Minimal Terminal Card

Minimal Terminal Card is a black-and-white terminal-style visual system for turning ideas, notes, conversations, and workflows into crisp SVG/PNG cards.

It is designed for text-heavy images where normal image generation usually fails: diagrams, labels, tables, process cards, schedules, and compact visual summaries.

The default output is one square PNG. Multi-card thread mode exists only for ideas that would become cramped or unreadable as a single card.

Preview

Thread mode example:

Use Cases

Use Minimal Terminal Card for:

• X/Twitter-ready visual notes
• compact diagrams from ideas or conversations
• workflow/process cards
• comparison cards
• operating principles and checklists
• dense schedule/agenda cards
• multi-card threads or carousels when one card would become unreadable

Do not use it for photorealistic images, colorful posters, data visualizations with unverified numbers, or long-form documents.

Installation

Clone the repo:

git clone git@github.com:banozz0/minimal-terminal-card.git
cd minimal-terminal-card

Or with HTTPS:

git clone https://github.com/banozz0/minimal-terminal-card.git
cd minimal-terminal-card

Requirements:

• Python 3
• one SVG-to-PNG renderer:
  • macOS: qlmanage usually works out of the box
  • Linux/macOS: rsvg-convert or inkscape

No Python package install is required for the bundled helper script.

What It Includes

SKILL.md                         main workflow and usage rules
templates/                       editable SVG layout templates
examples/                        rendered single-card examples
threads/proof-over-confidence/   V1.3 reference thread
references/                      detailed layout and thread guidance
scripts/minimal_card.py          render, validate, and contact-sheet helper

Layouts

Current templates:

• comparison — A/B contrasts
• loop — recurring systems and feedback loops
• matrix — ownership/capability maps
• hub-spoke — central concept with surrounding modules
• agency-map — operating model / delegation maps
• linear-process — step-by-step flows
• dense-field-note — compact notes or schedule-like cards
• timeline — roadmap/checkpoint sequences
• stack — layered systems
• funnel — narrowing/filtering decisions
• bento-field-note — peer principles/rules
• research-summary — source summary cards: title, TLDR, signal points, status, action verdict
• topic-digest — "state of X" digests: consensus, open questions, stance across many sources

Quick Start

Render an existing example:

python3 scripts/minimal_card.py render examples/comparison-proof-vs-confidence.svg

Validate examples and templates:

python3 scripts/minimal_card.py validate examples/*.svg examples/*.png templates/*.svg

Regenerate the example contact sheet:

python3 scripts/minimal_card.py contact-sheet --dir examples --out examples/example-contact-sheet.svg
python3 scripts/minimal_card.py render examples/example-contact-sheet.svg

Creating a New Card

1. Pick the template that matches the information shape.
2. Copy it to a working file.
3. Replace placeholders such as {{TITLE}}, {{SUBTITLE}}, and layout-specific fields.
4. Render the SVG to PNG.
5. Validate and visually QA the PNG before sharing.

Example:

cp templates/comparison.svg my-card.svg
# edit my-card.svg
python3 scripts/minimal_card.py render my-card.svg
python3 scripts/minimal_card.py validate my-card.svg my-card.png

Multi-card Thread Mode

Use thread mode only when one card would be overloaded.

Good reasons to split:

• the idea has a natural sequence: hook → model → proof → takeaway
• one card would need paragraph text or tiny fonts
• there are more than six modules/nodes
• the user explicitly wants a thread/carousel

Reference thread:

python3 scripts/minimal_card.py render-dir threads/proof-over-confidence
python3 scripts/minimal_card.py contact-sheet \
  --dir threads/proof-over-confidence \
  --out threads/proof-over-confidence/thread-contact-sheet.svg \
  --title "proof over confidence thread" \
  --subtitle "4 cards · hook → model → ownership → checklist"
python3 scripts/minimal_card.py render threads/proof-over-confidence/thread-contact-sheet.svg
python3 scripts/minimal_card.py validate threads/proof-over-confidence/*.svg threads/proof-over-confidence/*.png

Renderer Support

The helper script tries renderers in this order:

1. macOS qlmanage
2. rsvg-convert
3. inkscape

The generated PNGs should remain 1600x1600 unless you intentionally change the format.

Style Rules

Default style:

• near-black background
• off-white and gray text
• monospace font
• thin rectangular boxes
• thin arrows/lines
• generous whitespace
• no gradients, glow, emoji, or decorative color accents

The SVG is the editable source. The PNG is the shareable artifact.

Using as a Skill

SKILL.md contains the full workflow and quality rules. In Hermes, place this folder under your skills directory and load minimal-terminal-card when needed.

The files are plain markdown, SVG, and Python, so the templates can also be used manually without any agent framework.

Version

Current version: 1.3.0

• V1.1: reusable templates and approved examples
• V1.2: generic gallery, extra layouts, helper CLI, guardrails
• V1.3: multi-card thread mode with single-card-first policy

License

MIT