git:20260727.51710ca to git:20260823.f8dbcee

3 added, 0 removed. Audit A to A.

---

model_tier: inherit

name: image-editing

description: "Edit an existing image — inpaint, background swap, variation — via providers that support it. Use when editing/modifying/inpainting an image or making variations."

domain: product

personas: []

workspaces:

- small-business

packs:

- ai-image

trust:

level: experimental

install:

removable: true

+ scope:

+ write: []

+ verification_reason: "execution declares no handler, so this skill runs nothing of its own — every write is the calling agent's, under the rules that govern it. No command can prove a scope the skill never executes."

execution:

type: manual

---

# image-editing

Edit or vary an existing image: inpaint masked regions, swap backgrounds, produce

variations from a seed, or upscale — routed to providers that support the edit API,

with governance applied before delivery. All adapters are scaffold-tier (dry-run) until promoted to `stable`.

## When to use

- User asks to edit, modify, inpaint, or make a variation of an existing image.

- Background removal or swap on a provided asset.

- Upscaling or restyling an existing render from a prior generation run.

- Any task that starts from an image rather than a blank brief.

## Procedure

1. **Identify the edit type** — classify the request: `inpaint` (replace a masked

region), `background` (remove or swap), `variation` (alternate version of the

same subject), or `upscale` (resolution increase).

2. **Confirm provider support** — not all providers support image editing. GPT Image 2

and `gemini-image` both expose an edit/inpaint endpoint. Flux and Recraft support

variation via seed/ref-image only; Ideogram is largely generate-only. Check

the provider's capability before proceeding.

3. **Route the provider** via [`image-provider-routing`](../image-provider-routing/SKILL.md) —

route to a provider whose adapter exposes an edit endpoint for the required edit

type. Selecting a generate-only provider for an inpaint task will fail silently.

4. **Author the edit instruction** via [`prompt-engineering-image`](../prompt-engineering-image/SKILL.md) —

write the edit prompt in the target provider's grammar. For inpaint, describe what

fills the masked region. For variation, carry the original seed/ref-image path forward.

5. **Invoke the adapter (dry-run today)** — run

`node_modules/@event4u/agent-config/src/scripts/ai-image/adapters/<provider>.sh` with the assembled params including

the source image path and, for inpaint, the mask path. Validate the returned

artifact path or dry-run confirmation. All adapters are `experimental`

(scaffold-tier); no live editing occurs until a maintainer promotes the adapter

via `provider-lifecycle-discipline`.

6. **Apply rights and disclosure governance** — run the rights check

(`image-likeness-and-rights`) when the source image or edit instruction involves

a real person's likeness, a brand mark, or a named living artist's style. Attach

the AI-disclosure footer per `media-governance-routing` before delivering output.

## Output format

1. **Edit plan** — edit type, chosen provider, routing rationale, and prompt string

ready to copy.

2. **Provider + params** — adapter file reference, source image path, mask path (if

inpaint), key params (aspect ratio, strength, seed/ref-image for variation).

3. **Artifact path / dry-run note** — the path returned by the adapter, or an

explicit note: "adapter is experimental (scaffold-tier) — dry-run plan only; no

edited asset until promotion per `provider-lifecycle-discipline`."

## Gotcha

- **Scaffold-tier adapters produce plans, not pixels** — adapters for GPT Image 2,

`gemini-image`, Flux, and Recraft are **scaffold-tier** (dry-run only). This skill

produces the edit blueprint + dry-run confirmation; actual edits require a

maintainer to capture a smoke trace and promote the adapter to `stable`. Claiming

an edited asset exists when no adapter is stable misleads the caller.

- **Not all providers support editing** — Ideogram and Recraft are primarily

generate-only; they do not expose a mask-based inpaint endpoint. Routing an

inpaint task to them silently falls back to generation from scratch, discarding the

source image entirely.

- **Variation needs the original seed or ref-image** — requesting a variation without

carrying the seed value or ref-image path from the original generation will produce

a stylistically unrelated result. The seed/ref-image is the only reliable

continuity lever for variation workflows.

## Do NOT

- Do NOT assume every provider supports image editing — check provider capability

before routing; a generate-only provider will discard the source image.

- Do NOT skip `image-likeness-and-rights` when the source image or edit prompt

involves a real person's face, a brand mark, or a named living artist's style.

- Do NOT claim a live edit is produced while adapters are scaffold-tier — surface

the dry-run caveat explicitly every time.

- Do NOT use this skill for generating a new image from scratch — route that to

[`image-generation`](../image-generation/SKILL.md) instead.

## See also

- [`image-generation`](../image-generation/SKILL.md) — generate a new image from a brief (not editing an existing one).

- [`image-provider-routing`](../image-provider-routing/SKILL.md) — select the right provider before writing the prompt.

- [`prompt-engineering-image`](../prompt-engineering-image/SKILL.md) — translate the edit brief into provider-specific prompt grammar.

- [`image-likeness-and-rights`](../../rules/image-likeness-and-rights.md) — rights check before editing real-person likenesses or brand marks.

- [`screenshot-hygiene`](../screenshot-hygiene/SKILL.md) — for redacting a documentation screenshot, use a deterministic opaque box/blur (never the lossy inpaint here).