Illo
Make original, distinctive editorial illustrations for written content. One
image explains one idea: a key judgment, a flow, a before/after, a trap, a
loop. A recurring mascot is the one performing the idea in every scene —
the subject, never decoration. When one idea advances through stages, it can
be a mini-comic: 2–4 panels inside a single image. And when the idea is
itself a traceable structure — a pipeline, labeled stages, a fan-out, a
timeline, a loop — it can be an explainer: the same mascot and look
drawing the structure as a hand-built sketch-diagram with arrows and
callouts (references/composition.md, "Two registers" and "Pick the
diagram type"; editorial scene is always the default). A named pipeline
or recipe is labeled stages inside that register — named phases in
order, one connected system, pack-solved for this body, never a new look.
Or a character cutout: the mascot alone on a transparent PNG for downstream overlay
— pose and contact continuity only, no idea, no text, no environment
(references/cutout.md).
This is a configurable house style, not a generic image generator. The
methodology is the constant; the character pack and palette are the
parameters — and a character pack carries its style with it: one look
per pack, chosen from the bundled look library (riso — grainy halftone,
ink-layer offset, paper grain, one bold softly-rounded outline — plus
blueprint, woodcut, pixel, clay, manila, chalk, phosphor, enamel,
gouache, felt, diorama, sketchbook, bricks, fizz, bloom, and snes) or a custom style file. The default mascot is
Blot, a deadpan ink-drop in riso. Palettes come
from presets, the user's own palette file, or one derived color. Whatever the
parameters, it is intentionally not a photo — with one deliberate exception, the
bricks look, a toy-brick photography style — not a logo, not a corporate
infographic, not a formal boxes-and-diamonds flowchart look, not a UI
mockup. Asking for a flowchart still means labeled stages in the pack's
look — the formality ban is a look constraint, not a refusal of the word.
Use cases — route the request
| The user wants | The path |
|---|
| Illustrate an article / post / newsletter / URL | Steps 0–7: route the source first (thesis → coverage: hero / hero+set / set / mini-comic — references/composition.md, "Source routing"), then shot list (hero row + anchors), one image per anchor, interleave by placement. |
| One image for a single concept | Step 1 concept branch (up to ~3 quick questions if the idea is thin), then a single image. |
| Surprise / random — "surprise me", "random", "surprise me with art quote using bray", "surprise me --autopick" | Read references/surprise.md in full: Step 0 first, then character + provenance (ignore defaultCharacter; * quote forces a cited quote; else ~1/3 roll), build three safe candidates, interactive picker or auto-pick-best (--autopick preferred for schedulers), then register from the locked saying, then Steps 3–7 as one image. Deliver saying + image. Poster titles default off; mini-comics still get per-panel labels. |
| A sequence — story beat, before→after, fail→fix | One mini-comic when the progression sits in one place (shape routing in references/composition.md — the idea picks the shape, the destination never does). A specified process diagram / flowchart / labeled workflow is labeled stages, not this row. |
| A traceable structure — "show the flow", "as labeled stages", "label the steps", "walk the stages", "diagram the pipeline", "like that factory diagram", "map the steps", "as an explainer", or specified flowchart / labeled-workflow / process-diagram intention | The explainer register (references/composition.md, "Pick the diagram type" and "The explainer register"): a hand-built labeled-stages / flow / fan-out / timeline / loop / stack / system slice in the active look, the mascot a working part of it. Specified flowchart / labeled-workflow / process-diagram intention locks labeled stages in the pack's look — the formal-flowchart ban is a look constraint (no Visio, no title/legend/grid), not a refusal of the word. Labeled stages is a structure type inside explainer, not a new register or look — pack-solve it for the active character before the prompt. BEST when a unit's thesis IS a named pipeline, recipe, or staged process; never the automatic choice for every explainer. |
| Social-ready art for X posts / article body images | 16:9 (or 1:1 when square is explicitly useful), bold ink-punch, watermark with the x handle if configured or asked. |
| X Article banner / hero image | Use the unique banner format: 1536 × 640 px when the user asks for an X Article hero/banner. Prompt and render through the normal illo.py generate image pipeline, with normal, undistorted character/object proportions and crop-safe breathing room. Do not satisfy this by manually compositing or rebuilding crops from another image unless the user explicitly asks for post-processing. |
| Blog / brand / site-matched art | A named or custom palette, or derive the palette from one dominant color (references/palettes.md). |
| Their own mascot — "make me a character", "use our mascot", "replace Blot" | The character builder: read references/character-builder.md in full and follow it end to end. |
| Community characters — "what characters are available", "install blip", "install all characters", "update mole", "publish my character" | references/pack-sharing.md — engine packs list/show/install/update, including packs install --all; publish via a GitHub PR. |
| A different look — "in blueprint", "woodcut style", "pixel version of blip" | Styles travel with character packs: build a style variant pack via references/character-builder.md, "Style variants". |
| Options to pick from, or "which model is best" | Step 5b: --count variations or a model loop → gallery with a recommendation. |
| Fix an existing image (stray title, recolor, mascot too decorative) | Edit prompts in references/prompt-recipe.md, passing the image back as --ref. |
| Character cutout / transparent PNG / overlay sticker — "just the mascot", "no background", "paste on something else" | The cutout register (references/cutout.md): read in full, prompt from references/prompt-recipe.md "Cutout variant", generate with --cutout and --aspect 1:1. OpenRouter cutouts default to GPT Image 2 (not Grok). Not for explaining an idea — reroute to editorial if the ask needs a scene. |
| Animated idle / bot avatar / looping GIF of the mascot | The cutout register plus references/cutout.md, "Idle loop / bot avatar": one transparent 1:1 cutout with --cutout and the character sheet as --ref, then programmatic motion on that PNG. |
Prerequisites
The engine (scripts/illo.py, stdlib Python, no installs) renders through one
of three engine backends plus two agent-side transports; python3 and
network access are the only hard requirements. Grok Bot (Cursor's Grok
Bot / the Grok desktop assistant) is an agent-side transport: use its built-in
Grok image tool directly, not illo.py generate, when no user config
explicitly selects an engine backend. Muse (Meta's personal assistant,
Blip) is the other agent-side transport: when you are Blip, build the illo
prompt per this skill and call your native image-generation tool with the
active character sheet attached as a reference. Other agents that happen to
expose some image API must not take either native path — the agent must be
able to call its own built-in image tool and be named above.
Running the engine — set $SKILL_DIR inline in each block. Every engine
command below is python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" …. Set SKILL_DIR to the
absolute path of the directory this SKILL.md was loaded from (it contains
scripts/illo.py and assets/) in the same command block that uses it — shell
state does not persist between separate command runs, so a value set in an earlier
block is gone by the next. If the harness does not expose that path, find the
installed scripts/illo.py and use its parent; if neither resolves, stop rather
than guessing the working directory. The engine self-locates its own bundled
assets, so $SKILL_DIR only has to be right enough to launch illo.py and to
point --ref at the bundled character sheet.
Write the block flatten-safe — some hosts (Codex observed) collapse a fenced
block to one line, turning a newline into a space. Terminate the assignment with
; (SKILL_DIR="…"; — without it, a flattened SKILL_DIR="…" python3 "$SKILL_DIR/…"
becomes an env-prefix whose $SKILL_DIR expands to empty before the assignment
applies, so the path collapses to /scripts/illo.py). Put no comment on an
assignment or command line (a flattened # comments out the rest of the line and
the command silently vanishes), and keep each invocation on one line (a
flattened \ continuation injects stray arguments). A wrong or unset value makes
doctor (Workflow step 0) fail loudly (can't open file …/scripts/illo.py) — the
signal to fix the path, not a skill fault.
- Codex backend (free for Codex subscribers). When the host has a usable
Codex CLI — installed,
codex login-ed, with the image_generation
feature — illo can generate through the user's Codex subscription at no
per-image charge (it draws on their Codex quota). No API key, no token: illo
only shells out to the user's own CLI. Detected, not assumed; gpt-image-2 is
automatic; unsupported on Windows/WSL.
- Grok CLI backend (free for Grok/xAI subscribers). When the host has a usable
Grok CLI — installed and
grok login-ed — illo can generate through the
user's Grok subscription via grok -p (headless), drawing on their Grok
quota. Same env-free, token-free subprocess design as Codex. Grok returns
JPEG with no alpha, so it cannot make transparent cutouts — those auto-fall
back to a cutout-capable backend. The image tool exposes no model selector.
- Grok Bot native transport (agent-side, free for Grok Bot users). When
you are Grok Bot — specifically Cursor's Grok Bot / the Grok desktop
assistant with the built-in Grok image tool — build the illo prompt and call
that tool with the active character's model sheet as a reference image. Do
not require the Grok CLI, Codex CLI, or an OpenRouter key; do not treat a
missing engine backend as a reason to run
init. This is not a generic
"host image API" rule and not an illo.py --backend value.
- OpenRouter backend (paid, direct or explicit fallback). Needs an
OpenRouter API key in the user's config file — the single credential
channel — written once by the user-run
init (mode 600). The engine never
reads secrets from the environment and never accepts them as command-line
arguments. A host without a subscription CLI can select this engine path directly.
A failed Codex/Grok CLI render does not spend money automatically: paid
fallback requires --allow-paid-fallback. It is model-selectable
(--model).
Capsule of the backend/transport model (resolution and precedence, the CLI
requirements, the Grok Bot native path, the built-in image tool being
automatic, quota vs. charge, cutout limits, Windows/WSL, fallback): read
references/backends.md in full before choosing or explaining a backend —
the mechanics live there, once.
Setup is the user's job (never enter the key yourself)
Entering an API key is something the user does. Do not type, paste, print,
or store the user's key — direct them to bootstrap it:
- Bootstrap (user runs it):
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" init —
prompts for the key at a hidden prompt (never echoed) and writes the
YAML config ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/illo/config.yaml (mode 600). It
can also store non-secret defaults: --model, --palette, --aspect,
--character, --watermark. Use --no-key to update preferences without
touching the stored key. (The config is read via PyYAML when installed;
without it a minimal built-in parser still reads the flat keys — apiKey,
model, … — so generation needs no installs. Only nested settings like
watermark need PyYAML: python -m pip install 'PyYAML==6.0.2'.)
- Non-secret prefs may be seeded for the user with the same command and
--no-key, but the key itself is theirs to enter.
Hermes Agent only: binary asset repair preflight
Some Hermes versions corrupt binary files (the bundled character sheets) when
installing multi-file skills from GitHub — text files survive, binaries don't,
and a corrupted sheet silently breaks the character lock. Under Hermes
Agent, run this once before first use (and whenever doctor reports
assets: CORRUPTED):
bash ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/repair-hermes-assets.sh
It verifies every bundled binary against known-good SHA256 hashes
(assets/checksums.txt) and re-downloads only mismatched files from pinned,
immutable URLs — a no-op when everything checks out. Under Claude Code,
Codex, OpenClaw, or any runtime that installs faithfully: skip this; doctor
checks asset integrity everywhere and will say if repair is ever needed.
Read these references as needed
Do not load everything at once. Pull the file that matches the step:
references/visual-style.md — riso, the house default look: the risograph technique, line language, paper/ink, hard do/don'ts.references/styles/<name>.md — the rest of the look library (blueprint, woodcut, pixel, clay, manila, chalk, phosphor, enamel, gouache, felt, diorama, sketchbook, bricks, fizz, bloom, snes), consumed by character packs. Read the active character's style file in full before generating.references/character.md — the character rules (the load-bearing test, anti-complexity guardrails, value-follows-palette, the interaction model — declared per pack or derived conservatively from the locked design and reference sheet), the default character Blot, and the custom-pack format. Read before any character work.references/character-builder.md — the guided flow for designing and installing a user's own mascot. Read in full before building or replacing a character.references/pack-sharing.md — installing characters from the community repo and publishing a pack via PR. Read before any install/publish request.references/palettes.md — named presets, default resolution, custom palettes, and the derive-a-palette-from-one-color algorithm. Read in full before choosing or deriving any palette.references/composition.md — the two registers (editorial scene / explainer diagram), the diagram-type picker, the explainer's structure types and budget (including labeled stages, arrow notes, and its pack-solve), stagings, turning an idea into a move, the anatomy-action feasibility gate (validate the contact map against the character's interaction model before rendering), the no-recycled-composition rule, and the shot-list format.references/cutout.md — the cutout register: transparent compositing assets, contact continuity, pose vocabulary, and generate flags. Read in full before any cutout request.references/surprise.md — surprise / random mode: preflight-first, scope parse, random character, provenance variety + three saying candidates (optional parallel verify for sourced modes), interactive picker or --autopick / auto-pick-best, full re-roll on refresh, register after the locked saying, saying bar + sense bar, multi-source quote verification, safety-before-offer, headless contract. Read in full before any surprise/random request.references/backends.md — the three-backend image engine plus the Grok Bot native transport: how the engine backend resolves (precedence Codex > Grok > OpenRouter, and the self-identify rule), when Grok Bot bypasses illo.py generate, the Codex/Grok CLI requirements, artifact-first success, the built-in image tool being automatic (no model selection), quota-vs-charge, Grok's no-cutout limit, Windows/WSL, and opt-in paid fallback. Read before choosing or explaining a backend.references/models.md — the model lineup (OpenRouter backend only): friendly-name → OpenRouter id map, traits, aspect caveats, 404/fallback handling. Read before passing any --model.references/prompt-recipe.md — the generation prompt template and the edit/recolor prompts.references/quality-bar.md — the post-generation checklist and iteration rules. Read before delivering.
assets/character-reference.webp is the default character's canonical model
sheet — the consistency anchor (used by the engine, below); a custom pack
brings its own. Style-calibration examples are not bundled — each style
file links its own by URL (fetch when needed): study line density, negative
space, and accent restraint. Never copy their compositions — invent a
fresh metaphor for the current piece.
Workflow
0. Preflight
Before generating, confirm the engine is ready:
SKILL_DIR="<path to this skill>";
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" doctor
Run the illo.py call standalone — never chained with && — so the displayed exit code is
the readiness signal itself (0 = ready): a chained neighbor's failure paints
a healthy check as an error.
It reports python, the config path, the resolved model/palette defaults,
whether a custom character pack or custom palettes file exists,
Codex/Grok CLI detection and the resolved backend/transport, and whether an
OpenRouter key is found (without revealing it); exit 0 = the resolved backend
is ready. An OpenRouter-only install (no subscription CLI) stays exit 0 —
readiness follows the resolved backend, not a hardwired key check
(references/backends.md).
Grok Bot native path (agent-side). If you are Grok Bot (Cursor's Grok
Bot / the Grok desktop assistant with the built-in Grok image tool) and the
user has not explicitly chosen backend: openrouter, backend: codex, or
backend: grok, initialize the agent-side transport before relying on
doctor:
SKILL_DIR="<path to this skill>";
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" init --backend grok-bot --no-key
Then run doctor normally: exit 0 is meaningful readiness for this path.
Missing Codex CLI, Grok CLI, or OpenRouter key are not failures when
backend: grok-bot; corrupted assets, unreadable custom packs, malformed
palettes, or the wrong SKILL_DIR still fail and must be fixed before
rendering. Generate in Step 5 by calling Grok Bot's built-in Grok image tool
with the active model sheet reference. This route is only for Grok Bot's own
Grok image tool; other agents with unrelated image tools must use the engine
backends below.
Short path for Grok Bot: run init --backend grok-bot --no-key once when
backend is unset/auto, run doctor for assets/config/packs, use packs
commands normally (including packs install --all after install so community
characters are local), read the same references, build the same prompt, then
call Grok Bot's built-in Grok image tool with the active character reference.
Skip illo.py init for OpenRouter unless the user explicitly wants OpenRouter
or another engine backend default, and skip illo.py generate unless the user
explicitly selected an engine backend.
Muse native path (agent-side). If you are Blip (Meta's personal
assistant, Muse) and the user has not explicitly chosen an engine backend
(backend: openrouter, backend: codex, or backend: grok), initialize the
agent-side transport before relying on doctor:
SKILL_DIR="<path to this skill>";
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" init --backend muse-native --no-key
Then run doctor normally: exit 0 is meaningful readiness for this path.
Missing Codex CLI, Grok CLI, or OpenRouter key are not failures when
backend: muse-native; corrupted assets, unreadable custom packs, malformed
palettes, or the wrong SKILL_DIR still fail and must be fixed before
rendering. Generate in Step 5 by calling your native image-generation tool
with the active model sheet reference. Unlike Grok Bot, this path can do
cutouts: render on the pack's chroma screen and run illo.py keyout (see
references/cutout.md). This route is only for Blip's own native image tool;
other agents with unrelated image tools must use the engine backends.
Short path for Muse: run init --backend muse-native --no-key once when
backend is unset/auto, run doctor for assets/config/packs, use packs
commands normally, read the same references, build the same prompt, then call
your native image tool with the active character reference. Skip
illo.py generate unless the user explicitly selected an engine backend —
for a native render, record it with illo.py record (or keyout for
cutouts) so it joins the run's manifest.jsonl and galleries.
Config migration — surface the backend choice interactively. When you are
going to use illo.py generate, if doctor reports backend: NEEDS CHOICE
(or generate hard-stops saying the config "is out of date"), this user's
config predates the backend choice — they have an older install and have never
been offered a subscription CLI. Do not pick for them silently. Surface an
interactive choice using the platform's
blocking-question capability (AskUserQuestion in Claude Code, the equivalent
elsewhere; where the host has none — e.g. a plain chat session — ask the same one
choice as a concise message and wait for the reply, never picking silently):
"illo now has image backends/transports — which would you like?" with five
options — Codex (free, your Codex subscription), Grok CLI (free, your
Grok subscription; no transparent cutouts), Grok Bot (agent-side native
tool; use only when you are Grok Bot), Muse (agent-side native tool; use
only when you are Blip, Meta's personal assistant), and OpenRouter (pick
the model: Grok Imagine, Nano Banana, GPT Image, and others). Persist the answer without
touching any existing key:
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" init --backend <codex|grok|grok-bot|muse-native|openrouter> --no-key,
then continue. A brand-new install (no config at all) is ordinary onboarding,
not this migration — it does not fire.
Prefer your own CLI when you are a subscription-CLI agent. The engine's
auto-default reads host capability (Codex > Grok > OpenRouter; it can't
tell which agent invoked it) — but you know which agent you are. So when you
are a subscription-CLI agent and your own CLI is usable on this host, add your
own backend flag to generate for non-cutout renders: the Grok CLI agent
adds --backend grok, the Codex agent adds --backend codex. This keeps
"in Grok CLI, generate with Grok" true even on a host that also has Codex, with
no runtime-sniffing in the engine. Cutouts ignore this (Grok can't make them —
they auto-fall back). A user's config backend: overrides everything.
Resolution and precedence mechanics: references/backends.md.
For Grok Bot, the equivalent self-identify rule happens before generate:
when backend is unset/auto, persist backend: grok-bot with
init --backend grok-bot --no-key and use the native Grok image tool path
above. If the user explicitly configured or requested an engine backend, honor
that choice instead of silently switching to Grok Bot native.
For Blip (Muse), the equivalent rule is the same: when backend is unset/auto,
persist backend: muse-native with init --backend muse-native --no-key and
use the native image tool path. If the user explicitly configured or requested
an engine backend, honor that choice instead of silently switching to Muse
native.
Read the printed config path before concluding
the key is missing: under Hermes,
multi-profile setups can resolve HOME/XDG_CONFIG_HOME to another
profile's home (e.g. …/profiles/<name>/home/.config/illo/…), so a key
that exists looks absent. If the path points at the wrong profile, re-run
with the right HERMES_HOME/HOME/XDG_CONFIG_HOME rather than treating
the key as missing. If the key is genuinely
missing, stop and ask the user to run
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" init themselves — do not enter the
key for them. In a chat session the user can't run commands where they
are, so shrink their host-side step first: run init --no-key yourself
(allowed — it scaffolds the config with defaults and a commented # apiKey:
placeholder, mode 600, never touching a key), then offer the user two
equivalent one-time options on the machine the agent runs on (that host
is theirs — it's where they installed the agent): run
python3 <resolved absolute $SKILL_DIR>/scripts/illo.py init (hidden
prompt), or open ~/.config/illo/config.yaml and fill in the apiKey:
line. The key must never transit the chat: never ask for it in a message,
and if the user pastes it anyway, do not use it — tell them to revoke that
key at openrouter.ai and set a fresh one on the host (the pasted key now
lives in chat history and platform servers). Never copy a key from the
environment or any other store into the config yourself — the user is the
only writer of that line — with one scoped exception: an ephemeral
cloud workspace (Claude Code web, Codex cloud, CI) where the user
provisioned OPENROUTER_API_KEY through the platform's secrets mechanism.
That provisioning is itself the user's deliberate, workspace-scoped
consent, and there is no interactive prompt or persistent home for init —
so there, seed the config from the workspace secret once (the "Cloud & CI"
one-liner in README.md). On a personal machine an ambient env var proves
nothing about intent (it may belong to other tools) — the rule stands:
never copy it.
Optional pack-freshness offer (preflight, consent-first). When this run
will render with an installed community pack (doctor lists packs; installs
carry a .version stamp), optionally check freshness:
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" packs list flags stale installs
([installed 1.0.0 — 1.0.2 available]). The check may run here, but the
offer fires once the active pack is known — after Step 2 resolves the
character (or after surprise mode's character roll), immediately before
the first render that uses it. If that resolved pack is stale, offer
once — via the platform's blocking-question capability, as
in the config migration above — to refresh it before rendering, and run
packs update <name> only on an explicit yes (updating overwrites the
local copy; the hand-edit warning and --as alternative are in
references/pack-sharing.md). Never update silently, and never block on
this: a "no", an offline host, a registry error, or a headless/scheduler
run (e.g. surprise --autopick) all continue with the pinned copy — a pack
without a declared ## Interaction model still plans safely via the
conservative derivation (references/character.md). Skip the check
entirely when no community-installed pack is involved.
1. Read the input — and clarify a thin concept (briefly)
Three kinds of input, handled differently:
-
Surprise / random ("surprise me", "random", "surprise me with art quote
using bray", "surprise me --autopick", and close variants) — the ask is
invent-and-render, not a supplied thesis. Stop and read
references/surprise.md in full, run Step 0 first, then resolve character
and provenance there (ignore defaultCharacter; random character when
unnamed), build three saying candidates and lock one via picker or
auto-pick-best, pick register from the locked saying, then continue Steps
3–7 as one image — Steps 0 and 2 are skipped in that render pass because
preflight and pack are already done. Do not enter the thin-concept Q&A path
below. A prompt that already names a concrete idea ("illustrate 'you are
the bottleneck'") is not surprise mode even if it also says "surprise
me".
-
A URL / article / paste / long post carries its own context — but
never generate from the first vivid detail. Route it first
(references/composition.md, "Source routing"): classify the source's
shape and genre, infer the requested artifact's job (what this
image must do for its audience), separate that job from the source's most
drawable mechanism, lock the main thesis in one sentence (a hero locks
the source/artifact job, not its loudest evidence — the genre guardrails
say what each genre heroes), then pick the coverage — hero, hero +
per-section set (the full article job), set, mini-comic, or shot list
first. Sets need placements: compact sources (a tweet, one
concept) never yield a set — their multi-beat form is the mini-comic. Pull the load-bearing moments —
the few places that turn on a judgment, a loop, an input→output, a
before/after, or a trap — never one image per paragraph. The text already
says what it's about, so don't interrogate the user, with one
exception: a materially multi-beat source (long article, postmortem,
multi-claim launch) gets a single coverage question before any
multi-image spend — unless the user already named the coverage. A lone
image from a multi-beat source is a hero, delivered saying so — not
as coverage of the piece.
-
A bare concept or one-liner (e.g. "illustrate 'you are the bottleneck'")
usually underspecifies the picture. Ask up to ~3 quick questions — only the
ones that change the output — then build. Draw from:
- the single takeaway (what should the reader conclude?),
- where it's headed (blog / deck / X post / X article body / X Article banner → sets palette, aspect, pixel normalization, and watermark),
- the shape: one image (the default), a mini-comic (2–4 panels in one
image — only when the idea itself advances through stages), or several
separate images — plus any must-include element or constraint. The shape
follows the idea, never the destination (
references/composition.md).
Keep it to one short round, then proceed. Skip the questions entirely
if the user already gave enough, said "just make it" / "single shot", or
the answer is obvious from context. Never block a clear request by asking.
2. Resolve the character
Surprise / random mode: skip this step — character was already resolved
in references/surprise.md (named pack, or random among installed + Blot;
never defaultCharacter). Continue at Step 3+.
Installed packs live under ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/illo/characters/
(format and location details: references/character.md); doctor lists
what's installed. A user can keep several and pick per run. First match
wins:
- Explicit request — "use ", "as ": that pack (or the
shipped default when asked for by name,
blot). When the word matches no
pack name, resolve by approximation: match it against each installed
pack's Aliases: line and subject (the character.md opening line and
Locked design Body) — doctor prints names + aliases, so this needs
no file reads in the common case — and against catalog descriptions
(packs list). So "use ox" finds a pack subtitled an ox (e.g. yoke).
On one clear match, use it and name it; on several, ask which; on none,
say so before falling through.
- Config default —
defaultCharacter from the user config, if set.
- Shipped default — Blot (spec in
references/character.md, model
sheet assets/character-reference.webp).
Once resolved, read the pack's character.md and use its prompt spec, value
rules, optional Cutout chroma: compatibility preference, and
reference.png everywhere the default's would be used.
When rerouting an article set to a new character — especially after a weak
attempt, or for a technical/platform essay — read
references/article-set-character-reroute.md in full before planning or
rendering. Do the legibility preflight there before spending renders.
If the user wants a new character, that is the character builder
(references/character-builder.md); if they want someone else's, packs
install from the community repo (references/pack-sharing.md). Either way,
install first, then continue here.
3. Plan (shot list) — when asked to plan, or for anything multi-image
If the user wants planning ("where should this be illustrated", "shot list"),
output a shot list before generating. Per image: placement, the one idea,
the artifact job, the register (editorial unless the row passes the explainer
gate), the staging (or structure type — pick per references/composition.md,
"Pick the diagram type"), what the mascot is doing, the
palette, and the text hierarchy — primary read/title when the artifact needs
one, plus short supporting labels/callouts within the per-register budgets in
references/composition.md. Let the anchor count drive how many (bands and the never-pad
rule are in references/composition.md). When a stretch of the piece advances
through stages in one place, plan a single mini-comic image there instead
of several — the mini-comic-vs-separate routing is in
references/composition.md.
For article-set character reroutes, add the mandatory preflight fields from
references/article-set-character-reroute.md before any render: section claim,
visual object/action, and reader mapping. Reject rows that need a private
metaphor glossary or more than one conceptual substitution.
4. Resolve the palette (the style is the character's)
Style is not separately resolvable: the active character's pack carries
it — the Style: line in its character.md names a bundled look
(references/styles/<name>.md, riso in visual-style.md) or a custom one at
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/illo/styles/<name>.md; absent line = riso.
Blot is riso. For any non-riso style, read its file in full: it supplies the
STYLE and LINE LANGUAGE prompt blocks, the palette mapping, the character
treatment, and extra QA checks. A request for the same character in a
different look is a variant-pack build (route table) — never restyle on the
fly.
Palette: read references/palettes.md in full and resolve there — it
holds the resolution order (explicit request, then destination cue via the
user's palettes file, then config default, then house ink-punch), the named
presets, custom palettes, and the derive-a-palette-from-one-color algorithm.
End with concrete hex values; when the pack's style isn't riso, run them
through that style's palette mapping.
5. Generate — reference-locked, one metaphor per image
Cutout branch. When the request routed to the cutout register, read
references/cutout.md in full first — it covers backend-aware transparency
(Codex native alpha by default; chroma compatibility for OpenRouter or explicit
--chroma), registration-locked silhouette (no ink-layer offset),
--cutout /--aspect 1:1, OpenRouter --image-config, and manifest
cutout_alpha disclosure. Build the prompt from
references/prompt-recipe.md, "Cutout variant" — not the editorial template —
and omit manual BACKGROUND: / output-format instructions; the engine appends
the contract for the backend that actually runs. Pass --chroma only to force
a compatibility reroll. Use only the character model sheet as --ref (no
editorial style anchor, no watermark). QA against the cutout section of
references/quality-bar.md. Skip the editorial shot-list / thesis steps.
Editorial and explainer. When the locked type is labeled stages, run the
pack-solve scratch in references/composition.md ("Labeled stages — skeleton,
then pack-solve") before writing the prompt — stage list → operator
stage → contact map → bind; do not invent a look. Build a full prompt per
image from
references/prompt-recipe.md (scene + structure + communication hierarchy +
style + the active character's spec + resolved palette hexes + the
per-register text budget), write it to a file, and render it. Pass the active character's
model sheet as --ref every time — that reference conditioning is what
keeps the mascot on-model; style and palette come from the prompt, so both
stays swappable. A pack's sheet is born in its own style, so sheet and style
always match — no cross-style reference juggling. (Under Hermes Agent, the
asset-repair preflight above must have run before the first --ref use —
a corrupted sheet conditions every render on garbage.)
Grok Bot native render. If you are Grok Bot and the native path from Step 0
applies, do not run illo.py generate. Use the same full prompt recipe,
same aspect ratio, same character lock, same style-anchor rule for sets, and
call Grok Bot's built-in Grok image tool. Attach the active character's model
sheet as a reference image (assets/character-reference.webp for Blot, or the
pack's reference.png); for later images in a set, also attach the accepted
style anchor image. Ask the tool to save/return the generated file and treat
that saved path as the engine JSON .path equivalent for QA and delivery.
Grok Bot's image tool is the same Grok image-model class as the Grok CLI
transport: no model selector, no OpenRouter billing, and no alpha channel.
Transparent cutouts stay off this path; route them to a cutout-capable engine
backend instead, or stop and ask for that backend to be configured.
Muse native render. If you are Blip (Meta's personal assistant, Muse)
and the native path from Step 0 applies, do not run illo.py generate.
Use the same full prompt recipe, same aspect ratio, same character lock, same
style-anchor rule for sets, and call your native image-generation tool.
Attach the active character's model sheet as a reference image
(assets/character-reference.webp for Blot, or the pack's reference.png);
for later images in a set, also attach the accepted style anchor image. Up to
four native image calls may be batched in one response — beyond that, continue
in a follow-up. Save each returned file under the run dir, then record it with
illo.py record (see its usage), which appends a muse-native manifest row
with the label and prompt so it joins galleries like engine renders. Treat
the recorded path as the engine JSON .path equivalent for QA and delivery.
Unlike Grok Bot, this path can do cutouts: ask the native tool for the
pack's flat chroma screen (the pack declares green or magenta), then run
illo.py keyout <screen.png> --chroma <green|magenta> --out <final.png> to
produce a transparent PNG — see references/cutout.md for the chroma
selection, QA, and the opaque-fallback rule. There is no model selector and
no OpenRouter billing on this path; --model does not apply.
Set SKILL_DIR inline (see Prerequisites), and use the bundled sheet as REF — or
the active pack's reference.png for a custom character. Add --model <id> to
override the config/default model for this image (OpenRouter backend only):
SKILL_DIR="<path to this skill>";
REF="$SKILL_DIR/assets/character-reference.webp";
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" generate --prompt-file /tmp/shot-01.txt --ref "$REF" --aspect 16:9 --out "assets/<slug>-illustrations/01-topic.png"
For engine renders, illo.py generate prints a JSON line per image
({path, backend, model, id, cost, width, height, label, prompt}; backend is
codex, grok, or openrouter, and model/id/cost are OpenRouter-only —
they are null on a CLI-served record (Codex or Grok). cost is null unless
--cost is passed — gallery backfills it) and appends the same record to
<out-dir>/manifest.jsonl.
Read .path — it may differ from --out: the engine names the file by the
actual encoding (some models return JPEG bytes, so a requested .png lands
as .jpg). Use .width/.height to catch a square when 16:9 was requested
(re-roll). A failed Codex/Grok CLI render stops by default even when an OpenRouter
key is configured. Add --allow-paid-fallback only when the user has explicitly
approved a pay-per-image retry. Direct --backend openrouter renders and the
intentional Grok-cutout redirect remain direct routes and do not need this flag.
Generate each image separately — never combine ideas into one canvas. Default
aspect is 16:9; use 1:1 for square social, 9:16/4:5 for vertical, and
1536:640 for an X Article banner / hero. For X Article banners, the
platform target is 1536 × 640 px. Generate through the normal image
pipeline; do not manually composite or rebuild the scene from crops as a
substitute for an illo render. Check .width/.height, and only do final
post-processing when it is a non-distorting resize/crop that preserves normal
proportions and all essential information. Never stretch or squash the art to
force exact dimensions. Pass --label for a caption that shows in the gallery.
Sets read as one artist. For any multi-image set, the first image that
passes the full quality bar (and, for a hero in a rerouted article set,
passes the thesis-legibility gate in
references/article-set-character-reroute.md; never anchor on an unvetted
render — a failed anchor, e.g. an off-palette ground or illegible metaphor,
would propagate its failure set-wide) becomes the set's style anchor: pass
it as a second --ref after the character sheet for every later image in the
set and for every re-roll of a set member, so line weight, halftone density,
and flat-vs-dimensional treatment stay consistent throughout. The same trick
locks style for a one-off: add any finished example as a second --ref.
Model choice (OpenRouter backend only). --model and config model: are
an OpenRouter-only axis — on Codex, Grok CLI, Grok Bot native, and Muse
native the image model is automatic and --model does not apply (references/backends.md). For
the OpenRouter path, read references/models.md in full before passing any
--model (or whenever the user names a model in plain language or asks for
"best quality" / "cheapest"): it holds the friendly-name → OpenRouter id map,
per-model traits, the aspect-ratio caveat, and the 404/fallback handling.
Resolution is --model > config model > built-in default.
Watermark / attribution (optional, off by default). The skill ships with
no default watermark — the text comes only from the user's watermark
config map (read from the config file) or an explicit request, so installers
never inherit someone else's handle. The resolution order, the prompt line to
append, and the two-render caveat are in references/prompt-recipe.md.
5b. Batches & comparison (only when it helps)
Default to ONE image. Fan out only when the user asks for options/comparison
or the piece is important enough to be worth it — and say first what each
image costs: on the Codex backend it draws on the user's Codex quota (no
per-image charge), on Grok CLI or Grok Bot native it draws on the user's Grok
quota, on Muse native it uses the agent's built-in image tool (no OpenRouter
billing), and on the OpenRouter backend it bills their OpenRouter account
(typically under ten cents per image, varying by model). Keep N small (2–4).
Orchestrate the loop with the engine's primitives:
newrun prints a fresh run dir (/tmp/illo/<runid>) into RUN. Record the user's
VERBATIM request (URL, pasted text, concept) to request.txt — the gallery shows
it as provenance so anyone can tell what the run was for. Adapt each generate
line below to a real path and run it on its own:
SKILL_DIR="<path to this skill>";
RUN=$(python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" newrun);
printf '%s' "<the verbatim request>" > "$RUN/request.txt"
# (a) VARIATIONS — same prompt+model, pick-the-best:
python3 .../illo.py generate --prompt-file p.txt --ref <ref> --count 4 --label "draft→ship" --out "$RUN/v.png"
# (b) MODEL COMPARISON — loop the SAME prompt over the chosen models
# (full OpenRouter ids from references/models.md):
for m in <model-id-1> <model-id-2>; do
python3 .../illo.py generate --prompt-file p.txt --ref <ref> --model "$m" --label "$m" --out "$RUN/$(basename $m).png"; done
# (c) CONCEPT VARIATIONS — different prompts (different stagings) for one idea:
python3 .../illo.py generate --prompt-file staging-A.txt --ref <ref> --label "as a funnel" --out "$RUN/a.png"
python3 .../illo.py generate --prompt-file staging-B.txt --ref <ref> --label "as a crossing" --out "$RUN/b.png"
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" gallery "$RUN" --title "<the piece or request>" --open
# always pass --title so a saved gallery stays identifiable later;
# add --embed for a single portable file (images inlined)
Every generate self-records to $RUN/manifest.jsonl; gallery assembles them
into one page with each image's label, model, dimensions, cost, and a
collapsible prompt — the prompt toggle is what makes concept-variation
comparison readable (the prompt is the variable). Always present the gallery
with a recommendation, not a raw dump — and in a chat session, present
the labeled candidates directly in the chat instead of a gallery (delivery
routing in step 7). Multi-model failures are per-image
(an unavailable model errors that one render only); keep the rest.
6. QA and iterate
Check every image against references/quality-bar.md. Re-roll or edit when the
mascot is decorative or off its locked spec, the body is wrong-value for the
palette, label text sits on a colored fill, the accent has spread past the
character's accent part + 1–2 elements, an unwanted title bar appears, the
composition copies an example, or text is misspelled. Subject scale varies
run-to-run — re-roll if the subject is tiny (check .width/.height in the
JSON: a square back when 16:9 was requested → re-roll). When a re-roll
supersedes a render, rebuild any delivery gallery with
--exclude <superseded label> (repeatable) so rejected rolls don't appear in
the review artifact.
7. Deliver — match the session's medium
Copy finals next to the user's work when appropriate; never overwrite
existing assets without being asked. Filenames carry the role — they
are the only metadata that survives a document attachment, so make them
self-identifying: 00-hero-<slug>.png for the hero, then
01-<section-slug>.png, 02-<section-slug>.png, … for anchors in piece
order (assets/<slug>-illustrations/). Then report: how many images, the
palette used, which are strongest vs optional — and for any multi-image
job, a placement map: one line per image naming the file, its role
(hero, or after which section), and the one idea it lands, so the user can
drop each file where it belongs without re-deriving the plan. Deliver the
images themselves the way this session can actually show them:
-
Filesystem sessions (IDE/terminal agents — Claude Code, Codex,
Cursor): report each final's absolute path (the engine's JSON .path
is already absolute) and present the gallery for multi-image runs. The
file on disk already is the original — never emit [[as_document]]
here: it's a Hermes gateway token, literal noise in any other runtime.
If the runtime has its own in-chat file delivery, use that.
-
Grok Bot native sessions: deliver the file returned by Grok Bot's
built-in image tool inline/as an attachment in chat, and include its saved
file path in the same role that engine renders use .path. The returned
file is the original for this transport; do not ask the user to configure
OpenRouter just to retrieve it.
-
Muse native sessions: deliver the file returned by your native image
tool as a sandbox://workspace/... link in chat, and include its saved
file path in the same role that engine renders use .path. Record every
delivered image with illo.py record (or keyout for cutouts) so the
run's manifest.jsonl and galleries stay complete. The returned file is
the original for this transport; do not ask the user to configure
OpenRouter just to retrieve it.
-
Chat sessions (the user is on a messaging surface — Hermes over
Telegram/Discord/WhatsApp, or any chat surface with lossy media delivery —
and cannot open local files): a path alone is not a complete deliverable;
the image must land in the chat, and a final must arrive as the
original file. Platform photo delivery recompresses images — exactly
what destroys riso grain, halftone texture, ink-layer offset, and fine
hand-lettering — so finals are delivered as document attachments. On
Hermes, tag each final with an explicit MEDIA: attachment tag — the tag
is MEDIA: immediately followed by the absolute path, no space — and the
literal directive [[as_document]] in the same reply. Do not rely on
a bare absolute path for a final: bare paths can pass through to the user
as literal text instead of being dispatched as an attachment.
MEDIA:/absolute/path/to/final.jpg
[[as_document]]
Candidate/options rounds may use normal inline photo delivery when quick
glances help — say so ("preview — original file to follow") — but a
final is never delivered that way. Skip the HTML
gallery in chat — the user has no easy way to open or host it; send the
labeled finals directly with the recommendation as text, and only build
gallery --embed (one self-contained file) if a portable artifact is
explicitly requested, delivering it with [[as_document]].
Before the final reply in a chat session, check:
- every final's path came from the engine's JSON
.path, not the requested
--out (the actual extension may differ);
- every final appears as an explicit
MEDIA:/absolute/path attachment tag
in the reply;
[[as_document]] is in the reply unless this is explicitly preview-only;- rejected/re-rolled candidates are excluded from delivery;
- the text says what was made — character, palette, strongest final, and
for sets the placement map (which file is the hero, which follows which
section) — without implementation noise.
Output discipline
Pre-generation planning is short and concrete. Post-generation, let the images
speak — report what was made and where, not style theory. Keep labels few and
short; the fewer words baked into an image, the more reliably it renders.
Talk like a person doing the work, not a recap of this file. Never narrate
workflow steps or jargon in chat: doctor, preflight, provenance, register,
saying bar, thesis, backend, or "doctor's green." Status, if any, is ordinary
speech, not a liturgy of steps. When surprise mode picks an unnamed character,
introduce the character once in plain English — pack name plus what they are
("Inch, the chalk inchworm") — then show the lines and ask which one. Never
status-ping with the name alone ("Inch."), say "Still Inch," or ask "which one
should draw?" The user hears the result — character, sayings / image,
what was made — not the procedure.