Reel Cover Generator — Agent Skill

Generate professional, branded Instagram Reel cover images (9:16) from a video script — powered by Codex or Claude.

Built for Arabic and English tech content creators who want scroll-stopping covers without opening a design tool.

Table of Contents

• Features
• How It Works
• Installation
  • Codex
  • Claude Code
  • Claude Desktop
• Usage
• Visual Themes
• Customization
• Contributing
• License

Features

• Script-aware — reads your reel script, detects its language (Arabic or English), and summarizes it
• Smart title suggestions — generates 3 title options in the script's language; pick one or write your own
• Optional subtitles — generates 3 subtitle options; pick one, write your own, or skip it entirely
• Theme matching — automatically picks a visual theme (AI, cybersecurity, breaking news, etc.) based on your script's topic
• Prompt preview — shows the final image prompt before generating, so you can copy it to another tool or continue in your agent
• Reference image support — blend a person's photo into the cover, or provide another base image to guide the scene
• Extra asset support — add screenshots, logos, product images, UI captures, or other assets so the cover can include them and produce stronger results
• Iterative refinement — tweak colors, titles, or visual effects and regenerate until it's perfect

Note: The skill talks to you in English. Only the cover text (title/subtitle) follows the script's language.

How It Works

┌────────────┐
│  Script    │
└─────┬──────┘
      │
      ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Analyze & Summarize  │  Detect language, extract the hook,
└─────┬────────────────┘  and pick the best visual theme
      │
      ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Choose Title         │  Pick from 3 options or write your own
└─────┬────────────────┘
      │
      ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Choose Subtitle      │  Pick one, customize it, or skip it
└─────┬────────────────┘
      │
      ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Review Prompt        │  Approve the final generation prompt
└─────┬────────────────┘
      │
      ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Generate Cover       │  Add a person photo, base image, or extra assets
└─────┬────────────────┘
      │
      ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Refine if Needed     │  Tweak text, colors, composition, or effects
└─────┬────────────────┘
      │
      ▼
┌────────────┐
│   Done!    │
└────────────┘

1. Analyze — the skill reads your script, detects the language, summarizes it, and suggests a visual theme
2. Title — you get 3 title suggestions in the script's language; pick one or provide your own
3. Subtitle — same for subtitles (or skip this step)
4. Prompt review — the full image generation prompt is shown for your approval
5. Choose your path — copy the prompt for another tool, or continue in your agent
6. Generate — provide a person's image, another base/reference image, and any extra assets; the skill generates a cinematic 9:16 cover
7. Refine — ask for tweaks until the cover is exactly right

Installation

Codex

Codex has built-in image generation, so you do not need Gemini MCP to generate covers.

Codex installs skills into $CODEX_HOME/skills (defaults to ~/.codex/skills).

Option A — via Skills CLI (recommended):

npx skills add ismail9k/skill-reel-cover-generator

Option B — via Codex install-skill skill:

/install-skill github.com/ismail9k/skill-reel-cover-generator

Restart Codex after installing so it picks up the new skill.

---

Claude Code

Claude needs Gemini MCP for direct image generation.

Prerequisites

Gemini API key — get one for free at Google AI Studio.

Gemini MCP — see @houtini/gemini-mcp to call Gemini's image generation API.

Don't want to set up Gemini? The skill still works — it will generate a ready-to-use image prompt that you can copy into any other image generation tool. You just won't be able to generate the cover directly within Claude.

Step 1 — Install the skill

Option A — via Skills CLI (recommended):

npx skills add ismail9k/skill-reel-cover-generator

Option B — via claude install-skill

claude install-skill github.com/ismail9k/skill-reel-cover-generator

Verify it was installed:

npx skills list

Step 2 — Configure Gemini MCP

Add the following to ~/.claude/settings.json (global) or .mcp.json (per-project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gemini": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@houtini/gemini-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "your-gemini-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code after saving so it picks up the new MCP server.

---

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop also needs Gemini MCP for direct image generation.

Prerequisites

Gemini API key — get one for free at Google AI Studio.

Gemini MCP — see @houtini/gemini-mcp to call Gemini's image generation API.

Step 1 — Install the skill

Claude Desktop doesn't support the Skills CLI, so install manually:

1. Download the skill zip from The green "Code" button > Download ZIP
2. Go to Customize > Skills > Create skill > Upload a skill

3. Upload the zip file

Step 2 — Configure Gemini MCP

1. Go to Settings > Developer > Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json
2. Add the mcpServers block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gemini": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@houtini/gemini-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "your-gemini-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop

Usage

Trigger the skill by:

• Dropping a script and asking for a "reel cover"
• Or running /reel-cover-generator

Quick example

You: Here's my script about Claude's usage limits:
     "كل يوم بستخدم Claude وفجأة بيقولي خلاص..."
     Make me a reel cover.

Skill: Analyzes > suggests 3 titles > suggests 3 subtitles > shows prompt > generates cover

Asset tips

For best results, provide at least one clear reference image:

• Person image — a portrait or half-body photo if you want yourself or another person in the cover
• Base image — a screenshot, product image, app UI, or scene you want the cover to build around
• Extra assets — logos, screenshots, device mockups, icons, charts, or visual references

The more relevant assets you provide, the better the model can include the real visual details in the cover instead of inventing them.

Language handling

Script language	Conversation	Title/Subtitle
Arabic	English	Arabic (Egyptian dialect where natural)
English	English	English
Mixed	English	Follows dominant language

Visual Themes

The skill picks the best theme automatically based on your script's topic. Here's the full palette:

Theme	Best for	Visual style
ai-futuristic	AI tools, LLMs, future tech	Dark background, glowing neon blue/purple circuits
cybersecurity	Hacking, data leaks, privacy	Dark red/black, broken shields, code overlays
breaking-news	Announcements, releases, shocking facts	Bold typography, red accent, high contrast
vs-comparison	Tool comparisons, A vs B content	Split screen feel, dual tones, versus typography
educational	Explainers, how-it-works, tutorials	Clean, modern, bright with tech diagrams
opinion-hot-take	Opinions, controversial takes	Flame/spark aesthetics, bold text, energetic
weekly-recap	Weekly AI/tech roundups	Magazine-style layout, multiple visual elements

Example titles by theme

Arabic examples

Script topic	Theme	Title	Subtitle
Claude usage limits	ai-futuristic	"Claude بيقولك لا؟ عرفت ليه"	"Usage Limits Explained"
NVIDIA GTC announcement	breaking-news	"NVIDIA غيرت قواعد اللعبة"	"GTC 2025"
OpenAI vs Gemini	vs-comparison	"مين أحسن؟ الحقيقة اللي محدش بيقولها"	"OpenAI vs Gemini"
Cybersecurity breach	cybersecurity	"اتهكر بدون ما تعرف"	"تحذير أمني"
Weekly AI recap	weekly-recap	"أهم أخبار الـAI الأسبوع ده"	"AI Weekly"
How transformers work	educational	"الـAI بيفكر إزاي؟ الحقيقة جوا"	"Deep Dive"
Controversial AI take	opinion-hot-take	"رأيي في الـAI هيزعلك"	"رأي صريح"

English examples

Script topic	Theme	Title	Subtitle
Claude usage limits	ai-futuristic	"Why Claude Said No To Me"	"Usage Limits Explained"
NVIDIA GTC announcement	breaking-news	"NVIDIA Just Changed Everything"	"GTC 2025"
OpenAI vs Gemini	vs-comparison	"The Truth Nobody Tells You"	"OpenAI vs Gemini"
Cybersecurity breach	cybersecurity	"You Got Hacked and Don't Know It"	"Security Warning"
Weekly AI recap	weekly-recap	"This Week in AI — Big Moves"	"AI Weekly"
How transformers work	educational	"How AI Actually Thinks"	"Deep Dive"
Controversial AI take	opinion-hot-take	"My AI Take Will Upset You"	"Hot Take"

Customization

The skill is fully editable. Open SKILL.md to:

• Add new themes to the theme reference table
• Adjust the image generation prompt template
• Modify the quality checklist

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request if you'd like to:

• Add new visual themes
• Improve prompt templates
• Add support for more languages
• Fix bugs or improve documentation

License

MIT