--- name: ig-carousel-planner description: 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). ---

# 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.

1. **Gather inputs.** Topic, the list/framework/transformation, target audience, and the goal (saves / shares / follows). 2. **Pick the formula.** Use the goal table; suggest 2-3 that fit and let the user choose. 3. **Set the slide count.** Match it to the real content (6-10 typical). Never pad to hit 10; viewers feel filler and bail. 4. **Write slide 1.** The promise plus the loop. Big, single-idea on-image text. Front-load a number if one fits. 5. **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). 6. **Write the payoff slide.** A one-slide recap that is worth saving on its own, plus a single ask (save it / follow for more). 7. **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. 8. **Humanizer pass** on the on-image text and caption. 9. **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. 10. **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