1. Decide the top-level mode: built-in by default, fallback CLI only if explicitly requested.
2. Decide the intent: `generate` or `edit`.
3. Decide whether the output is preview-only or meant to be consumed by the current project.
4. Decide the execution strategy: single asset vs repeated built-in calls vs CLI `generate-batch`.
5. Collect inputs up front: prompt(s), exact text (verbatim), constraints/avoid list, and any input images.
6. For every input image, label its role explicitly:
reference image
edit target
supporting insert/style/compositing input
7. If the edit target is only on the local filesystem and you are staying on the built-in path, inspect it with `view_image` first so the image is available in conversation context.
8. If the user asked for a photo, illustration, sprite, product image, banner, or other explicitly raster-style asset, use `image_gen` rather than substituting SVG/HTML/CSS placeholders. If the request is for an icon, logo, or UI graphic that should match existing repo-native SVG/vector/code assets, prefer editing those directly instead.
9. Augment the prompt based on specificity:
If the user's prompt is already specific and detailed, normalize it into a clear spec without adding creative requirements.
If the user's prompt is generic, add tasteful augmentation only when it materially improves output quality.
10. Use the built-in `image_gen` tool by default.
11. If the user explicitly chooses the CLI fallback, then and only then use the fallback-only docs for quality, `input_fidelity`, masks, output format, output paths, and network setup.
12. Inspect outputs and validate: subject, style, composition, text accuracy, and invariants/avoid items.
13. Iterate with a single targeted change, then re-check.
14. For preview-only work, render the image inline; the underlying file may remain at the default `$CODEX_HOME/generated_images/...` path.
15. For project-bound work, move or copy the selected artifact into the workspace and update any consuming code or references. Never leave a project-referenced asset only at the default `$CODEX_HOME/generated_images/...` path.
16. For batches, persist only the selected finals in the workspace unless the user explicitly asked to keep discarded variants.
17. Always report the final saved path for any workspace-bound asset, plus the final prompt and whether the built-in tool or fallback CLI mode was used.
SynapticSkills