a prompt file per references/prompt-construction.md
Save to
```
prompts/NN-{type}-{slug}.md
```
with YAML frontmatter
Prompts MUST use type-specific templates with structured sections (ZONES / LABELS / COLORS / STYLE / ASPECT)
LABELS MUST include article-specific data: actual numbers, terms, metrics, quotes
DO NOT pass ad-hoc inline prompts to
```
--prompt
```
without saving prompt files first
Select the backend via the
```
## Image Generation Tools
```
rule at the top: use whatever is available; if multiple, ask the user once. Do this once per session before any generation.
Execution strategy: When multiple illustrations have saved prompt files and the task is now plain generation, prefer the chosen backend's batch interface (if it offers one) over spawning subagents. Use subagents only when each image still needs separate prompt iteration or creative exploration. If the backend has no batch interface, generate sequentially.
Process references (
```
direct
```
/
```
style
```
/
```
palette
```
) per prompt frontmatter
Apply watermark if EXTEND.md enabled
Generate from saved prompt files; retry once on failure

Full procedures: references/workflow.md

Step 6: Finalize

Insert

![description]({relative-path}/NN-{type}-{slug}.png)

after paragraphs. Path computed relative to article file based on output directory setting.

Article Illustration Complete!
Article: [path] | Type: [type] | Density: [level] | Style: [style] | Palette: [palette or default]
Images: X/N generated

Output Directory

Output directory is determined by

default_output_dir

in EXTEND.md (set during first-time setup):

`default_output_dir`	Output Path	Markdown Insert Path
`imgs-subdir` (default)	`{article-dir}/imgs/`	`imgs/NN-{type}-{slug}.png`
`same-dir`	`{article-dir}/`	`NN-{type}-{slug}.png`
`illustrations-subdir`	`{article-dir}/illustrations/`	`illustrations/NN-{type}-{slug}.png`
`independent`	`illustrations/{topic-slug}/`	`illustrations/{topic-slug}/NN-{type}-{slug}.png` (relative to cwd)

All auxiliary files (outline, prompts) are saved inside the output directory:

{output-dir}/
├── outline.md
├── prompts/
│   └── NN-{type}-{slug}.md
└── NN-{type}-{slug}.png

When input is pasted content (no file path), always uses

illustrations/{topic-slug}/

with

source-{slug}.{ext}

saved alongside.

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

-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS

Modification

Action	Steps
Edit	Update prompt → Regenerate → Update reference
Add	Position → Prompt → Generate → Update outline → Insert
Delete	Delete files → Remove reference → Update outline

References

File	Content
references/workflow.md	Detailed procedures
references/usage.md	Command syntax
references/styles.md	Style gallery + Palette gallery
references/style-presets.md	Preset shortcuts (type + style + palette)
references/prompt-construction.md	Prompt templates
references/config/first-time-setup.md	First-time setup

Changing Preferences

EXTEND.md lives at the first matching path listed in Step 1.5. Three ways to change it:

Edit directly — open EXTEND.md and change fields. Full schema:
```
references/config/preferences-schema.md
```
.
Reconfigure interactively — delete EXTEND.md (or ask "reconfigure baoyu-article-illustrator preferences" / "重新配置"). The next run re-triggers first-time setup.
Common one-line edits:
- ```
preferred_image_backend: auto
```
  — default; runtime-native tool wins, falls back to the only installed backend, asks only if multiple non-native are present.
- ```
preferred_image_backend: codex-imagegen
```
  — pin to Codex's built-in.
- ```
preferred_image_backend: baoyu-imagine
```
  — pin to the baoyu-imagine skill.
- ```
preferred_image_backend: ask
```
  — confirm backend every run.
- ```
preferred_type: infographic
```
  ,
```
preferred_style: notion
```
  ,
```
preferred_palette: macaron
```
  ,
```
language: zh
```
  .
- ```
default_output_dir: imgs-subdir
```
  — where to write generated images relative to the article.

Baoyu Article Illustrator

AI Skill Market Insights

Be Part of the 0+ Developer Community

Article Illustrator

User Input Tools

Image Generation Tools

Confirmation Policy

Reference Images

Three Dimensions

Types

Styles

Workflow

Step 1: Pre-check

Step 2: Analyze

Step 3: Confirm Settings ⚠️

Step 4: Generate Outline

Step 5: Generate Images

Step 6: Finalize

Output Directory

Modification

References

Changing Preferences

Quick Start

Manual Installation

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Brand Guidelines

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