Thread-to-Carousel Generator

Convert a text thread into Instagram carousel slides styled as tweet/X post mockups. Each slide renders a clean tweet card with profile picture, display name, verified badge, handle, and the tweet text. Optionally embed images in tweets and combine short tweets 2-per-slide.

Process

Step 1: Gather the Thread

Get the thread content from the user. They may:

• Paste a thread of text directly
• Provide a topic and ask you to write the thread
• Share screenshots or existing tweets to recreate

If writing the thread, use the voice and tone from CLAUDE.md. Each tweet in the thread should be a self-contained thought that flows into the next.

Step 2: Gather Profile Info

Ask for anything not already known:

1. Display name - the bold name shown on each tweet
2. Handle - e.g., @itstylergermain
3. Verified - show the blue checkmark? (default: true)
4. Headshot - path to profile photo. List available files with ls .claude/skills/instagram-thread-carousel/headshots/ and let the user pick, or use the first one found.

If CLAUDE.md has been personalized (audit has been run), pull the name and handle from there.

Step 3: Break the Thread into Slides

Rules for slide layout:

One tweet per slide (default):

• Any tweet with an embedded image gets its own slide
• Tweets longer than ~200 characters get their own slide
• The first tweet (hook) always gets its own slide
• The title slide (slide 1) should ALWAYS have an image. A strong image on the first slide is critical for stopping the scroll.

Two tweets per slide:

• Combine consecutive short tweets (under ~150 characters each, no images) onto one slide
• This keeps the carousel compact and scannable
• A light gray divider line separates the two tweets

Walk through the thread and decide the slide breakdown. Present it to the user before generating:

Slide 1: Tweet 1 (hook) - own slide
Slide 2: Tweet 2 + Tweet 3 - combined (both short)
Slide 3: Tweet 4 - own slide (has image)
Slide 4: Tweet 5 + Tweet 6 - combined (both short)
Slide 5: Tweet 7 (CTA) - own slide

Step 4: Handle Images

Images make carousels significantly more engaging. For each tweet that could benefit from a visual, determine how to source the image:

User-provided images:

• The user provides file paths or URLs directly
• If they provide URLs, download the images to the carousel's ref/ subfolder first

Search for images with Tavily: If the user doesn't provide images (or asks you to find them), use the Tavily image search script to find relevant visuals:

python3 .claude/skills/instagram-thread-carousel/scripts/tavily-image-search.py "search query" workspace/<date>/<title>/ref --count 5

This downloads images and creates a manifest JSON. Review the downloaded images and pick the best ones for each tweet. Good search queries are specific - e.g., "YouTube thumbnail example tech channel" not just "thumbnail".

Requires TAVILY_API_KEY in .env. If not set, skip image search and proceed with text-only slides.

Search for GIFs with Giphy: When the carousel calls for animated content (reaction GIFs, demonstrations, etc.):

python3 .claude/skills/instagram-thread-carousel/scripts/giphy-search.py "search query" workspace/<date>/<title>/ref --count 5

Downloads GIFs and creates a manifest JSON. The thread-to-carousel script automatically handles animated GIFs by outputting both an MP4 (for Instagram) and a PNG (static preview).

Requires GIPHY_API_KEY in .env.

Website screenshots: When the carousel is about a website, product, or tool, take a fresh screenshot instead of relying on Tavily (which often returns outdated images):

python3 .claude/skills/instagram-thread-carousel/scripts/website-screenshot.py "https://example.com" workspace/<date>/<title>/ref/homepage.png --width 1280 --height 800

Options: --width and --height set the viewport, --full-page captures the entire scrollable page. Requires playwright (pip install playwright && playwright install chromium).

Always prefer a live screenshot over a Tavily image search result when the carousel is about a specific website or product.

Website recordings with Steel: When you need a video recording of browsing a website (for animated carousel slides or reference), use the Steel browser:

python3 .claude/skills/instagram-thread-carousel/scripts/steel-browse.py browse-plan.json workspace/<date>/<title>/ref

Create a browse-plan.json with a list of actions:

{
  "viewport": { "width": 1920, "height": 1080 },
  "actions": [
    { "action": "navigate", "url": "https://example.com", "label": "Open homepage", "wait": 2000 },
    { "action": "click", "selector": "button.cta", "label": "Click CTA", "wait": 1500 },
    { "action": "click_at", "x": 960, "y": 540, "label": "Click center", "wait": 1000 },
    { "action": "scroll", "y": 500, "label": "Scroll down", "wait": 1000 },
    { "action": "hover", "selector": ".card", "label": "Hover card", "wait": 1000 },
    { "action": "type", "selector": "input.search", "text": "query", "label": "Type search", "wait": 1000 },
    { "action": "keyboard_type", "text": "hello world", "label": "Type text", "wait": 1000 },
    { "action": "keyboard_press", "key": "Enter", "label": "Press Enter", "wait": 1000 }
  ]
}

Outputs recording.mp4 and moments.json to the output directory. Requires STEEL_API_KEY in .env and pip install steel-sdk playwright.

Image rules:

• Images appear below the tweet text with rounded corners
• Tweets with images always get their own slide (the image needs the space)
• Prefer landscape or square images - very tall images eat too much slide space
• Screenshots, product shots, and UI mockups work best for this format

Step 5: Generate the Config

Each carousel gets its own folder under workspace/ organized by date and title. Pick a short, descriptive name based on the topic (e.g., thumbnail-generator, claude-youtube, ai-agents-101).

Folder structure:

workspace/<date>/<title>/
├── config.json        # Slide config
├── ref/               # Reference images used in slides
│   ├── screenshot.png
│   └── ...
├── slide-01.png       # Generated slides
├── slide-02.png
└── ...

Create the config file at workspace/<date>/<title>/config.json:

{
  "profile": {
    "name": "Display Name",
    "handle": "@handle",
    "verified": true,
    "headshot": ".claude/skills/instagram-thread-carousel/headshots/tyler-headshot.png"
  },
  "theme": "light",
  "slides": [
    {
      "tweets": [
        {
          "text": "This is the first tweet.\n\nIt can have multiple paragraphs.\n\nUse \\n for line breaks.",
          "image": null
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "video": "workspace/<date>/<title>/ref/demo.mp4"
    },
    {
      "tweets": [
        { "text": "Short tweet one.", "image": null },
        { "text": "Short tweet two.", "image": null }
      ]
    },
    {
      "tweets": [
        {
          "text": "Tweet with an image below it.",
          "image": "workspace/<date>/<title>/ref/screenshot.jpg"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Config options:

• theme - "light" (white background, dark text) or "dark" (black background, light text). Default: "light".

Video slides:

• Use "video": "path/to/video.mp4" at the slide level (no tweets needed)
• The script copies the MP4 to the output as slide-XX.mp4 and extracts a slide-XX.png preview
• Instagram carousels support mixing images and videos - use video slides for screen recordings, demos, or animated content
• Use the screen-demo skill or Steel browser recordings to create polished demo videos, then reference the output MP4 in the carousel config
• Video slides do NOT render tweet-style cards - they're raw video files for Instagram

Text formatting tips:

• Use \n for line breaks within a tweet
• Use \n\n for paragraph breaks (adds extra spa