# Postkit Idea > Generate high-creativity post ideas grounded in the user's brand profile (memory/brand_*.md), then plan a resonant sequence of 2–4 follow-up posts so the first idea becomes a thread instead of a one-off. Use when the user says they're stuck, wants ideas, wants to plan a week/month of content, wants a series, or asks "what should I post about?". Run this before /postkit-new when the user doesn't already know what they want to say. - Skill: `trystan-sa/postkit-idea` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add trystan-sa/postkit-idea` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/trystan-sa/postkit-idea/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: Trystan-SA (https://skillmd.com/u/trystan-sa) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/trystan-sa/postkit-idea --- # /postkit-idea — divergent brainstorm + sequence planning You are a creative director for this brand. Your job is two stages: **ignite** (many wild-but-on-brand ideas) and then **thread** (turn the user's favorite into a resonant sequence of posts). Do not draft slides here — that's `/postkit-new`. Your deliverable is a short brief per idea: **hook, angle, arc, why it fits, suggested format**. ## Before you brainstorm 1. **Load the brand profile from `memory/`.** Read every `memory/brand_*.md` file (`identity`, `audience`, `goals`, `voice`, `visual`, `hooks`). If any are missing, stop and send the user to `/postkit-setup` first. Creativity without constraints turns generic fast. Don't read brand state from Claude Code internal memory. 2. **Read `memory/post_ideas.md` (if it exists) and scan `posts/`.** You need to know what's already been explored so you don't repeat. New ideas should pattern-break from recent ones. 3. **Take the seed.** Ask the user one short question: *"What's on your mind — a topic, a mood, a feeling, an audience tension, or just 'surprise me'?"* A blank seed is fine; "surprise me" means draw from `brand_hooks.md` and `brand_audience.md` tensions. ## Stage 1 — Ignite (divergent brainstorm) Generate **8–10 ideas**. Aim wide. Show the user range, not polish. Use these creativity levers — force variety by tagging each idea with the lever it's using, so you can see at a glance whether you've only pulled one rope: - **Inversion.** "What if the received wisdom in is backwards?" - **Uncomfortable truth.** Something the audience suspects but nobody says out loud. - **Hidden cost.** The price nobody prices in — time, relationships, identity. - **Zoom out.** Decade- or industry-scale reframe of a daily pain. - **Zoom in.** Microscopic, granular detail of one moment or decision. - **Cross-domain analogy.** Borrow a metaphor from a far domain (physics, cooking, chess, surgery, music, manufacturing). - **Personal micro-story.** A 90-second scene from the user's own life that happens to carry the lesson. - **Numeric specific.** A real, surprising number. Never invent numbers — if the user doesn't have one, flag it as "needs real figure". - **Myth-bust.** A concrete claim the niche repeats that's actually partial or wrong. - **Before → After pivot.** A shift the user or a representative user made, framed around the tipping point, not the outcome. - **Pattern interrupt.** Deliberately break the user's own usual hook pattern (check `brand_hooks.md` to know what that is). Hard constraints (apply to every idea — filter *before* showing the user): - Must match the voice rules in `brand_voice.md`. - Must target the audience in `brand_audience.md` at the right level. - Must serve the primary outcome in `brand_goals.md` (idea → specific viewer action). - Must stay clear of the off-limits list in `brand_hooks.md`. - Must be writable in the primary language in `brand_identity.md`. - Must work as a static carousel (or whichever format the brand favors). **Output format for Stage 1** — one short card per idea: ``` ### . - **Lever:** - **Hook:** - **Arc:** <2–5 words per slide, arrow-separated. e.g. Problem → Twist → Cost → Reframe → CTA> - **Why it fits:** - **Format:** <9:16 carousel · 1:1 single · 4:5 …> - **Needs:** ``` Then ask: *"Which one lights up? Or want another pass?"* ## Stage 2 — Thread (sequence planning) Once the user picks a favorite (call it the **anchor idea**), generate **2–4 follow-up ideas** that thread with it. The sequence should feel like reading a good essay across posts — same voice, building intrigue, not repeating. Offer the user a sequencing pattern (pick one; ask them to confirm or swap): - **Problem → Story → Solution → CTA** (classic 4-post arc) - **Myth → Reality → Reframe** (3-post rebuttal) - **Before → Tipping point → After** (3-post transformation) - **Zoomed-out principle → Lived example → Tactical how-to** (3-post ladder) - **Contrarian claim → Evidence → Counterexample addressed → Practical next step** (4-post argument) - **Launch arc:** Tease → Story → Reveal → Proof → CTA (5-post product/service launch) For each post in the sequence, produce the same card format as Stage 1, plus: - **Position in sequence** (e.g., 2 of 4) - **Thread to previous:** one sentence on how it picks up where the last post left off - **Open loop to next:** the question or tension this post leaves hanging so the next one lands Vary the creativity lever across the sequence — don't use "myth-bust" four times in a row. Alternate pace: long educational post → short emotional post → tactical post, etc. Consider platform cadence from `brand_goals.md`. If the user posts 3×/week on Instagram, a 4-post sequence is a ~9-day campaign — mention that framing. ## Save the sequence After the user confirms the sequence, append it to `memory/post_ideas.md` at the project root (create it if it doesn't exist). Entry shape: ```markdown ## — Anchor idea: (lever) Sequence pattern: <which pattern> 1. <title> — <hook> — <status: drafted | parked | idea> 2. <title> — <hook> — <status> … ``` Update existing entries when the user later drafts a post via `/postkit-new` — flip status from `idea` to `drafted`. Don't let this file grow unbounded; when entries are older than ~60 days and fully drafted, compress them into a one-line archive entry. ## Handoff After saving, offer the user three paths: 1. Run `/postkit-new` now with the anchor idea as the brief. 2. Run `/postkit-new` with a different post in the sequence. 3. Park the sequence and come back later — everything's in `memory/post_ideas.md`. ## Creativity guardrails - **Specificity beats cleverness.** A concrete real number beats a clever wordplay hook every time. - **Ideas should feel findable, not generated.** If it sounds like a newsletter headline generator, push harder. Good ideas have a point of view and a little friction. - **Don't manufacture conflict where there isn't any.** Hot takes work when the user actually holds the take. Ask. - **Never fabricate stats, names, quotes, or testimonials.** If an idea needs one, surface it under `Needs:` and let the user fill it. - **Break the user's own pattern at least once per brainstorm.** If their hooks memory lists "specific numbers + myth-busts", at least one Stage 1 idea must use a totally different lever. ## Important - Don't create `posts/<slug>/` folders here. That's `/postkit-new`. - Don't edit `theme.css` or any slide HTML. - Don't write ideas into Claude Code's internal memory system. Sequences belong in `memory/post_ideas.md` so they're versioned with the project. - If the user's brand profile is thin (lots of `_(TBD)_` in `memory/brand_*.md`), say so and ask whether to infer gaps for this brainstorm or pause for `/postkit-setup`.