Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Article Cover Image Generator agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The baoyu-cover-image skill is a set of instructions that lets an AI agent design a cover image for a written article. It is for bloggers and newsletter writers who want a quick, consistent cover without opening a design tool. After reading this guide you will know what the skill does, how to install it, how to ask for a cover in plain language, and what it needs to run.
Article Cover Image GeneratorJimLiu/baoyu-skills · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Download the ZIP for skills/baoyu-cover-image from this page and unzip it so you have a folder containing SKILL.md.
- 2Place the folder. Move the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into .claude/skills/ inside a project. Alternatively, upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
- 3Check your image backend. Confirm your agent has an image-generation tool such as Codex imagegen, Cursor GenerateImage, or baoyu-image-gen.
- 4Ask for a cover. Paste the article or point to its file, then say something like "generate cover image" with any options you want.
- 5Confirm the choices. Review the dimensions, aspect ratio, language and backend the agent proposes, then reply to confirm or adjust them.
- 6Review the output. Check the rendered candidate for wrong or unclear text. If the text is wrong, ask for a regeneration from a corrected prompt rather than an edit.
What an agent skill is and what this one does
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file and supporting reference files. When you install it, your AI agent can read those instructions and follow them for matching requests. This skill covers one job: designing an article cover image.
The skill works through five choices: type (layout such as hero, conceptual, typography, metaphor, scene or minimal), palette, rendering style, how much text appears, and mood. It can also set font and aspect ratio. It picks values from the article content when you do not specify them. It then writes a detailed image prompt to a file and asks an available image-generation tool to render a bitmap.
- Supported aspect ratios include cinematic 2.35:1, widescreen 16:9 and square 1:1, plus 4:3, 3:2 and 3:4 as listed in the options table.
- The skill includes 11 colour palettes and 7 rendering styles.
- Before generating, it asks you to confirm the dimensions, aspect, language and backend.
Install the skill from the ZIP
Download the ZIP for skills/baoyu-cover-image from this page and unzip it. The folder should contain SKILL.md and the references directory.
For Claude Code, place the unzipped folder in ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available everywhere, or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to that project.
In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill is meant to activate when you ask for a cover image. The description lists the phrases "generate cover image", "create article cover" and "make cover". Paste your article text or point the agent to the file, then make the request in plain words.
You can also name options directly, such as a palette, a type, a text level or an aspect ratio. Named options are treated as preferences, and the agent will still ask you to confirm before it generates.
- "Generate a cover image for this article, widescreen 16:9."
- "Create article cover for the attached post, dark palette, title only."
- "Make cover, square 1:1, no title."
Requirements: an image-generation backend
The skill does not draw images itself. It needs an image-generation tool that the agent can call. The source names Codex imagegen, Cursor GenerateImage, and the baoyu-image-gen skill as examples. In Codex, Cursor or another agent with an image tool, the skill uses that tool automatically.
If the codex CLI is on your PATH with an active login, the skill can route through the codex-cli option. This is optional.
If no backend is available, the skill stops and asks you how to proceed. It will not produce art with SVG, HTML or canvas as a substitute.
- Required: an image-generation backend
- Optional: the codex CLI with an active codex login for the codex-cli route
- The skill itself runs no scripts, but it uses the network.
Safety notes on scripts and network use
According to the skill's listing, it does not run scripts of its own. It does use the network, because the image-generation tool it calls sends your prompt and any reference images to that service. Check the privacy terms of whichever backend you use before sending unpublished or confidential article text.
The skill's rules also forbid repairing text by painting over a generated image with tools such as ImageMagick, Pillow or OCR scripts. If text is wrong, it regenerates from a corrected prompt or uses a lower-text variant.
- Prompt files are saved under prompts/ so you can review exactly what was sent.
- Use --quick only when you want to skip the confirmation step.
Tips for better cover images
Give the agent a short summary of the article so the auto-selection rules have clear signals. Keywords such as "launch", "framework" or "journey" influence the type and palette choices.
Keep the text level low. The skill's default is title-only, and AI-rendered text can be misspelled, so check every candidate carefully. If you need an exact logo or exact wording, use a design tool instead.
- Start with the default text level title-only.
- Use --ref files when you have a reference image for style or composition.
- Ask for a different palette or type if the first candidate does not fit.
What people use it for
- Adding a 16:9 cover to a blog post before publishing
- Creating a square 1:1 image for a newsletter header or social preview
- Producing a consistent series of covers by reusing the same palette and mood settings
- Making a text-free cover by asking for no title
Frequently asked questions
Is the baoyu-cover-image skill free?
The skill is published under the MIT licence, as stated on this page. Any image-generation backend you use may have its own cost or terms, which the skill's source does not describe.
What do I need to run baoyu-cover-image?
You need an agent with an image-generation tool, such as Codex imagegen, Cursor GenerateImage, or the baoyu-image-gen skill. The codex CLI with an active login is optional for one route.
Where do I install the skill in Claude?
For Claude Code, unzip the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or .claude/skills/ inside a project. In the Claude apps, upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Why does the skill ask me to confirm before generating?
The skill's default is to confirm before generation. It treats your request and any defaults as recommendations, so you can check the dimensions, aspect, language and backend first. You can skip this with explicit wording such as --quick.
What happens if I have no image-generation tool?
The skill stops and asks how to proceed. It is designed not to create substitute art with SVG, HTML or canvas.
Can it fix a typo in the title on the generated image?
No. The skill forbids painting over a generated bitmap to fix text. It can regenerate from a corrected prompt, use a lower-text variant, or ask you which candidate to keep.
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Our verdict
Choose this skill if you publish articles often and have an agent with an image-generation tool, and you want quick, consistent covers with a confirmation step. Pick a design tool instead if you need exact brand logos or precisely correct text, since AI-rendered text can be wrong and this skill will not fix it afterwards.
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