CLI Hub Matrix Image Design

Image & Graphic Design Matrix (S5 — v2 capability-based)

Scenario S5. Deepest creation coverage after S2 — raster (GIMP + Krita), vector (Inkscape), AI (ComfyUI + Jimeng + 7 APIs), diagram (drawio + mermaid). Figma is the headline gap (also affects S7).

Schema: docs/cli-matrix/matrix_registry.schema.md. Matrix plan: docs/cli-matrix/cli-matrix-plan.md.

Install

cli-hub matrix install image-design
cli-hub matrix info    image-design
cli-hub matrix preflight image-design --json

Provider selection constraints

1. Use preflight as an availability report, not as a provider selector.
2. Treat provider order as documentation order only.
3. Choose from user requirements, output quality bar, offline needs, credential state, install cost, and provider notes.
4. Escalate to paid or metered APIs only when credentials are already present or the user explicitly consents. AI image is paid-API-diverse, so ask which provider the user wants when several credentialed choices are available.

Offline context? GIMP, Krita, Inkscape, and local diffusers cover almost everything offline.

Preflight

Run cli-hub matrix preflight image-design --json first. Use the manual block below for extra probes or older cli-hub versions.

cli-hub list --json
python - <<'PY'
import importlib.util
for m in ("PIL","cv2","skimage","rembg","svgwrite","cairosvg","svgpathtools","vpype",
          "diffusers","replicate","rawpy"):
    print(m, importlib.util.find_spec(m) is not None)
PY
for b in inkscape gimp krita drawio magick convert exiftool upscayl darktable-cli \
         rawtherapee-cli graphviz dot mermaid plantuml hugo mkdocs; do
  command -v "$b" >/dev/null && echo "$b: yes" || echo "$b: no"
done
for e in OPENAI_API_KEY STABILITY_API_KEY IDEOGRAM_API_KEY RECRAFT_API_KEY \
         GOOGLE_API_KEY MIDJOURNEY_TOKEN FIGMA_TOKEN CANVA_API_KEY PENPOT_TOKEN \
         REPLICATE_API_TOKEN TOPAZ_API_KEY REMOVE_BG_API_KEY FIREFLY_TOKEN; do
  [ -n "${!e}" ] && echo "$e: set" || echo "$e: unset"
done

Suggest-to-user template

To enable <capability> via <provider>, please set <ENV_VAR>.
  Cost: <cost notes>
  Quality: <quality tier>
Reply 'skip' to fall back to <next provider>.

Examples:

• To enable sota AI image generation via OpenAI GPT-Image-1, please set OPENAI_API_KEY. Cost: metered per-image. Quality: sota for photoreal + text rendering. Reply 'skip' to fall back to local comfyui (FLUX/SDXL).
• To round-trip UI mockups with Figma, please set FIGMA_TOKEN. Cost: free tier works for most users. Quality: sota (design system aware). Reply 'skip' to fall back to sketch or drawio wireframes.

Capabilities

visual.generate — AI image generation

visual.edit.raster — raster editing

visual.edit.vector — vector editing

visual.mockup — UI / mockup / wireframe

Known gap — Figma is the cross-scenario gap (S5 and S7).

visual.diagram — diagrams / flowcharts

visual.upscale — super-resolution

photo.library — DAM / photo organization

photo.develop — RAW processing

publish.cms — publish images / articles to a CMS

Recipes

• social-card — generate + compose a social sharing image. Uses: visual.generate, visual.edit.raster, publish.cms.

• logo-set — design a logo + size variants. Uses: visual.edit.vector, visual.edit.raster (rasterize), batch export.

• ui-wireframe — mockup a UI flow. Uses: visual.mockup, optional visual.edit.vector polish.

• photo-batch — RAW ingest → develop → edit → library → publish. Uses: photo.develop, visual.edit.raster, photo.library, publish.cms.

• icon-pack — systematic icon production. Uses: visual.edit.vector, batch rasterize via cairosvg.

• thumbnail-set — thumbnails for a video/article series. Uses: visual.generate (hero imagery), visual.edit.raster (layout, type), batch variant export.

• ai-concept-art — generate → upscale → touch up. Uses: visual.generate, visual.upscale, visual.edit.raster.

Known gaps

• Figma — cross-scenario gap (UI/UX loop for S5 and S7). API escalation works but we lack a native harness.
• photo.library / photo.develop — strong native CLIs, no harness.
• Midjourney — Discord bridge only; no clean API.

Agent guidance

• Match generation provider to intent. GPT-Image-1 for text-in-image and photoreal; Ideogram for poster/typography; FLUX for artistic; Midjourney for stylized beauty shots; Stability for control+speed.
• Vector-first for design systems — logos, icons, illustrations start in visual.edit.vector, rasterize last.
• Preserve color profiles. exiftool + Pillow handles ICC; when moving between rawpy and Pillow, convert to sRGB at the boundary.
• AI + edit chain. Agents should plan: generate → background removal (rembg) → composite (visual.edit.raster) → export. Skipping cleanup is the most common visible defect.
• Workspace discipline. Keep generation seeds + prompts in a manifest alongside output PNGs so variations are reproducible.