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.

Never invent the specifics. The rules below ask for a concrete number, a date and a named entity, because that is what separates a real post from a generated one. Take them from what the user actually said in this conversation. Do not invent a figure, a date, a client name or a result, and do not soften a vague claim into a plausible-looking number. If the user has nothing concrete for a beat, ask them once, and if they still have nothing, drop the claim rather than decorate it. A published invented number is a retraction; a missing one is only a weaker post.

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. Scrub 2026 AI vocab by density (per slide, per caption paragraph), cap em dashes (at most one per slide, about one per 100 words in the caption; never swap one for a period), break stacked triads and reveal bridges. Slides are short by design: never chop or pad a slide for rhythm. Canonical rules: ig-humanizer V3.
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 above the cap (more than one on a slide), AI vocab clusters, stacked or hollow rule-of-three.
• "The result?" reveals and staccato stacks added for punch.

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