# Swipe Lab > Instagram carousel factory. Scrape your profile to extract your brand, study any creator's carousels for inspiration, then generate unlimited on-brand carousels. First run onboards you — after that, just say what you want. Triggers on "swipe lab", "make me a carousel", "carousel for", "make carousels", "generate slides", "new carousel", or any request to create Instagram carousel content. - Skill: `dreydrey9000/swipe-lab` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 8 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dreydrey9000/swipe-lab` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dreydrey9000/swipe-lab/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: Dreydrey9000 (https://skillmd.com/u/dreydrey9000) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dreydrey9000/swipe-lab --- # Swipe Lab — Carousel Content Factory Your personal carousel factory. Scrape creators for inspiration → generate carousels in YOUR brand and voice. ## First Run — Onboarding If no brand file exists at `~/.claude/skills/swipe-lab/brands/`, this is a new user. Run onboarding: ### Step 1: Get their brand Ask: **"What's your Instagram handle?"** Then scrape their profile to extract: - Bio, name, handle - Visual style (photo vs graphic ratio, color patterns, vibe) - Content themes from recent posts - Voice/tone from captions Ask them to confirm or adjust: - **"Here's what I found about your brand. Does this look right?"** - Show: colors, voice description, content pillars, audience - Let them tweak anything ### Step 2: Pick creators to study Ask: **"Drop 1-3 Instagram handles of creators whose carousels you love."** Scrape each creator's carousels: - Screenshot every slide - Extract topics, hooks, structures, content patterns - Store in `~/.claude/skills/swipe-lab/knowledge/{handle}/` ### Step 3: Generate brand config Create `~/.claude/skills/swipe-lab/brands/{handle}.json` using this structure: ```json { "handle": "@theirhandle", "name": "Their Name", "businesses": ["Business 1", "Business 2"], "tagline": "Extracted or provided tagline", "niche": "Their niche in one sentence", "audience": "Who they serve", "brand_colors": { "primary_accent": "#hexcolor", "background_dark": "#0a0a0a", "background_light": "#ffffff", "text_dark": "#111111", "text_light": "#ffffff", "text_muted_dark": "#888888", "text_muted_light": "#666666", "bottom_bar": "#hexcolor" }, "typography": { "font_family": "Inter", "heading_weight": "900", "body_weight": "400", "heading_size": "56px", "body_size": "28px" }, "visual_style": { "aesthetic": "Description of their visual vibe", "layout": "How they lay out content", "bottom_bar": "Bottom bar style description" }, "voice": { "tone": "Description of how they write", "reading_level": "Grade level", "phrases_to_use": ["phrase 1", "phrase 2"], "phrases_to_avoid": ["phrase 1", "phrase 2"], "content_pillars": ["pillar 1", "pillar 2", "pillar 3"] }, "cta_patterns": { "dm_keywords": ["KEYWORD1", "KEYWORD2"], "format": "DM me \"{keyword}\" to get started.", "closing_line": "@handle | Business Name" }, "carousel_defaults": { "ratio": "4:5 (1080x1350)", "accent_color": "#hexcolor", "slide_alternation": "How slides alternate (dark/white, all dark, etc)", "bottom_bar_height": "55px" }, "inspiration_creators": ["@creator1", "@creator2"] } ``` ### Step 4: Confirm and go **"You're set up. From now on, just say 'Swipe Lab' and tell me what you want."** --- ## Returning User — Normal Flow If a brand file exists at `~/.claude/skills/swipe-lab/brands/`, load it and go. If MULTIPLE brand files exist, ask: **"Which brand? [list handles]"** — or auto-detect from the current working directory / conversation context. ### Quick Start Examples - **"Make me a carousel about [topic]"** → generates in their brand - **"Swipe Lab — scrape @someone and make carousels from their topics"** → scrapes + generates - **"Give me 5 carousels I can post this week"** → picks topics from knowledge base + generates - **"[Theme name] carousel about [topic]"** → generates in specific theme - **"Update my brand"** → re-scrape their profile, update brand.json - **"Add @newcreator to my inspiration"** → scrape and add to knowledge base --- ## The 7 Themes | Theme | Code Name | Vibe | Best For | |-------|-----------|------|----------| | **Sketch Pad** | `sketch` | Hand-drawn whiteboard, warm off-white, Caveat font | Explainers, breakdowns | | **Dark Mode** | `dark` | Near-black, red accents, code blocks | Deep-dives, comparisons, bold statements | | **Clean Sheet** | `clean` | White, blue accents, minimal | Step-by-step, lists, educational | | **Gradient Wave** | `gradient` | Purple-blue gradient, frosted glass | Motivational, identity posts | | **Black Card** | `blackcard` | Pure black, white text, NOTHING else | Hot takes, punchy opinions | | **Apple Keynote** | `keynote` | Cinematic dark, glow effects, big numbers | Premium reveals, dramatic stats | | **Neon** | `neon` | Dark charcoal, cyan/magenta/lime neon glow | Maximum visual interrupt | **Theme selection:** Auto-pick based on content type unless the user specifies. Override the theme's default accent color with the user's brand accent color. --- ## How It Works ``` ONBOARDING (first time): User's IG handle → scrape profile → extract brand Creator handles → scrape carousels → extract knowledge → brand.json + knowledge base saved SCRAPE MODE (anytime): IG handle → scrape_carousels.py → screenshot every slide → Claude reads screenshots → extracts knowledge + topics → stored in knowledge/{handle}/ GENERATE MODE (the main thing): Topic + Theme → load user's brand.json → pull inspiration from knowledge base (optional) → write slides in user's voice → generate HTML with user's brand colors/fonts → Playwright screenshots at 1080x1350 → ready-to-post PNGs in output folder ``` --- ## File Locations All files live inside `~/.claude/skills/swipe-lab/`: | What | Where | |------|-------| | This skill | `SKILL.md` | | Brand configs | `brands/{handle}.json` (one per user) | | Creator knowledge | `knowledge/{handle}/` (scraped carousels + extracted topics) | | Scraper script | `scripts/scrape_carousels.py` | | Renderer script | `scripts/render_carousel.py` | | Theme configs | `templates/themes.json` | | HTML templates | `templates/` | | Generated output | `/tmp/carousel_output/` or user-specified path | --- ## Voice Rules (MANDATORY) All carousel copy MUST sound like the user — not generic motivational content. 1. **Read their brand.json** — use their tone, phrases, reading level 2. **Match their content pillars** — don't go off-topic 3. **Use their phrases** — the ones listed in `phrases_to_use` 4. **Avoid their anti-phrases** — the ones in `phrases_to_avoid` 5. **Reality check:** Would this person actually post this? If it sounds like a template, rewrite it. --- ## Slide Design Rules 1. **4:5 ratio** (1080x1350) — takes up more feed space 2. **No slide count limits** — 3 slides or 15 slides. Content decides the length. Never pad, never cut short. 3. **Bottom bar on EVERY slide** — swipe teaser + slide counter + @handle 4. **Slide 1 stops the scroll** — big number, provocative question, or bold visual 5. **Use brand colors** — accent from brand.json, not theme defaults 6. **No empty space** — every pixel has a job 7. **Swipe teasers** — "it gets worse →", "here's the fix →", "my take →" --- ## Managing Multiple Brands Swipe Lab supports multiple brand profiles. Each is a separate JSON in `brands/`. - `brands/kclavier.json` — Kevin's brand - `brands/itisdrey.json` — the user's brand - `brands/someclient.json` — A client's brand When generating, Claude checks: 1. If user specifies a brand: use that one 2. If only one brand exists: use it automatically 3. If multiple exist: ask which one To add a new brand: **"Swipe Lab — set up a new brand for @handle"** To switch brands: **"Swipe Lab — use @handle's brand"** To remove a brand: **"Swipe Lab — remove @handle"** --- ## Playwright Reference (IMPORTANT — read before scraping or rendering) ### Scrape Instagram (with logged-in Chrome profile) ```python from playwright.async_api import async_playwright import asyncio, os async def scrape(): async with async_playwright() as p: browser = await p.chromium.launch_persistent_context( user_data_dir=os.path.expanduser("~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright/mcp-chrome-profile"), headless=True, args=["--disable-blink-features=AutomationControlled"], user_agent="Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36" ) page = await browser.new_page() await page.goto("https://www.instagram.com/someone/", wait_until="domcontentloaded", timeout=30000) await page.wait_for_timeout(4000) await page.screenshot(path="/tmp/screenshot.png") await browser.close() asyncio.run(scrape()) ``` **CRITICAL:** Always use `wait_until="domcontentloaded"` — NEVER `networkidle`. Instagram never finishes loading network requests, so `networkidle` will timeout every time. ### Render HTML slides to PNGs ```python from playwright.async_api import async_playwright import asyncio async def render(): async with async_playwright() as p: browser = await p.chromium.launch(headless=True) page = await browser.new_page(viewport={"width": 1080, "height": 1350}) await page.goto("file:///path/to/slides.html", wait_until="domcontentloaded") await page.wait_for_timeout(2000) slides = await page.query_selector_all(".slide") for i, slide in enumerate(slides, 1): await slide.screenshot(path=f"/tmp/output/slide_{i}.png") await browser.close() asyncio.run(render()) ``` ### Chrome profile location `~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright/mcp-chrome-profile` ### If Instagram scraping fails Session expired. Tell the user to re-login: ```bash npx playwright open --user-data-dir ~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright/mcp-chrome-profile https://instagram.com ``` Log in, close the browser. Then scraping works again. --- ## Changelog - [2026-03-17]: Generic Swipe Lab created. Multi-brand support, onboarding flow, 7 themes. Forked from Kevin Clavier's custom build.