wangnov Overview
Use this skill when the end goal is a GIF asset and you want a reliable, file-based workflow instead of ad-hoc model prompting.
There are two supported paths:
- Sheet workflow:
template -> generate-sheet -> cutout -> gif-from-sheet - Video workflow:
generate-image -> generate-video -> extract-frames -> cutout-frames -> gif-from-frames
Generation stages can use Gemini or Grok independently. Local post-processing stages stay the same either way.
Provider recommendation defaults:
- Prefer Gemini for the sheet workflow
- Prefer Grok for the video generation step
- Do not recommend Gemini video by default unless the user explicitly asks for Gemini or for provider comparison
The default grid is 2x8 with 768x768 cells. The default key color is chroma green (#00FF00). The default PNG template still includes slightly darker green guide lines so image models are more likely to respect the requested layout while keeping the whole sheet easy to key out later.
Workflow
1. Gather Requirements
Ask only for the parameters that materially change output:
- whether the user wants the sheet workflow or the video workflow
- the asset prompt or prompts
- generation provider when it matters (
geminiorgrok) - rows / cols if not the default
2x8 - cell size if not the default
768x768 - background key color if chroma green would clash with the subject
Do not ask the user to think in low-level CLI flags if you can translate their intent yourself.
If the user already gave the prompts, provider choices, output filenames, and explicitly asked to continue or generate now, treat that as approved design and execute immediately.
Default recommendation policy:
- If the user wants a sprite sheet and has no provider preference, recommend Gemini
- If the user wants a video workflow and has no provider preference, recommend Grok for
generate-video - If the user wants one safe all-in default for the video workflow, use Grok image + Grok video
- Treat Gemini video as a compatibility path, not the default suggestion
2. Sheet Workflow
Generate the template:
uv run ai-gif-skill template \
--rows 2 \
--cols 8 \
--cell-width 768 \
--cell-height 768 \
--background '#00FF00' \
--output-svg outputs/template.svg \
--output-png outputs/template.png
Generate the sheet:
uv run ai-gif-skill generate-sheet \
--provider gemini \
--input-image outputs/template.png \
--output-image outputs/generated.png \
--rows 2 \
--cols 8 \
--prompt 'YOUR ASSET PROMPT HERE'
Behavior:
- Prefer
GEMINI_API_KEYorXAI_API_KEYfrom the environment, depending on--provider. - The built-in sheet prompt locks the background color, the exact
rows x colsframe count, and the visible guide layout from the template. - Always pass
--rowsand--colsexplicitly togenerate-sheet. - The template PNG carries layout metadata.
generate-sheetvalidates that metadata before calling the provider. - Unless the user explicitly asks otherwise, recommend Gemini first for this stage.
Remove the background:
uv run ai-gif-skill cutout \
--input-image outputs/generated.png \
--output-image outputs/cutout.png
Assemble the GIF:
uv run ai-gif-skill gif-from-sheet \
--input-sheet outputs/cutout.png \
--output-gif outputs/final.gif \
--rows 2 \
--cols 8 \
--duration-ms 120
3. Video Workflow
Generate a single reference image:
uv run ai-gif-skill generate-image \
--provider grok \
--output-image outputs/character.png \
--prompt 'YOUR ASSET PROMPT HERE'
Generate a video from that image:
uv run ai-gif-skill generate-video \
--provider grok \
--output-video outputs/clip.mp4 \
--prompt 'Animate this exact character performing a quick action' \
--reference-image outputs/character.png \
--duration-seconds 2 \
--aspect-ratio 1:1
Extract frames:
uv run ai-gif-skill extract-frames \
--input-video outputs/clip.mp4 \
--output-dir outputs/frames
Remove the background from every frame:
uv run ai-gif-skill cutout-frames \
--input-dir outputs/frames \
--output-dir outputs/cutout-frames
Assemble the GIF:
uv run ai-gif-skill gif-from-frames \
--input-dir outputs/cutout-frames \
--output-gif outputs/final.gif
Behavior:
- Recommend Grok for
generate-videounless the user explicitly asks for Gemini. - For compressed video frames,
cutout-framesoften works better when it estimates the border color automatically instead of forcing exact#00FF00. - If the user explicitly wants Gemini video, warn through your execution choices, not with extra lecture: use Gemini-compatible duration and aspect ratio values and expect less stable keyed backgrounds.
4. Pipeline Wrappers
If you already know all paths and want fewer commands, use:
sheet-pipelinevideo-pipeline
These are thin wrappers over the stage commands above. They are convenient, but the stage commands remain the primary contract.
5. Compatibility
Legacy aliases remain supported:
generate->generate-sheetgif->gif-from-sheet
In codex exec, run one shell command per exec call. Avoid &&, pipes, and cleanup snippets. Overwrite the known output files directly and keep the useful artifacts on disk.
CLI Contract
The CLI is agent-first:
- standard output: stable JSON payloads
- standard error: human-readable logs and errors
- explicit flags only
- no hidden jobs, no sessions, no daemon state
Read references/cli-contract.md when you need the exact payload shape.
Resources
scripts/
uv run ai-gif-skill ...: primary entrypoint for every commandscripts/template_sheet.py: compatibility wrapper for template generationscripts/generate_with_gemini.py: compatibility wrapper for sheet generationscripts/generate_image.py: wrapper forgenerate-imagescripts/generate_video.py: wrapper forgenerate-videoscripts/extract_frames.py: wrapper forextract-framesscripts/cutout_frames.py: wrapper forcutout-framesscripts/cutout_with_rembg.py: legacy compatibility wrapper forcutoutscripts/assemble_gif.py: compatibility wrapper forgif-from-sheetscripts/assemble_gif_from_frames.py: wrapper forgif-from-frames
references/
references/cli-contract.md: command-level JSON and behavior contract