Kami

kami · 紙

紙 · かみ - the paper your deliverables land on.

Good content deserves good paper. One design language across eight document types: warm parchment canvas, ink-blue accent, serif-led hierarchy, tight editorial rhythm.

Part of Kaku · Waza · Kami - Kaku writes code, Waza drills habits, Kami delivers documents.

Step 0 · Load brand profile (if exists)

Check ~/.config/kami/brand.md (preferred) or ~/.kami/brand.md (legacy fallback). If found, read references/brand-profile.md for the full four-layer application spec (placeholder substitution, session defaults, visual customization, habit notes) and its six guardrails. If no profile exists, continue without interruption.

Key rule: explicit prompt > editorial judgment > habit notes > frontmatter defaults > built-in defaults. Profile fills gaps silently; it never overrides the current conversation.

Step 0.5 · User project style scan (opt-in)

Run this only when the user explicitly references a sibling project as a visual reference: "like my site", "match the style of ", "use the look from ". Skip silently when no such reference exists.

When triggered, before generating:

1. Locate the referenced project's style files:

   find <referenced-path> -maxdepth 4 \( -name "*.css" -o -name "tailwind.config.*" -o -name "theme.*" -o -name "tokens.*" \) | head -20
   

2. Extract: dominant color values (hex / hsl), font stack, spacing scale, border-radius scale. Prefer values declared in CSS variables or design tokens over inline literals.
3. Merge into the in-session brand profile as Layer C (visual customization), not Layer B (session defaults). Do not override an explicit --brand flag or values that the user typed in this turn.
4. Report back in one line before continuing: "scanned , extracted N colors / M fonts; using as visual reference."

Skip and fall back to the brand profile defaults if the referenced path does not exist, no CSS-like files are found, or the extraction would conflict with the user's explicit values in the current message.

Step 1 · Decide the language

Match the user's language. Chinese -> *.html / slides-weasy.html. English -> *-en.html / slides-weasy-en.html. Japanese -> CJK path (.html / slides-weasy.html) as best-effort, JP Mincho first, visual QA before shipping. Korean -> dedicated *-ko.html / slides-weasy-ko.html family as best-effort, visual QA before shipping. Reference docs are shared English specs.

When ambiguous (e.g. a one-word command like "resume"), ask a one-liner rather than guess.

Default to the WeasyPrint HTML path; fall back to PPTX (slides*.py) only when the user explicitly needs an editable deck.

Always use CHEATSHEET.md and references/*.md for design, writing, production, and diagram guidance.

Code blocks with class="language-*" are highlighted only when optional Pygments is installed in the build environment. Without it, PDFs still render and code blocks stay monochrome.

Step 1.5 · Intent extraction (silent checklist)

Before choosing a template, verify these four dimensions are clear. Do not ask unless 2+ are missing and cannot be inferred from context.

Rules:

• If the conversation already answered a dimension, skip it silently.
• If a dimension can be inferred from the document type (e.g. resume purpose is always "get an interview"), skip it.
• If 2+ dimensions are genuinely unclear, ask in a single compact question (max 2 sub-questions).
• Never ask all four as a checklist. This is a background verification, not a form.

Execution contract

Before creating or modifying an output, lock the contract: language, template, output format, page or length target, visual acceptance check, and verification command. Infer from the user's request when clear; ask only when missing fields materially change the deliverable.

Use the nearest existing template and verification path. Do not add a new template, shared CSS layer, dependency, script flag, or optional mode unless the current request cannot be satisfied without it.

If a change touches SKILL.md, templates, scripts, references, or package inputs, decide whether dist/kami.zip must be refreshed before handoff. Shipped behavior is not ready until the package contains the changed files.

Step 2 · Pick the document type

Changelog vs. release notes: The changelog template above is for styled document output. GitHub release notes are a separate deliverable; use /write with Release Note Template Mode.

Landing Page: Screen-first interactive template. No PDF output. Includes gallery carousel with auto-rotate, hero entrance animation, responsive breakpoints (880px / 480px), and prefers-reduced-motion support. Deploy as static HTML to Vercel / Netlify / any host. The agent fills {{PLACEHOLDER}} values and HTML comment blocks, then saves as a ready-to-serve .html file.

Landing Page companion files: For a production multilingual deploy, copy the five landing-page-*.example files alongside the main HTML, remove the .example suffix, and fill the placeholders. They cover Vercel rewrites and headers, sitemap hreflang, robots AI allowlist, and llms.txt + llms-full.txt for AI assistants. The main HTML already ships matching hreflang and og:locale in <head>; an Accept-Language redirect at the end of landing-page-en.html is commented out for opt-in. {{SITE_ORIGIN}} is the scheme + host of your {{CANONICAL_URL}} (e.g. https://example.com). See references/design.md Section 11 «Companion assets».

Production product site mode: If the user needs docs, help, releases, changelog, roadmap, legal pages, or more than two locales, treat it as a site system. Lock product category, real screenshot slots, locale list, companion files, long-content pages, and generator/check needs before filling templates. Keep project-specific release artifacts, payment providers, appcast rules, and private local paths out of Kami. See references/design.md Section 11 «Product site system».

Documentation pages: When a landing page grows into a docs or help site, use the doc shell in references/design.md Section 11 «Documentation site»: a sticky sidebar nav with a 2px brand rail (not a dark underline), an on-this-page TOC hidden below the tablet breakpoint, a constrained prose measure, and a quiet borderless prev/next pager (text links, not bordered cards). Highlight code at build time with zero runtime JS on a dark code surface; plain code stays the source of truth.

Slides: default to slides-weasy.html / slides-weasy-en.html / slides-weasy-ko.html (WeasyPrint HTML → PDF). Use slides.py / slides-en.py only when the user explicitly requires an editable PPTX file. Use assets/templates/marp/slides-marp(.md|.css) only when the user explicitly asks for Marp / markdown slides / a deck that lives in a .md file.

Deck recipe: read design.md Section 8 before drafting slides. Sketch title sequence, evidence shape, and image slot before generating or cropping visuals. Keep audience copy separate from visual briefs. Marp-specific constraints live in design.md §8 «Marp variant».

Decision tree (use before asking)

Walk this tree before reaching for a one-liner question. Ask only when two cells genuinely both fit.

Ambiguity examples that justify a one-liner:

• "1.5 page career story with heavy visuals" -> ask "resume or portfolio?"
• "2 page exec summary with metric tiles" -> ask "one-pager or equity-report?"
• "5 page argument with several charts" -> ask "long-doc or portfolio?"

Pick from the tree first. Ask only when the tree is genuinely silent.

Diagrams (primitives, not a separate template type)

When the user asks for a diagram inside a long-doc / portfolio / slide (not a standalone document), route to assets/diagrams/ rather than a template:

Read references/diagrams.md before drawing - it has the selection guide, kami token map, and the AI-slop anti-pattern table. Extract the <svg> block from the template and drop it into a <figure> inside long-doc / portfolio.

Before drawing, always ask: would a well-written paragraph teach the reader less than this diagram? If no, don't draw.

Auto-select charts from data. When content contains numerical data, choose the chart type and embed it without waiting for the user to specify. Decision tree (first match wins):

When data fits multiple types, prefer the one that shows variance most clearly. Always embed inside a <figure> with a caption that states the insight, not just the data range.

Step 2.1 · Source and material pass

Run this before distilling or filling content when the document depends on facts or materials outside the user's draft. Skip it only for personal drafts where the user already supplied everything needed.

Source check

Trigger when the document mentions a specific company, product, person, release date, version, funding round, metric, market fact, technical spec, or any current fact likely to change.

• Use primary sources before writing: user-provided material, official site, docs, filings, press release, app store page, or repo release
• Keep a short note of source names and dates for facts that drive the document
• If sources conflict or a fact cannot be checked quickly, ask the user instead of choosing silently
• Avoid current-sounding claims such as "latest", "recent", "new", version numbers, launch dates, or financial figures unless they are checked

Material check

Trigger when the document is about a company, product, project, venue, or personal brand.

Confirm the materials that make the subject recognizable before layout:

If a required item is missing, use a compact gap table and ask once. Do not replace missing material with generic imagery, approximate logo drawings, or invented values.

Logo fallback: when the request names no logo but the brand profile has a logo path, fill the commented .brand-logo slot in one-pager / portfolio / slides-weasy per references/brand-profile.md Layer C. Expand ~ to an absolute path, and if the file is missing or the template has no slot, leave it commented and render without a logo (never insert a broken image). An explicit logo in the current request always wins.

Materials status block

After the material check, output a structured status block before continuing. This is a one-shot transparency display, not a question:

Materials status:
- Logo: OK assets/client-logo.svg
- Brand colors: OK #1B365D mapped to --brand
- Product screenshot: MISSING (proceeding with kami default placeholder)
- UI screenshot: not required for this doc type

Use OK, MISSING, or not required. If a required item is missing and no user input arrived, ask once with the gap table; otherwise continue silently.

Step 2.5 · Distill raw content (if applicable)

Auto-detect whether to distill. Do not ask the user; judge from the input:

When in doubt, run distill. Distill is cheap; rebuilding a misaligned doc is not.

When the user hands over raw material (meeting notes, brain dump, existing doc in different format, chat transcript, scattered points):

1. Extract: pull out every factual claim, number, date, name, source, material reference, and action item
2. Classify: map each extract to the target template's sections (see references/writing.md for section structure per doc type)
3. Gap-check: list what the template needs but the raw content doesn't have - include missing facts, missing proof, and missing materials
4. Ask once: share the gap table with the user. Do not guess to fill gaps.

Example gap-check:

Then proceed to Step 2.6 (slides) or the layout note (all other doc types) with structured, distilled content.

Step 2.6 · Deck pre-flight (slides only)

Skip this step for every doc type except slides.

Path selection

Default to the WeasyPrint HTML path. Switch to pptx only if the user explicitly requires an editable PPTX file. Switch to Marp only when the user explicitly asks for Marp / markdown slides.

Page size

Default is 280mm 158mm. Ask only if the user has mentioned length or density constraints.

Content pre-flight

Before drafting any slide, confirm these points with the user. Ask all at once, skip any already answered:

Before drafting any landing page or product site, lock these points from the source material. Ask once only when a missing item would change the deliverable:

Content rules for slides

• Ghost deck test: read only the slide titles in order. They must tell the argument; if not, fix titles or structure before styling
• One evidence shape per slide: chart, table, screenshot, code, quote, or conclusion. Split mixed evidence instead of crowding one slide
• Audience copy stays clean: titles, body, and captions never contain image prompts, crop instructions, or generation notes
• No section divider slides: use .eyebrow for section numbering, not a dedicated blue-background page
• No CJK parentheses: replace （...） with · or ,
• Each bullet fits one line: trim until it does
• 2×2 layouts: use table.t2x2, not CSS Grid
• Pinned conclusions: use .co at position: absolute; bottom: 12mm

These rules apply identically to Marp decks. Marp-specific syntax: see references/design.md §8 «Marp variant».

Step 2.7 · Layout note (transparent, non-blocking)

Before loading specs and filling the template, write a short editor-style note stating the layout intent: template choice, length target, narrative arc, embedded diagrams, material status, and output formats. Match the document's language. Keep it under 80 words, written as prose, not a status panel. Continue immediately after; do not wait.

Example (CN):

排版意图：Equity Report 中文版，2 页 A4。先立论与目标价，进入估值 (DCF 与可比公司)，落于催化剂与风险。中段嵌一张营收趋势折线和 FY26 收入桥瀑布。Logo 已就位，产品图暂缺，header 改走纯文字。输出 HTML 与 PDF。

Example (EN):

Layout intent: Equity Report (EN), two pages A4. Open with thesis and price target, run through valuation (DCF and comparables), close on catalysts and risks. A revenue line chart and an FY26 waterfall sit mid-doc. Logo is in hand; product image is absent, so the header stays text-only. Output: HTML and PDF.

The note is for transparency, not approval. If the user pushes back, adjust; otherwise proceed to Step 3.

Step 3 · Load the right amount of spec

Pick the tier that matches the task. Default to the lowest tier that covers the work.

You can always escalate mid-task if the work turns out to need more than the initial tier.

The full spec files for reference:

• Design: references/design.md
• Writing (general): references/writing.md
• Writing (resume-specific): references/resume-writing.md
• Production: references/production.md
• Diagrams: references/diagrams.md
• Anti-patterns: references/anti-patterns.md

Step 4 · Fill content into the template

• Copy the template into your working directory; don't write HTML from scratch
• CSS stays untouched, only edit the body
• Content follows writing.md: data over adjectives, distinctive phrasing over industry clichés
• Avoid patterns listed in references/anti-patterns.md: emptiness, fabrication, mimicry, excess, source gaps, tone contamination
• Before filling, read the quality bar for your document type in writing.md section "Quality bars by document type". Structure is necessary but not sufficient: a resume bullet needs Action + Scope + Result + Business Outcome; an equity report needs variant perception + quantified catalysts; slides need assertion-evidence titles. Meeting the quality bar is as important as filling every placeholder.

Do not generate

These are the most common AI document failures. Cross-reference references/anti-patterns.md for the full list.

• Do not leave placeholder text in the final document ("Lorem ipsum", "[Insert here]", "TBD")
• Do not invent metrics, financial data, or statistics; mark gaps with [DATA NEEDED: description]
• Do not use stock-image descriptions as image placeholders ("A diverse team collaborating in a modern office")
• Do not pad content to fill template slots (a resume with 3 real projects does not need 5 fabricated ones)
• Do not write a paragraph that merely restates its own heading in sentence form

Fill PDF metadata (WeasyPrint reads these into the PDF)

Every template has meta placeholders in <head>. Fill all four before building:

<meta name="generator" content="Kami"> is already fixed in the template; do not change it.

Author inference: build.py automatically sets PDF /Author metadata from:

1. git config user.name (primary)
2. KAMI_AUTHOR environment variable (fallback)
3. "Kami" (final fallback)

For personal documents (resume/letter/portfolio), the HTML <meta name="author"> should match the person's name in the content. For non-personal documents (one-pager/long-doc), leave the placeholder as-is and let the build script infer it.

Step 4.1 · Per-page density target (multi-page templates only)

适用：slides-weasy / long-doc / portfolio / equity-report / changelog。不适用 resume / one-pager / letter（这些有独立的长度合约）。

正文页填充率目标 60-80%。封面 / 目录 / 末尾署名页豁免。这条规则解决的是 AI 生成多页文档时最常见的 draft 缺陷：把内容拆得太散，结果几页都填不满。

Items-per-page contract

Sparse-page merge rule

Before finalizing, scan the draft. Any body page that would render under 50% full → apply one of, in order:

1. Merge upward into the previous section.
2. Merge downward into the next section.
3. Promote a list to a small diagram or table that earns the space.
4. Pin a .co callout to bottom (slides-weasy only). Whitespace above a pinned callout is intentional, not sparse.

Forbidden ways to "fill" a sparse page: padding with filler prose, repeating the heading as a sentence, inventing statistics, restating the prior page in different words. If the merge options don't apply, the page itself shouldn't exist.

Last-page exemption

The last body page is allowed to run 40-60% fill. Forcing balance on the last page usually means padding. The colophon / closing slide may have any fill level.

Verify after build

python3 scripts/build.py --check-density   # flags >25% (WARN) / >50% (SPARSE) trailing whitespace

If a body page (not cover, not last page) gets a SPARSE warning, treat it as a draft defect and re-author with the merge rule.

Step 4.5 · Auto-select output format

Do not ask the user which format to export. Decide from context:

PDF always ships for document templates. Landing pages ship as a ready-to-serve static HTML file. PPTX follows slides. PNG follows sharing context. The user should never need to think about formats.

Step 5 · Build & verify

python3 scripts/build.py --verify           # build all templates + page count + font check + slides
python3 scripts/build.py --verify resume-en # single target full verification
python3 scripts/build.py landing-page        # screen-first static HTML template check
python3 scripts/build.py --verify slides    # single slide deck verification
python3 scripts/build.py --check-placeholders path/to/filled.html
python3 scripts/build.py --check-density              # page whitespace scanner (skips cover)
python3 scripts/build.py --check            # CSS rule violations only (fast, no build)

Screen verify: --check-density is a print gate. For screen output (landing or docs pages) instead screenshot the rendered page at 375px and 1280px in every locale and scan for line widows before shipping. See references/design.md Section 11 «Responsive screenshot verification».

Source templates intentionally keep {{...}} fields. Run placeholder checks on completed documents, not on the template library.

Visual anomalies (tag double rectangle, font fallback, page break issues) -> production.md Part 4.

Fonts

Chinese

• Main serif: TsangerJinKai02-W04.ttf (400 weight) + TsangerJinKai02-W05.ttf (500 weight, real bold)
• Templates use dual @font-face declarations: W04 for body text, W05 for headings
• Both files are commercial fonts. Keep them available in the repository for local preview and CDN fallback, but do not bundle them inside Claude Desktop skill ZIPs
• Fallback chain baked into templates: Source Han Serif SC -> Noto Serif CJK SC -> Songti SC -> STSong -> Georgia

Japanese (best-effort)

• Uses CJK template path, no dedicated -ja templates yet
• JP Mincho-first stack: YuMincho -> Hiragino Mincho ProN -> Noto Serif CJK JP -> Source Han Serif JP -> TsangerJinKai02 -> serif
• Visually verify line breaks, punctuation rhythm, and emphasis weight before shipping

Korean (best-effort)

• Dedicated -ko templates use Source Han Serif K Regular / Medium, with the real OTF family name Source Han Serif KR kept in every fallback stack
• Fallback: Noto Serif KR / Apple SD Gothic Neo / AppleMyungjo / Charter / Georgia
• The OTFs are OFL-licensed and tracked for local preview / CDN fallback, but excluded from Claude Desktop skill ZIPs to keep the package small

English

• Single serif: Charter (system-bundled, macOS/iOS), used for both headlines and body
• No separate sans: --sans: var(--serif), one font per page
• Fallback: Georgia (cross-platform) / Palatino / Times New Roman

Font files next to HTML with relative @font-face paths is the most stable setup. scripts/package-skill.sh excludes large CJK font files from the Claude Desktop ZIP, so the uploaded package stays under the 6MB package ceiling. Always upload that package-skill.sh output, never a hand-zipped checkout (the tracked CJK fonts make it too large and Claude Desktop rejects the upload).

Font auto-recovery (Claude Desktop)

Before building Chinese or Korean documents, ensure fonts are present. The script tries multiple CDN sources with retry and size validation:

bash scripts/ensure-fonts.sh

It downloads to the XDG user font dir (${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/fonts/kami, override with KAMI_FONT_DIR), not into the skill's assets/fonts -- that keeps the installed skill small so Claude Desktop never trips its size limit. fontconfig scans that dir by default, so WeasyPrint finds TsangerJinKai02 and Source Han Serif K there; online renders fall back to the jsDelivr @font-face URL. Run once before building. If all sources fail, the script prints per-language alternatives.

Feedback protocol

When the user gives vague visual feedback ("looks off", "太挤了", "not elegant"), do not guess. Ask back with current values:

Template response: "X is currently set to Y. Would you like (a) [specific alternative within spec] or (b) [another option]?"

Never say "I'll adjust the spacing" without naming the exact property and its new value.

When not to use this skill

• User explicitly wants Material / Fluent / Tailwind default - different design language
• Need dark / cyberpunk / futurist aesthetic (this is deliberately anti-future)
• Need saturated multi-color (this has one accent)
• Need cartoon / animation / illustration style (this is editorial)
• Web dynamic app UI (this is for print / static documents)

Next: apply Step 3's tier table to decide what to read, then copy the matching template and start filling.