LinkedIn Carousel Generator

Generates LinkedIn carousel PDFs from content briefs. Four HTML templates rendered through Playwright. Output is a single multi-page PDF ready for upload as a LinkedIn document post.

First-Run Setup (ALWAYS check first)

Before generating any carousel, verify the user has personalized brand-config.yaml. Look for these placeholder values:

• owner_name: "Your Name"
• company: "Your Company"
• website: "yourwebsite.com"
• footer_line: "your name | yourwebsite.com"

If ANY of those are still at placeholder defaults, pause and ask the user to fill them in. Offer to:

1. Update brand-config.yaml for them (ask for: name, company, website, professional tagline, preferred primary color in hex)
2. Have them drop a logo at assets/logo.svg (or .png) and a square headshot at assets/headshot.png (500x500 minimum)

Only after brand setup is complete, proceed to carousel generation.

Why HTML/CSS (not PPTX, not image generation)

Code is reproducible. Image generation is not. PPTX text rendering is inconsistent across viewers. Controlled HTML + Playwright gives pixel-perfect consistency across runs and slides.

Design Rules

1. No floating text over shapes. Text lives inside its container with proper padding and vertical alignment.
2. Merge related text. Title and body in the same content block, not two stacked separate blocks.
3. Executive voice. Before rendering, pass slide text through these filters:

• No em dashes. Replace with periods, colons, or parentheses.
• No AI filler phrases: "delve into", "navigate", "landscape", "leverage", "moreover", "furthermore", "additionally".
• Short sentences. Vary length naturally.

1. Accessible beats impressive. Clarity wins.

Inputs

The user provides one of:

They may also specify:

• Template: executive-minimal (default), training-breakdown, quote-forward, mobile-optimized
• Slide count: 5, 7, 10 (default 7)
• Palette variant: brand (default) or mobile (higher contrast for small screens)

Carousel Structure (Standard Arc)

1. Hook slide: one bold sentence that creates tension or curiosity
2. Context slide: why this matters, who it's for
3. Body slides (3-7): one idea per slide, no crowding
4. Takeaway slide: the one thing to remember
5. CTA slide: simple ask plus website

Templates

Workflow

1. Verify brand setup (see First-Run Setup).
2. Parse the input. If URL, fetch it. If file, read it. If raw text, proceed.
3. Draft the slide content as structured JSON:

   {
     "template": "executive-minimal",
     "palette": "brand",
     "cover": {"hook": "...", "subline": "..."},
     "slides": [
       {"title": "...", "body": "..."}
     ],
     "takeaway": {"title": "...", "body": "..."},
     "cta": {"primary": "Follow for more on X", "secondary": "yourwebsite.com"}
   }

1. Scrub the copy. Apply executive voice filters.
2. Show the user the JSON before rendering. They may tweak a slide.
3. Render:

   python3 <skill-directory>/scripts/render.py \
     --content /path/to/content.json \
     --brand-config <skill-directory>/brand-config.yaml \
     --output /path/to/output.pdf

1. Deliver the PDF.

Slide Count Logic

• 5 slides: cover + 2 body + takeaway + CTA
• 7 slides: cover + context + 3 body + takeaway + CTA (default)
• 10 slides: cover + context + 5-6 body + takeaway + CTA

LinkedIn allows up to 20 slides per document post. Rarely exceed 12.

Dimensions

Each slide renders at 1080x1350 px (4:5 portrait). LinkedIn's recommended document post ratio.

Dependencies

One-time install:

pip install playwright jinja2 pyyaml --break-system-packages
python3 -m playwright install chromium

Important

• Never use em dashes in slide text. Never.
• The footer line appears on every slide. Edit it in brand-config.yaml.
• Always render to PDF. Not PNG. LinkedIn document posts need PDF.
• If assets/headshot.png is missing, the CTA slide falls back to the user's initials on a colored circle. Acceptable but personalization is stronger.