Infographic Generator

Two dimensions: layout (information structure) × style (visual aesthetics). Freely combine any layout with any style.

User Input Tools

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

1. Prefer built-in user-input tools exposed by the current agent runtime — e.g., AskUserQuestion, request_user_input, clarify, ask_user, or any equivalent.
2. 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.
3. 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:

1. Current-request override — if the user names a specific backend in the current message, use it.
2. Saved preference — if EXTEND.md sets preferred_image_backend to a backend available right now, use it.
3. Auto-select (when the preference is auto, unset, or the pinned backend isn't available):
4. Codex (imagegen) — first, inspect your available-skills / tool inventory. If a skill named imagegen is listed, you are running inside Codex and MUST use it: invoke via the Skill tool with skill: "imagegen", passing the saved prompt file's content (plus output path and aspect ratio per Codex imagegen's own args). Codex imagegen is the official raster backend in that runtime and outranks any non-native skill (e.g., baoyu-image-gen) unless the user has explicitly pinned a different preferred_image_backend.
5. Codex via codex exec (codex-imagegen) — if the current runtime exposes no native imagegen skill but the codex CLI is on PATH with an active codex login, route through baoyu-image-gen --provider codex-cli (preferred), or — if baoyu-image-gen is unavailable — invoke the bundled wrapper directly. Details, parameters, and the runtime-discovery procedure live in references/codex-imagegen.md — load that file only when this branch is selected.
6. Cursor (GenerateImage) — if the runtime exposes a native GenerateImage tool, you are running inside Cursor and it outranks any non-native skill the same way Codex imagegen does. Two hard caveats: (a) it has no aspect-ratio parameter — state the target aspect ratio / dimensions explicitly in the prompt text passed as description; (b) it does not accept an output directory — it saves to a tool-managed location, so after generation copy/move the file to the skill's expected output path (e.g., outputs/.../NN-xxx.png). Reference images go in reference_image_paths.
7. Other runtime-native tools — if the runtime exposes a different native image tool (e.g., Hermes image_generate), use it the same way.
8. Otherwise, if exactly one non-native backend is installed (e.g., baoyu-image-gen), use it.
9. Otherwise (multiple non-native backends with no runtime-native tool), ask the user once — batch with any other initial questions.
10. If none are available, tell the user and ask how to proceed.

⛔ Never substitute SVG, HTML, canvas, or other code-based rendering for raster image generation. Codex imagegen's own description says it should be used "when the output should be a bitmap asset rather than repo-native code or vector." If you cannot resolve a raster backend via step 3, fall through to step 4 and ask the user — do not silently emit SVG, write inline <svg> markup, or produce HTML/CSS art as a substitute. This applies even if the article/section seems "diagram-like": the consumer skill calling this rule has already decided that a raster image is what it needs.

⛔ Never repair rendered text by painting over a generated bitmap. Do not use ImageMagick, Pillow, Canvas, SVG, HTML/CSS, OCR scripts, or any other programmatic overlay to cover, rewrite, erase, stroke, or replace labels, headings, callouts, data values, or any other text inside an already generated infographic. If text is wrong or unclear, regenerate from a corrected prompt, switch to a layout with less on-image text, or ask the user which imperfect candidate to keep.

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, GenerateImage, image_generate, baoyu-image-gen) above are examples — substitute the local equivalents under the same rule.

Reference Images

Users may supply reference images to guide style, palette, composition, or subject.

Intake: Accept via --ref <files...> or when the user provides file paths / pastes images in conversation.

• File path(s) → copy to refs/NN-ref-{slug}.{ext} alongside the output
• Pasted image with no path → ask the user for the path (per the User Input Tools rule above), or extract style traits verbally as a text fallback
• No reference → skip this section

Usage modes (per reference):

Record in prompts/infographic.md frontmatter when refs exist:

references:
  - ref_id: 01
    filename: 01-ref-brand.png
    usage: direct

At generation time:

• Verify each referenced file exists on disk
• If usage: direct AND the chosen backend accepts reference images (e.g., baoyu-image-gen via --ref) → pass the file via the backend's ref parameter
• Otherwise → embed extracted style/palette traits in the prompt text

Confirmation Policy

Default behavior: confirm before generation.

• Treat explicit skill invocation, a file path, a matched keyword shortcut, EXTEND.md defaults, and the documented default combination as recommendation inputs only. None of them authorizes skipping confirmation.
• Do not start Step 5 or Step 6 until the user confirms the combination/aspect/language/backend choices.
• Skip confirmation only when the current request explicitly says to do so, for example: --no-confirm, "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 combination/aspect/language/backend in the next user-facing update before generating.

Options

Layout Gallery (21)

Full definitions live at references/layouts/<layout>.md.

Style Gallery (22)

Full definitions live at references/styles/<style>.md.

Recommended Combinations

Default combination: bento-grid + craft-handmade (fallback recommendation only — per the Confirmation Policy, defaults never bypass Step 4).

Keyword Shortcuts

When the user's input contains these keywords, use the mapped layout as the leading Step 3 recommendation and promote the listed styles to the top of the Step 3 list. Skip content-based layout inference for matched keywords. Append any Prompt Notes to the Step 5 prompt.

Output Structure

infographic/{topic-slug}/
├── source-{slug}.{ext}
├── analysis.md
├── structured-content.md
├── prompts/infographic.md
└── infographic.png

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

Core Principles

• Preserve source data faithfully—no summarization or rephrasing (but strip any credentials, API keys, tokens, or secrets before including in outputs)
• Define learning objectives before structuring content
• Structure for visual communication (headlines, labels, visual elements)

Workflow

Step 1: Setup & Analyze

1.1 Load Preferences (EXTEND.md)

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

EXTEND.md supports: preferred layout/style, default aspect ratio, language preference, preferred image backend, custom style definitions.

Schema: references/config/preferences-schema.md

1.2 Analyze Content → analysis.md

1. Save source content (file path or paste → source.md)
2. Backup rule: If source.md exists, rename to source-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md
3. Analyze: topic, data type, complexity, tone, audience
4. Detect source language and user language
5. Extract design instructions from user input
6. Save analysis
7. Backup rule: If analysis.md exists, rename to analysis-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md

See references/analysis-framework.md for detailed format.

Step 2: Generate Structured Content → structured-content.md

Transform content into infographic structure:

1. Title and learning objectives
2. Sections with: key concept, content (verbatim), visual element, text labels
3. Data points (all statistics/quotes copied exactly)
4. Design instructions from user

Rules: Markdown only. No new information. Preserve data faithfully. Strip any credentials or secrets from output.

See references/structured-content-template.md for detailed format.

Step 3: Recommend Combinations

3.1 Check Keyword Shortcuts first: If user input matches a keyword from the Keyword Shortcuts table, use the associated layout as the leading recommendation and prioritize associated styles as top recommendations. Skip content-based layout inference.

3.2 Otherwise, recommend 3-5 layout×style combinations based on:

• Data structure → matching layout
• Content tone → matching style
• Audience expectations
• User design instructions

Step 4: Confirm Options

Hard gate: this step is mandatory per the Confirmation Policy — Steps 5–6 cannot start until the user confirms here (or explicitly opts out with --no-confirm / equivalent in the current request).

Ask the user to confirm the questions below following the User Input Tools rule at the top of this file (batch into one call if the runtime supports multiple questions; otherwise ask one at a time in priority order).

Step 5: Generate Prompt → prompts/infographic.md

Backup rule: If prompts/infographic.md exists, rename to prompts/infographic-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md

Combine:

1. Layout definition from references/layouts/<layout>.md
2. Style definition from references/styles/<style>.md
3. Base template from references/base-prompt.md
4. Structured content from Step 2
5. All text in confirmed language

Aspect ratio resolution for {{ASPECT_RATIO}}:

• Named presets → ratio string: landscape→16:9, portrait→9:16, square→1:1
• Custom W:H ratios → use as-is (e.g., 3:4, 4:3, 2.35:1)

Step 6: Generate Image

1. Resolve the backend per the ## Image Generation Tools rule at the top of this file.
2. Ensure the full final prompt is persisted at prompts/infographic.md (already written in Step 5) BEFORE invoking the backend — the file is the reproducibility record.
3. Check for existing file: Before generating, check if infographic.png exists
4. If exists: Rename to infographic-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png
5. Call the chosen backend with the prompt file and output path.
6. codex-imagegen invocation: when the rule resolves to codex-imagegen, see references/codex-imagegen.md for the invocation contract (preferred baoyu-image-gen --provider codex-cli path, runtime wrapper discovery, parameter notes, stdout schema, batch semantics).
7. On failure, auto-retry once

Text correction policy:

• If labels, headings, callouts, data values, or any other rendered text is misspelled, garbled, hard to read, or visually weak, do not patch the bitmap with code.
• For text-correction regenerations, write a new prompt file and a new output path so the flawed candidate is preserved for comparison.
• Post-processing is limited to crop, resize, compression, or format conversion that does not alter text or the main composition.

Step 7: Output Summary

Report: topic, layout, style, aspect, language, image backend, output path, files created.

References

• references/analysis-framework.md - Analysis methodology
• references/structured-content-template.md - Content format
• references/base-prompt.md - Prompt template
• references/layouts/<layout>.md - 21 layout definitions
• references/styles/<style>.md - 21 style definitions

Changing Preferences

EXTEND.md lives at the first matching path in Step 1.1. 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-infographic 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-image-gen — pin to the baoyu-image-gen skill.
• preferred_image_backend: ask — confirm backend every run.
• preferred_layout: dense-modules, preferred_style: morandi-journal, preferred_aspect: portrait, language: zh — shift the Step-3 recommendations and Step-4 defaults (per Confirmation Policy, these never bypass Step 4).