Content
Plugin
illo
Generate original print-style editorial illustrations for articles and blogs, starring a recurring mascot that performs each idea.
Plugin Signal56/100Fair
maintained95
capable14
documented55
adopted53
Install on Claude Code
> /plugin marketplace add tmchow/illo-skill> /plugin install illo@illo-skill
What's inside
README
1illo skill
Generate original print-style editorial illustrations for articles and
blogs, starring a recurring mascot that performs each idea. Each character
pack carries one of ten bundled looks (riso, blueprint, woodcut, pixel, clay,
manila, chalk, phosphor, enamel, gouache) or a custom style — default
Blot (a deadpan ink-drop), or design your own with the built-in character
builder. One-metaphor-per-image scenes with named + custom + derived palettes
and reference-image character consistency. Renders through three backends:
your Codex CLI (gpt-image-2) or Grok CLI (xAI) on your subscription —
free for subscribers, no API key — when one is installed and logged in, or
OpenRouter (model-selectable: Grok Imagine, Nano Banana 2/Pro, GPT-5.4
Image 2, …) as a direct pay-per-image backend. Failed subscription renders
fail closed unless --allow-paid-fallback explicitly permits OpenRouter.
Grok can't make transparent cutouts; those route automatically.
Hand it "we replatform with zero downtime" and you get the bridge being rebuilt under live traffic:
🌐 illo-skill.com — live examples, the character gallery, and copy-paste installs.
The skill itself lives in skills/illo/ — its
README is the full developer reference
(prerequisites, API-key setup, models & cost, everything below in detail).
Same idea, different voice — four of the ten bundled looks:
Install
Recommended: use your platform's native plugin or skill manager. These
lanes install the same illo skill, but they preserve the runtime's managed
update path. Use the generic npx skills installer only when your runtime
doesn't have a native lane yet.
| Platform | Install | Update |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | /plugin marketplace add tmchow/illo-skill then /plugin install illo@illo-skill | claude plugin update illo, or enable marketplace auto-update |
| Codex | codex plugin marketplace add tmchow/illo-skill then codex plugin add illo@illo-skill | codex plugin marketplace upgrade |
| Grok | grok plugin marketplace add tmchow/illo-skill then grok plugin install tmchow/illo-skill --trust | grok plugin update illo |
| Gemini CLI | gemini extensions install https://github.com/tmchow/illo-skill | gemini extensions update illo |
| Copilot / GitHub CLI | gh skill install tmchow/illo-skill illo (cross-agent via --agent) | gh skill update illo |
| Hermes | hermes skills install tmchow/illo-skill/illo | hermes skills update illo |
| OpenClaw | openclaw skills install illo | reinstall with the same command |
| Cursor | npx skills add tmchow/illo-skill --skill illo (Cursor Marketplace listing pending review) | re-run the installer |
| Other agents / last resort | npx skills add tmchow/illo-skill --skill illo | npx skills update |
Every lane installs the same skill; releases are tagged v<version> and
the version in every manifest is kept in lockstep with
skills/illo/SKILL.md by Release Please and CI.
Repo layout
The skill sits in skills/illo/, following the layout of the canonical
skill repos (anthropics/skills, openai/skills): a top-level skills/
folder, one directory per skill. It is deliberately not at the repo root —
installers copy the entire skill directory verbatim, so the skill dir holds
only what every install should ship. Docs-only images live in
_assets/illo/ (linked by raw URL), and repo meta stays at the root —
including the plugin manifests (.claude-plugin/, .codex-plugin/,
.cursor-plugin/, .grok-plugin/, gemini-extension.json) that make the
repo installable as a native plugin on each platform.
Companion repos
- tmchow/illo-characters — community character packs ("install the blip character").
License
MIT © Trevin Chow — see LICENSE and
skills/illo/NOTICE for attribution of the Blot character and
bundled artwork.
File tree
111tmchow/illo-skillView on GitHub
_assets/
illo/
01-tower-ink-punch.png
02-funnel-ink-punch.png
03-funnel-derived-emerald.png
04-crossing-derived-purple.png
05-bridgeswap-ink-punch.png
cutout-alpha-comparison/
analysis.json
codex-chroma.png
codex-native.png
gemini-flash-native.jpg
gpt-image-2-or-chroma.png
gpt-image-2-or-native.png
grok-imagine-native.jpg
index.html
prompt-chroma.txt
prompt-native.txt
cutout-eval-v0240/
codex-agent-workflow.png
codex-chroma-fallback.png
index.html
or-gemini-agent-workflow.png
or-gpt-agent-workflow.png
or-gpt-native-cutout.png
or-grok-agent-workflow.jpg
prompt-chroma.txt
prompt-native.txt
README.md
results.json
logo/
illo-logo-avatar.png
illo-logo.png
illo-logo.svg
styles/
bloom-pitz.png
blueprint-crossing.png
chalk-timebox.png
clay-rootcause.png
enamel-deflect.png
gouache-steep.png
manila-queue.png
phosphor-spike.png
pixel-funnel.png
woodcut-minicomic.png
.agents/
plugins/
marketplace.json
.claude-plugin/
marketplace.json
plugin.json
.codex-plugin/
plugin.json
.cursor-plugin/
plugin.json
.github/
scripts/
clawhub_version_state.py
cutout_alpha_compare.py
cutout_eval.py
cutout_registration_gallery.py
openrouter_cutout_probe.py
regen_asset_checksums.py
skill_frontmatter_version.py
sync_plugin_versions.py
validate_pr_commits.py
workflows/
asset-checksums.yml
pr-title.yml
publish-clawhub.yml
release-please.yml
version-sync.yml
.gitignore
.grok-plugin/
marketplace.json
plugin.json
.release-please-manifest.json
AGENTS.md
CHANGELOG.md
CLAUDE.md
docs/
solutions/
integration-issues/
codex-image-backend-stale-feature-detection.md
gemini-extension.json
LICENSE
README.md
release-please-config.json
skills/
illo/
assets/
character-reference-pixel.png
character-reference.webp
checksums.txt
NOTICE
README.md
references/
article-set-character-reroute.md
backends.md
character-builder.md
character.md
composition.md
cutout.md
models.md
pack-sharing.md
palettes.md
prompt-recipe.md
quality-bar.md
styles/
bloom.md
blueprint.md
bricks.md
chalk.md
clay.md
diorama.md
enamel.md
felt.md
fizz.md
gouache.md
manila.md
phosphor.md
pixel.md
sketchbook.md
snes.md
woodcut.md
surprise.md
visual-style.md
scripts/
illo.py
repair-hermes-assets.sh
SKILL.md
tests/
test_codex_backend.py
test_grok_backend.py
test_validate_pr_commits.py
version.txtFAQ
illo is a Claude Code plugin with 1 hand-picked skill for content work, indexed on Flowy. Install it with the command on its page. It includes illo. Its skills do not fire on their own yet. Request auto-invocation to have Flowy route them as you prompt. Free and open source.
- What is illo?
- Generate original print-style editorial illustrations for articles and blogs, starring a recurring mascot that performs each idea.
- How do I install illo?
- Run these in Claude Code: /plugin marketplace add tmchow/illo-skill then /plugin install illo@illo-skill. Then prompt normally.
- Does illo auto-invoke its skills?
- Not yet. It is indexed on Flowy as a plain plugin. Request auto-invocation on its page and Flowy will route its skills for you as you prompt.
- Is illo free?
- Yes. Flowy is free and open source, with nothing gated. You can read every skill in full before you install.