Ig carousel planner

Skill sergebulaev/instagram-skills/skills/ig-carousel-planner

Plan an Instagram carousel slide by slide, up to 10 slides, with a hook slide that opens a loop, value slides that front-load the payoff, and a payoff slide that earns the save and follow. Picks a 2026 carousel formula (listicle, before/after, myth-buster, framework) by goal (saves, shares, follows), drafts each slide's text plus the caption, then publishes the images you supply via Publora. Use to structure a multi-slide carousel. Not for single-image captions (use ig-caption-writer).From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add sergebulaev/instagram-skills --skill ig-carousel-planner

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

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SKILL.md

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Instagram Carousel Planner

Plan a carousel that gets swiped to the end and saved. The whole game is slide 1 (the swipe-earning hook) and the last slide (the saveable payoff). This skill maps every slide, writes the on-image text, and drafts the caption that frames it.

When to use

User wants to turn a topic or notes into a multi-slide carousel
User has a list, a framework, or a transformation to teach
User wants a slide-by-slide structure, not just a caption

Formulas this skill uses (carousel shapes)

Code	Formula	Primary goal	Best for
IG5	Listicle Carousel	saves	a numbered teaching list, one item per slide
IG6	Before/After Transformation	saves, follows	proof of a result with the steps between
IG7	Myth-Buster	shares	correcting beliefs your niche holds
IG8	Steal-This Framework	saves	a named, repeatable framework

Full skeletons in ../../references/hook-formulas.md.

Slide architecture (the 10-slide spine)

A carousel is 2-10 slides (API limit). The reliable spine:

Slide	Role
1 (hook)	the promise + an open loop ("most miss #4"). Earns the swipe. Big text, one idea.
2-3	the strongest value, front-loaded (swipe-through decays with depth).
4 to N-1	one point per slide, each standing alone, each readable in 2 seconds.
N (payoff)	the one-slide summary (the saveable artifact) + one clear ask (save / follow).

6-10 slides is the sweet spot for a teaching carousel. Fewer than 4 is usually a single image. See references/slide-architecture.md for per-formula spines.

Steps

Voice profile first (all drafts). If ../../references/voice-profile.md has filled: yes, load it and match the user's voice fingerprint, hard rules, and CTA/link style throughout. If it is not filled, mention once that ig-humanizer --mode profile can learn their voice from a few posts, then proceed with the generic voice rules.

Gather inputs. Topic, the list/framework/transformation, target audience, and the goal (saves / shares / follows).
Pick the formula. Use the goal table; suggest 2-3 that fit and let the user choose.
Set the slide count. Match it to the real content (6-10 typical). Never pad to hit 10; viewers feel filler and bail.
Write slide 1. The promise plus the loop. Big, single-idea on-image text. Front-load a number if one fits.
Map the value slides. Put the strongest point on slide 2 or 3. One point per slide, each able to stand alone. Draft the on-image text for each (keep it short, it has to read in 2 seconds on a 4:5 frame).
Write the payoff slide. A one-slide recap that is worth saving on its own, plus a single ask (save it / follow for more).
Write the caption. The caption supports the carousel (it can be short), restates the hook for the fold, and carries the hashtags. Hand off to ig-hashtag-strategist or apply the 3-5 sized set.
Humanizer pass on the on-image text and caption.
Approval card. Show: formula, slide-by-slide outline with each slide's text, the caption, hashtag set, primary goal, and a reminder that the user supplies 2-10 images (all images, no mixed media) in this order.
On approval, publish with media. Call lib.publish(kind="carousel", draft_text=<approved caption>, target_url="https://www.instagram.com/", media=[<slide image paths in order>], platforms=[<INSTAGRAM_PLATFORM_ID>], scheduled_time=<iso_or_None>). The wrapper uploads each image in order and schedules. With no media or no Publora key it returns the plan as a copy-paste block plus the slide order.

Hard rules

Global voice rules: see root SKILL.md Voice rules. Additional skill-specific rules:

Slide 1 is a promise with an open loop, never a bare title.
Front-load value to slides 2-3; never bury the best point at the end.
One point per slide, readable in 2 seconds on a portrait 4:5 frame.
2-10 slides only. Never pad to a round number.
All images, no mixed media (the API rejects an image+video carousel).
The last slide must earn the save with a one-slide summary and one ask.

Anti-patterns (skill will refuse)

A title-only slide 1 with no promise or loop.
A 10-slide carousel padded from a 4-point idea.
The strongest point saved for the final slide.
Three competing CTAs on the payoff slide.
Mixing images and a video in one carousel.
On-image walls of text that cannot be read in a swipe.
Em dashes, AI vocab, rule-of-three.

Resources

../../references/hook-formulas.md - the carousel formulas (IG5-IG8) with skeletons
../../references/algorithm-heuristics.md - 2026 carousel ranking and swipe-through rules
../../references/hashtag-strategy.md - the 3-5 sized hashtag recipe
../../references/media-workflow.md - uploading 2-10 images in order
references/slide-architecture.md - per-formula slide spines and on-image text rules

Optional illustration

Offer a generated image when a visual would lift reach. Draft a prompt and call lib.illustrate(prompt, kind="carousel"), pulling brand handle/color from Voice & Brand Profile section 6 for a pixel-exact overlay. Show the returned url + cost, attach it as your Instagram media via media_urls=[url] in one shot (Publora fetches the hosted URL server-side): a single image posts as a photo, and the carousel planner can pass 2-10 URLs for a carousel. For a Reel cover instead, set platformSettings.instagram.coverUrl. Full workflow (incl. quote-cards): ../ig-humanizer/sub-skills/illustration.md. No Pixfaro key -> it drafts the prompt for you to generate manually.

Related skills

ig-caption-writer - when the idea is a single image, not a carousel
ig-hashtag-strategist - build the sized hashtag set
ig-humanizer - scrub the on-image text and caption
ig-hook-extractor - reverse-engineer a carousel you admire

What ships with it: 1 file

3.2 KB alongside SKILL.md

references/

slide-architecture.md3.2 KB

Gives 0 of the 12 instructions most plan spec skills give

Counted across 1,360 of the 2,617 authors here whose files we hold, read 2026-09-06

Ask one question at a timein 73 of 1360
Write the spec using the templatein 22 of 1360
Ask clarifying questions if neededin 19 of 1360, across 18 files
Wait for user confirmation before proceedingin 19 of 1360
Save plans to the plans directoryin 17 of 1360, across 13 files
Check for product marketing context firstin 16 of 1360, across 5 files
Read the plan file completelyin 16 of 1360
Order tasks by dependencyin 16 of 1360
Gather context from the conversationin 15 of 1360, across 9 files
Explore the codebase instead of askingin 15 of 1360, across 13 files
Wait for explicit user approvalin 14 of 1360, across 13 files
Quiz the user on the breakdownin 13 of 1360, across 7 files

Said here and by no other author read

Load the voice profile first
Gather inputs for the carousel
Pick the carousel formula
Set the slide count
Write slide 1 as a hook
Map the value slides

Grouped from the skills themselves: near-identical wordings counted once, and counted by distinct author, so one author publishing three of these counts once.