yt-thumbnail-brief

# YouTube Thumbnail Brief This skill does not generate an image. It writes the brief a human designer (or an image tool) executes, grounded in what actually drives the click in 2026, and documents how a custom thumbnail gets attached when you auto-publish. ## When to use - User says "what should the thumbnail be for this video" - User wants a brief to hand to a designer or paste into an image generator - User wants 2 to 3 thumbnail concepts to A/B test - User is auto-publishing and needs the thumbnail upload steps ## What the brief contains For each concept the skill outputs: - **Concept name and the angle** it sells (and how it complements the title). - **Focal subject:** a face plus the specific emotion, or the object/result. - **Text overlay:** the exact words (4 or fewer), and where they sit. Never the same words as the title. - **Background and contrast:** color, lighting, and how the subject separates. - **Composition:** rule-of-thirds placement, gaze direction, crop. - **120-pixel test note:** what must still read when shrunk to mobile size. ## Steps 1. **Gather inputs.** The title (so the thumbnail complements, never repeats it), the video's payoff and emotional tone, whether there is a face available, the single most visual moment or result, and long-form vs Short. If a URL is given, parse it with `lib/url_parser.py`. 2. **Split the load with the title.** Decide what the title already says and make the thumbnail carry the rest (the face/emotion,...