image-generate

Image Generate

Read this skill only after route lock when the task needs synthesized or content-aware reconstructed pixels: GENERATE, semantic EDIT, or the raster phase of HYBRID. Do not load it for COMPOSE, deterministic transforms, or overlays. It governs direct generate_image calls and the stable host workflow kernel; engine-specific request formats and reusable graphs remain private skill resources rather than new application tools.

This production skill is the earliest point at which a manifest for a direct GENERATE or EDIT task may be created. Initialize image-manifest.json from the Canonical image-manifest v1 block in image-router; it is the single structural source. Replace the locked route and budget, then add the reference and generation fields below. Do not reconstruct the base schema from memory.

Generation rules

• Respect generation_budget.max_calls within the current user turn. The host reapplies this limit independently for each new user turn while retaining older transactions only as audit history. COMPOSE has a budget of zero; HYBRID, GENERATE, and EDIT normally use one call. Set a two-call budget only when the user explicitly requests iterative refinement or authorizes another billable attempt. A review finding alone never authorizes that second call.
• Generate at the final aspect ratio whenever the provider supports it. Do not rely on destructive cropping to fix a mismatched composition.
• Use reference images only when they encode composition, identity, product fidelity, or edit continuity that the prompt cannot preserve reliably.
• Mirror manifest references into generate_image.reference_bindings using the exact concatenated reference order. Include role, strength, preserve, may-change, and target region. Send generation_contract.negative_prompt separately.
• Compile reference_intent.mode into the request: reproduction asks for the declared protected attributes to match; guide limits influence to declared roles; editing uses the required edit_source as the original. User-declared instructions and boundaries have priority over inferred defaults and provider convenience.
• Treat every planned output_path as one stable artifact binding. Reuse that exact string byte-for-byte for the provider/workflow result, later project.inspect, optional review candidate, and export input; never retype, derive, or silently correct the path in a downstream handoff.
• For edits, send the manifest instructions, protected regions, unchanged attributes, and allowed changes explicitly. Prefer a localized edit over regenerating the full scene, and never reinterpret an edit as a fresh variation.
• For reproduction, do not silently change subject, crop, layout, identity, typography, palette, or other preserved axes merely because regeneration is easier. Choose the provider/control path that can honor the declared fidelity floor.
• For hybrid work, generate only the difficult raster layer. Exclude final copy, logos, labels, diagrams, and UI text from the model request.
• Save every generated output inside the image project and record its relative path in image-manifest.json before inspection.