Instagram Carousel Forge

Instagram Carousel Forge

Produce an Instagram carousel image set (1080×1080 PNGs) and caption file from an existing LinkedIn carousel package. Works standalone for re-renders.

Prerequisites

pip install pillow

Playwright is NOT required for Instagram — IG PNGs are copied from the already-rendered LinkedIn carousel slides.

Input

Provide one of:

• --package /path/to/NNN-slug — full path to a content title folder. The skill reads LIC-linkedin-carousel/slides/slide-*.png automatically.
• --slides-dir /path/to/slides — direct path to a folder of slide-*.png files (1080×1080). Required alongside --slug and --date.
• Inline (no args) — skill infers the title folder from the current working directory.

Required with --slides-dir or inline:

• --slug — the content slug (e.g. ai-agent-budget)
• --date — the date string MMDDYY (e.g. 071326)

Also reads (when available):

• LI-linkedin-post/linkedin-post_{slug}_{MMDDYY}.md — source for caption derivation
• LI-linkedin-post/first-comment_{slug}_{MMDDYY}.md — CTA link reference

Process

1. Locate source slides. Find LIC-linkedin-carousel/slides/slide-*.png. If fewer than 6 exist, stop and report — the LinkedIn carousel is incomplete and must be built first.
2. Copy and rename. Run scripts/build_ig_carousel.py with the source slides path, output directory, slug, and date. The script copies each PNG to IG-instagram-carousel/ig-carousel_{slug}_{MMDDYY}_{NN}.png.
3. Verify. Confirm every PNG is exactly 1080×1080 and file size > 5 KB. Report any failures.
4. Write caption. Read the LinkedIn post file. Derive the IG caption following the rules in references/ig-format-specs.md. Write IG-instagram-carousel/ig-caption_{slug}_{MMDDYY}.md.
5. Archive build script. Write a hardcoded copy of build_ig_carousel.py with the slug, date, and paths filled in at IG-instagram-carousel/build_ig_carousel.py for future re-runs without CLI args.

Output Structure

IG-instagram-carousel/
  ig-carousel_{slug}_{MMDDYY}_01.png
  ig-carousel_{slug}_{MMDDYY}_02.png
  ...
  ig-caption_{slug}_{MMDDYY}.md
  build_ig_carousel.py

IG Caption Rules (summary — full rules in references/ig-format-specs.md)

• Max 2,200 characters
• Same opening live wire as the LinkedIn post — do not re-angle
• Same CTA family — adapt the copy for IG character limits, preserve the ask
• No link in the caption body — end with "link in bio" or "link in first comment"
• Hashtags: 5–10, placed at the end of the caption. No spaces, lowercase, no branded terms per Module B.
• No exclamation points, no em dashes, no semicolons, no emoji

Re-render use

If the LinkedIn carousel was revised after the initial IG export, run this skill again with --package. It overwrites the IG-instagram-carousel/ folder in-place. Do not rewrite the caption unless the carousel copy changed.

Acceptance

• IG-instagram-carousel/ exists with one PNG per source slide (minimum 6)
• Every PNG is exactly 1080×1080 and > 5 KB (confirmed by script output)
• ig-caption_{slug}_{MMDDYY}.md exists with caption text and hashtags
• The opening line of the caption matches the opening live wire of the LinkedIn post
• No PNG is blank (visually verify slide 1 and the final slide)
• build_ig_carousel.py is present for re-render capability