mindforge-cc 11.5.1 → 11.7.0

package/.mindforge/skills/oss-forensics/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,421 @@
+---
+name: oss-forensics
+description: "Supply chain investigation, evidence recovery, and forensic analysis for GitHub repositories — deleted commit recovery, force-push detection, IOC extraction, and structured forensic reporting."
+version: 1.0.0
+status: stable
+min_mindforge_version: 11.5.1
+triggers: OSS forensics, open source forensics, dependency security, supply chain audit, package audit, open source security, supply chain investigation, github forensics, repository forensics, oss security, audit dependencies, supply chain compromise
+---
+
+# OSS Security Forensics Skill
+
+A 7-phase multi-agent investigation framework for researching open-source supply chain attacks.
+Adapted from RAPTOR's forensics system. Covers GitHub Archive, Wayback Machine, GitHub API,
+local git analysis, IOC extraction, evidence-backed hypothesis formation and validation,
+and final forensic report generation.
+
+---
+
+## ⚠️ Anti-Hallucination Guardrails
+
+Read these before every investigation step. Violating them invalidates the report.
+
+1. **Evidence-First Rule**: Every claim in any report, hypothesis, or summary MUST cite at least one evidence ID (`EV-XXXX`). Assertions without citations are forbidden.
+2. **STAY IN YOUR LANE**: Each sub-agent (investigator) has a single data source. Do NOT mix sources. The GH Archive investigator does not query the GitHub API, and vice versa. Role boundaries are hard.
+3. **Fact vs. Hypothesis Separation**: Mark all unverified inferences with `[HYPOTHESIS]`. Only statements verified against original sources may be stated as facts.
+4. **No Evidence Fabrication**: The hypothesis validator MUST mechanically check that every cited evidence ID actually exists in the evidence store before accepting a hypothesis.
+5. **Proof-Required Disproval**: A hypothesis cannot be dismissed without a specific, evidence-backed counter-argument. "No evidence found" is not sufficient to disprove—it only makes a hypothesis inconclusive.
+6. **SHA/URL Double-Verification**: Any commit SHA, URL, or external identifier cited as evidence must be independently confirmed from at least two sources before being marked as verified.
+7. **Suspicious Code Rule**: Never run code found inside the investigated repository locally. Analyze statically only, or use `execute_code` in a sandboxed environment.
+8. **Secret Redaction**: Any API keys, tokens, or credentials discovered during investigation must be redacted in the final report. Log them internally only.
+
+---
+
+## Example Scenarios
+
+- **Scenario A: Dependency Confusion**: A malicious package `internal-lib-v2` is uploaded to NPM with a higher version than the internal one. The investigator must track when this package was first seen and if any PushEvents in the target repo updated `package.json` to this version.
+- **Scenario B: Maintainer Takeover**: A long-term contributor's account is used to push a backdoored `.github/workflows/build.yml`. The investigator looks for PushEvents from this user after a long period of inactivity or from a new IP/location (if detectable via BigQuery).
+- **Scenario C: Force-Push Hide**: A developer accidentally commits a production secret, then force-pushes to "fix" it. The investigator uses `git fsck` and GH Archive to recover the original commit SHA and verify what was leaked.
+
+---
+
+> **Path convention**: Throughout this skill, `SKILL_DIR` refers to the root of this skill's
+> installation directory (the folder containing this `SKILL.md`). When the skill is loaded,
+> resolve `SKILL_DIR` to the actual path — e.g. `~/.hermes/skills/security/oss-forensics/`
+> or the `optional-skills/` equivalent. All script and template references are relative to it.
+
+## Phase 0: Initialization
+
+1. Create investigation working directory:
+   ```bash
+   mkdir investigation_$(echo "REPO_NAME" | tr '/' '_')
+   cd investigation_$(echo "REPO_NAME" | tr '/' '_')
+   ```
+2. Initialize the evidence store:
+   ```bash
+   python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/evidence-store.py --store evidence.json list
+   ```
+3. Copy the forensic report template:
+   ```bash
+   cp SKILL_DIR/templates/forensic-report.md ./investigation-report.md
+   ```
+4. Create an `iocs.md` file to track Indicators of Compromise as they are discovered.
+5. Record the investigation start time, target repository, and stated investigation goal.
+
+---
+
+## Phase 1: Prompt Parsing and IOC Extraction
+
+**Goal**: Extract all structured investigative targets from the user's request.
+
+**Actions**:
+- Parse the user prompt and extract:
+  - Target repository (`owner/repo`)
+  - Target actors (GitHub handles, email addresses)
+  - Time window of interest (commit date ranges, PR timestamps)
+  - Provided Indicators of Compromise: commit SHAs, file paths, package names, IP addresses, domains, API keys/tokens, malicious URLs
+  - Any linked vendor security reports or blog posts
+
+**Tools**: Reasoning only, or `execute_code` for regex extraction from large text blocks.
+
+**Output**: Populate `iocs.md` with extracted IOCs. Each IOC must have:
+- Type (from: COMMIT_SHA, FILE_PATH, API_KEY, SECRET, IP_ADDRESS, DOMAIN, PACKAGE_NAME, ACTOR_USERNAME, MALICIOUS_URL, OTHER)
+- Value
+- Source (user-provided, inferred)
+
+**Reference**: See [evidence-types.md](./references/evidence-types.md) for IOC taxonomy.
+
+---
+
+## Phase 2: Parallel Evidence Collection
+
+Spawn up to 5 specialist investigator sub-agents using `delegate_task` (batch mode, max 3 concurrent). Each investigator has a **single data source** and must not mix sources.
+
+> **Orchestrator note**: Pass the IOC list from Phase 1 and the investigation time window in the `context` field of each delegated task.
+
+---
+
+### Investigator 1: Local Git Investigator
+
+**ROLE BOUNDARY**: You query the LOCAL GIT REPOSITORY ONLY. Do not call any external APIs.
+
+**Actions**:
+```bash
+# Clone repository
+git clone https://github.com/OWNER/REPO.git target_repo && cd target_repo
+
+# Full commit log with stats
+git log --all --full-history --stat --format="%H|%ae|%an|%ai|%s" > ../git_log.txt
+
+# Detect force-push evidence (orphaned/dangling commits)
+git fsck --lost-found --unreachable 2>&1 | grep commit > ../dangling_commits.txt
+
+# Check reflog for rewritten history
+git reflog --all > ../reflog.txt
+
+# List ALL branches including deleted remote refs
+git branch -a -v > ../branches.txt
+
+# Find suspicious large binary additions
+git log --all --diff-filter=A --name-only --format="%H %ai" -- "*.so" "*.dll" "*.exe" "*.bin" > ../binary_additions.txt
+
+# Check for GPG signature anomalies
+git log --show-signature --format="%H %ai %aN" > ../signature_check.txt 2>&1
+```
+
+**Evidence to collect** (add via `python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/evidence-store.py add`):
+- Each dangling commit SHA → type: `git`
+- Force-push evidence (reflog showing history rewrite) → type: `git`
+- Unsigned commits from verified contributors → type: `git`
+- Suspicious binary file additions → type: `git`
+
+**Reference**: See [recovery-techniques.md](./references/recovery-techniques.md) for accessing force-pushed commits.
+
+---
+
+### Investigator 2: GitHub API Investigator
+
+**ROLE BOUNDARY**: You query the GITHUB REST API ONLY. Do not run git commands locally.
+
+**Actions**:
+```bash
+# Commits (paginated)
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/commits?per_page=100" > api_commits.json
+
+# Pull Requests including closed/deleted
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls?state=all&per_page=100" > api_prs.json
+
+# Issues
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/issues?state=all&per_page=100" > api_issues.json
+
+# Contributors and collaborator changes
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/contributors" > api_contributors.json
+
+# Repository events (last 300)
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/events?per_page=100" > api_events.json
+
+# Check specific suspicious commit SHA details
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/commits/SHA" > commit_detail.json
+
+# Releases
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/releases?per_page=100" > api_releases.json
+
+# Check if a specific commit exists (force-pushed commits may 404 on commits/ but succeed on git/commits/)
+curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/commits/SHA" | jq .sha
+```
+
+**Cross-reference targets** (flag discrepancies as evidence):
+- PR exists in archive but missing from API → evidence of deletion
+- Contributor in archive events but not in contributors list → evidence of permission revocation
+- Commit in archive PushEvents but not in API commit list → evidence of force-push/deletion
+
+**Reference**: See [evidence-types.md](./references/evidence-types.md) for GH event types.
+
+---
+
+### Investigator 3: Wayback Machine Investigator
+
+**ROLE BOUNDARY**: You query the WAYBACK MACHINE CDX API ONLY. Do not use the GitHub API.
+
+**Goal**: Recover deleted GitHub pages (READMEs, issues, PRs, releases, wiki pages).
+
+**Actions**:
+```bash
+# Search for archived snapshots of the repo main page
+curl -s "https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=github.com/OWNER/REPO&output=json&limit=100&from=YYYYMMDD&to=YYYYMMDD" > wayback_main.json
+
+# Search for a specific deleted issue
+curl -s "https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=github.com/OWNER/REPO/issues/NUM&output=json&limit=50" > wayback_issue_NUM.json
+
+# Search for a specific deleted PR
+curl -s "https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=github.com/OWNER/REPO/pull/NUM&output=json&limit=50" > wayback_pr_NUM.json
+
+# Fetch the best snapshot of a page
+# Use the Wayback Machine URL: https://web.archive.org/web/TIMESTAMP/ORIGINAL_URL
+# Example: https://web.archive.org/web/20240101000000*/github.com/OWNER/REPO
+
+# Advanced: Search for deleted releases/tags
+curl -s "https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=github.com/OWNER/REPO/releases/tag/*&output=json" > wayback_tags.json
+
+# Advanced: Search for historical wiki changes
+curl -s "https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=github.com/OWNER/REPO/wiki/*&output=json" > wayback_wiki.json
+```
+
+**Evidence to collect**:
+- Archived snapshots of deleted issues/PRs with their content
+- Historical README versions showing changes
+- Evidence of content present in archive but missing from current GitHub state
+
+**Reference**: See [github-archive-guide.md](./references/github-archive-guide.md) for CDX API parameters.
+
+---
+
+### Investigator 4: GH Archive / BigQuery Investigator
+
+**ROLE BOUNDARY**: You query GITHUB ARCHIVE via BIGQUERY ONLY. This is a tamper-proof record of all public GitHub events.
+
+> **Prerequisites**: Requires Google Cloud credentials with BigQuery access (`gcloud auth application-default login`). If unavailable, skip this investigator and note it in the report.
+
+**Cost Optimization Rules** (MANDATORY):
+1. ALWAYS run a `--dry_run` before every query to estimate cost.
+2. Use `_TABLE_SUFFIX` to filter by date range and minimize scanned data.
+3. Only SELECT the columns you need.
+4. Add a LIMIT unless aggregating.
+
+```bash
+# Template: safe BigQuery query for PushEvents to OWNER/REPO
+bq query --use_legacy_sql=false --dry_run "
+SELECT created_at, actor.login, payload.commits, payload.before, payload.head,
+       payload.size, payload.distinct_size
+FROM \`githubarchive.month.*\`
+WHERE _TABLE_SUFFIX BETWEEN 'YYYYMM' AND 'YYYYMM'
+  AND type = 'PushEvent'
+  AND repo.name = 'OWNER/REPO'
+LIMIT 1000
+"
+# If cost is acceptable, re-run without --dry_run
+
+# Detect force-pushes: zero-distinct_size PushEvents mean commits were force-erased
+# payload.distinct_size = 0 AND payload.size > 0 → force push indicator
+
+# Check for deleted branch events
+bq query --use_legacy_sql=false "
+SELECT created_at, actor.login, payload.ref, payload.ref_type
+FROM \`githubarchive.month.*\`
+WHERE _TABLE_SUFFIX BETWEEN 'YYYYMM' AND 'YYYYMM'
+  AND type = 'DeleteEvent'
+  AND repo.name = 'OWNER/REPO'
+LIMIT 200
+"
+```
+
+**Evidence to collect**:
+- Force-push events (payload.size > 0, payload.distinct_size = 0)
+- DeleteEvents for branches/tags
+- WorkflowRunEvents for suspicious CI/CD automation
+- PushEvents that precede a "gap" in the git log (evidence of rewrite)
+
+**Reference**: See [github-archive-guide.md](./references/github-archive-guide.md) for all 12 event types and query patterns.
+
+---
+
+### Investigator 5: IOC Enrichment Investigator
+
+**ROLE BOUNDARY**: You enrich EXISTING IOCs from Phase 1 using passive public sources ONLY. Do not execute any code from the target repository.
+
+**Actions**:
+- For each commit SHA: attempt recovery via direct GitHub URL (`github.com/OWNER/REPO/commit/SHA.patch`)
+- For each domain/IP: check passive DNS, WHOIS records (via `web_extract` on public WHOIS services)
+- For each package name: check npm/PyPI for matching malicious package reports
+- For each actor username: check GitHub profile, contribution history, account age
+- Recover force-pushed commits using 3 methods (see [recovery-techniques.md](./references/recovery-techniques.md))
+
+---
+
+## Phase 3: Evidence Consolidation
+
+After all investigators complete:
+
+1. Run `python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/evidence-store.py --store evidence.json list` to see all collected evidence.
+2. For each piece of evidence, verify the `content_sha256` hash matches the original source.
+3. Group evidence by:
+   - **Timeline**: Sort all timestamped evidence chronologically
+   - **Actor**: Group by GitHub handle or email
+   - **IOC**: Link evidence to the IOC it relates to
+4. Identify **discrepancies**: items present in one source but absent in another (key deletion indicators).
+5. Flag evidence as `[VERIFIED]` (confirmed from 2+ independent sources) or `[UNVERIFIED]` (single source only).
+
+---
+
+## Phase 4: Hypothesis Formation
+
+A hypothesis must:
+- State a specific claim (e.g., "Actor X force-pushed to BRANCH on DATE to erase commit SHA")
+- Cite at least 2 evidence IDs that support it (`EV-XXXX`, `EV-YYYY`)
+- Identify what evidence would disprove it
+- Be labeled `[HYPOTHESIS]` until validated
+
+**Common hypothesis templates** (see [investigation-templates.md](./references/investigation-templates.md)):
+- Maintainer Compromise: legitimate account used post-takeover to inject malicious code
+- Dependency Confusion: package name squatting to intercept installs
+- CI/CD Injection: malicious workflow changes to run code during builds
+- Typosquatting: near-identical package name targeting misspellers
+- Credential Leak: token/key accidentally committed then force-pushed to erase
+
+For each hypothesis, spawn a `delegate_task` sub-agent to attempt to find disconfirming evidence before confirming.
+
+---
+
+## Phase 5: Hypothesis Validation
+
+The validator sub-agent MUST mechanically check:
+
+1. For each hypothesis, extract all cited evidence IDs.
+2. Verify each ID exists in `evidence.json` (hard failure if any ID is missing → hypothesis rejected as potentially fabricated).
+3. Verify each `[VERIFIED]` piece of evidence was confirmed from 2+ sources.
+4. Check logical consistency: does the timeline depicted by the evidence support the hypothesis?
+5. Check for alternative explanations: could the same evidence pattern arise from a benign cause?
+
+**Output**:
+- `VALIDATED`: All evidence cited, verified, logically consistent, no plausible alternative explanation.
+- `INCONCLUSIVE`: Evidence supports hypothesis but alternative explanations exist or evidence is insufficient.
+- `REJECTED`: Missing evidence IDs, unverified evidence cited as fact, logical inconsistency detected.
+
+Rejected hypotheses feed back into Phase 4 for refinement (max 3 iterations).
+
+---
+
+## Phase 6: Final Report Generation
+
+Populate `investigation-report.md` using the template in [forensic-report.md](./templates/forensic-report.md).
+
+**Mandatory sections**:
+- Executive Summary: one-paragraph verdict (Compromised / Clean / Inconclusive) with confidence level
+- Timeline: chronological reconstruction of all significant events with evidence citations
+- Validated Hypotheses: each with status and supporting evidence IDs
+- Evidence Registry: table of all `EV-XXXX` entries with source, type, and verification status
+- IOC List: all extracted and enriched Indicators of Compromise
+- Chain of Custody: how evidence was collected, from what sources, at what timestamps
+- Recommendations: immediate mitigations if compromise detected; monitoring recommendations
+
+**Report rules**:
+- Every factual claim must have at least one `[EV-XXXX]` citation
+- Executive Summary must state confidence level (High / Medium / Low)
+- All secrets/credentials must be redacted to `[REDACTED]`
+
+---
+
+## Phase 7: Completion
+
+1. Run final evidence count: `python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/evidence-store.py --store evidence.json list`
+2. Archive the full investigation directory.
+3. If compromise is confirmed:
+   - List immediate mitigations (rotate credentials, pin dependency hashes, notify affected users)
+   - Identify affected versions/packages
+   - Note disclosure obligations (if a public package: coordinate with the package registry)
+4. Present the final `investigation-report.md` to the user.
+
+---
+
+## Ethical Use Guidelines
+
+This skill is designed for **defensive security investigation** — protecting open-source software from supply chain attacks. It must not be used for:
+
+- **Harassment or stalking** of contributors or maintainers
+- **Doxing** — correlating GitHub activity to real identities for malicious purposes
+- **Competitive intelligence** — investigating proprietary or internal repositories without authorization
+- **False accusations** — publishing investigation results without validated evidence (see anti-hallucination guardrails)
+
+Investigations should be conducted with the principle of **minimal intrusion**: collect only the evidence necessary to validate or refute the hypothesis. When publishing results, follow responsible disclosure practices and coordinate with affected maintainers before public disclosure.
+
+If the investigation reveals a genuine compromise, follow the coordinated vulnerability disclosure process:
+1. Notify the repository maintainers privately first
+2. Allow reasonable time for remediation (typically 90 days)
+3. Coordinate with package registries (npm, PyPI, etc.) if published packages are affected
+4. File a CVE if appropriate
+
+---
+
+## API Rate Limiting
+
+GitHub REST API enforces rate limits that will interrupt large investigations if not managed.
+
+**Authenticated requests**: 5,000/hour (requires `GITHUB_TOKEN` env var or `gh` CLI auth)
+**Unauthenticated requests**: 60/hour (unusable for investigations)
+
+**Best practices**:
+- Always authenticate: `export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_...` or use `gh` CLI (auto-authenticates)
+- Use conditional requests (`If-None-Match` / `If-Modified-Since` headers) to avoid consuming quota on unchanged data
+- For paginated endpoints, fetch all pages in sequence — don't parallelize against the same endpoint
+- Check `X-RateLimit-Remaining` header; if below 100, pause for `X-RateLimit-Reset` timestamp
+- BigQuery has its own quotas (10 TiB/day free tier) — always dry-run first
+- Wayback Machine CDX API: no formal rate limit, but be courteous (1-2 req/sec max)
+
+If rate-limited mid-investigation, record the partial results in the evidence store and note the limitation in the report.
+
+---
+
+## Reference Materials
+
+- [github-archive-guide.md](./references/github-archive-guide.md) — BigQuery queries, CDX API, 12 event types
+- [evidence-types.md](./references/evidence-types.md) — IOC taxonomy, evidence source types, observation types
+- [recovery-techniques.md](./references/recovery-techniques.md) — Recovering deleted commits, PRs, issues
+- [investigation-templates.md](./references/investigation-templates.md) — Pre-built hypothesis templates per attack type
+- [evidence-store.py](./scripts/evidence-store.py) — CLI tool for managing the evidence JSON store
+- [forensic-report.md](./templates/forensic-report.md) — Structured report template
+
+## Mandatory actions when this skill is active
+
+Before applying this skill:
+- [ ] Read the task requirements fully before acting
+- [ ] Confirm you understand the goal and constraints
+- [ ] Check for existing work or prior context in the codebase
+
+While working:
+- [ ] Follow the methodology described above step by step
+- [ ] Document any decisions or findings as you go
+
+After completing:
+- [ ] Self-check: does the output satisfy the original requirement?
+- [ ] Verify no regressions or unintended side effects
+

package/.mindforge/skills/pixel-art/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,228 @@
+---
+name: pixel-art
+description: "Pixel art w/ era palettes (NES, Game Boy, PICO-8)."
+version: 2.0.0
+status: stable
+min_mindforge_version: 11.5.1
+triggers: pixel art, create pixel art, sprite design, pixel graphics, make pixel art, pixel character, pixel sprite, retro pixel art, pixel game art, 8-bit art, pixel illustration, pixel image
+---
+
+# Pixel Art
+
+Convert any image into retro pixel art, then optionally animate it into a short
+MP4 or GIF with era-appropriate effects (rain, fireflies, snow, embers).
+
+Two scripts ship with this skill:
+
+- `scripts/pixel_art.py` — photo → pixel-art PNG (Floyd-Steinberg dithering)
+- `scripts/pixel_art_video.py` — pixel-art PNG → animated MP4 (+ optional GIF)
+
+Each is importable or runnable directly. Presets snap to hardware palettes
+when you want era-accurate colors (NES, Game Boy, PICO-8, etc.), or use
+adaptive N-color quantization for arcade/SNES-style looks.
+
+## When to Use
+
+- User wants retro pixel art from a source image
+- User asks for NES / Game Boy / PICO-8 / C64 / arcade / SNES styling
+- User wants a short looping animation (rain scene, night sky, snow, etc.)
+- Posters, album covers, social posts, sprites, characters, avatars
+
+## Workflow
+
+Before generating, confirm the style with the user. Different presets produce
+very different outputs and regenerating is costly.
+
+### Step 1 — Offer a style
+
+Call `clarify` with 4 representative presets. Pick the set based on what the
+user asked for — don't just dump all 14.
+
+Default menu when the user's intent is unclear:
+
+```python
+clarify(
+    question="Which pixel-art style do you want?",
+    choices=[
+        "arcade — bold, chunky 80s cabinet feel (16 colors, 8px)",
+        "nes — Nintendo 8-bit hardware palette (54 colors, 8px)",
+        "gameboy — 4-shade green Game Boy DMG",
+        "snes — cleaner 16-bit look (32 colors, 4px)",
+    ],
+)
+```
+
+When the user already named an era (e.g. "80s arcade", "Gameboy"), skip
+`clarify` and use the matching preset directly.
+
+### Step 2 — Offer animation (optional)
+
+If the user asked for a video/GIF, or the output might benefit from motion,
+ask which scene:
+
+```python
+clarify(
+    question="Want to animate it? Pick a scene or skip.",
+    choices=[
+        "night — stars + fireflies + leaves",
+        "urban — rain + neon pulse",
+        "snow — falling snowflakes",
+        "skip — just the image",
+    ],
+)
+```
+
+Do NOT call `clarify` more than twice in a row. One for style, one for scene if
+animation is on the table. If the user explicitly asked for a specific style
+and scene in their message, skip `clarify` entirely.
+
+### Step 3 — Generate
+
+Run `pixel_art()` first; if animation was requested, chain into
+`pixel_art_video()` on the result.
+
+## Preset Catalog
+
+| Preset | Era | Palette | Block | Best for |
+|--------|-----|---------|-------|----------|
+| `arcade` | 80s arcade | adaptive 16 | 8px | Bold posters, hero art |
+| `snes` | 16-bit | adaptive 32 | 4px | Characters, detailed scenes |
+| `nes` | 8-bit | NES (54) | 8px | True NES look |
+| `gameboy` | DMG handheld | 4 green shades | 8px | Monochrome Game Boy |
+| `gameboy_pocket` | Pocket handheld | 4 grey shades | 8px | Mono GB Pocket |
+| `pico8` | PICO-8 | 16 fixed | 6px | Fantasy-console look |
+| `c64` | Commodore 64 | 16 fixed | 8px | 8-bit home computer |
+| `apple2` | Apple II hi-res | 6 fixed | 10px | Extreme retro, 6 colors |
+| `teletext` | BBC Teletext | 8 pure | 10px | Chunky primary colors |
+| `mspaint` | Windows MS Paint | 24 fixed | 8px | Nostalgic desktop |
+| `mono_green` | CRT phosphor | 2 green | 6px | Terminal/CRT aesthetic |
+| `mono_amber` | CRT amber | 2 amber | 6px | Amber monitor look |
+| `neon` | Cyberpunk | 10 neons | 6px | Vaporwave/cyber |
+| `pastel` | Soft pastel | 10 pastels | 6px | Kawaii / gentle |
+
+Named palettes live in `scripts/palettes.py` (see `references/palettes.md` for
+the complete list — 28 named palettes total). Any preset can be overridden:
+
+```python
+pixel_art("in.png", "out.png", preset="snes", palette="PICO_8", block=6)
+```
+
+## Scene Catalog (for video)
+
+| Scene | Effects |
+|-------|---------|
+| `night` | Twinkling stars + fireflies + drifting leaves |
+| `dusk` | Fireflies + sparkles |
+| `tavern` | Dust motes + warm sparkles |
+| `indoor` | Dust motes |
+| `urban` | Rain + neon pulse |
+| `nature` | Leaves + fireflies |
+| `magic` | Sparkles + fireflies |
+| `storm` | Rain + lightning |
+| `underwater` | Bubbles + light sparkles |
+| `fire` | Embers + sparkles |
+| `snow` | Snowflakes + sparkles |
+| `desert` | Heat shimmer + dust |
+
+## Invocation Patterns
+
+### Python (import)
+
+```python
+import sys
+sys.path.insert(0, "/home/teknium/.hermes/skills/creative/pixel-art/scripts")
+from pixel_art import pixel_art
+from pixel_art_video import pixel_art_video
+
+# 1. Convert to pixel art
+pixel_art("/path/to/photo.jpg", "/tmp/pixel.png", preset="nes")
+
+# 2. Animate (optional)
+pixel_art_video(
+    "/tmp/pixel.png",
+    "/tmp/pixel.mp4",
+    scene="night",
+    duration=6,
+    fps=15,
+    seed=42,
+    export_gif=True,
+)
+```
+
+### CLI
+
+```bash
+cd /home/teknium/.hermes/skills/creative/pixel-art/scripts
+
+python pixel_art.py in.jpg out.png --preset gameboy
+python pixel_art.py in.jpg out.png --preset snes --palette PICO_8 --block 6
+
+python pixel_art_video.py out.png out.mp4 --scene night --duration 6 --gif
+```
+
+## Pipeline Rationale
+
+**Pixel conversion:**
+1. Boost contrast/color/sharpness (stronger for smaller palettes)
+2. Posterize to simplify tonal regions before quantization
+3. Downscale by `block` with `Image.NEAREST` (hard pixels, no interpolation)
+4. Quantize with Floyd-Steinberg dithering — against either an adaptive
+   N-color palette OR a named hardware palette
+5. Upscale back with `Image.NEAREST`
+
+Quantizing AFTER downscale keeps dithering aligned with the final pixel grid.
+Quantizing before would waste error-diffusion on detail that disappears.
+
+**Video overlay:**
+- Copies the base frame each tick (static background)
+- Overlays stateless-per-frame particle draws (one function per effect)
+- Encodes via ffmpeg `libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p -crf 18`
+- Optional GIF via `palettegen` + `paletteuse`
+
+## Dependencies
+
+- Python 3.9+
+- Pillow (`pip install Pillow`)
+- ffmpeg on PATH (only needed for video — install this package)
+
+## Pitfalls
+
+- Pallet keys are case-sensitive (`"NES"`, `"PICO_8"`, `"GAMEBOY_ORIGINAL"`).
+- Very small sources (<100px wide) collapse under 8-10px blocks. Upscale the
+  source first if it's tiny.
+- Fractional `block` or `palette` will break quantization — keep them positive ints.
+- Animation particle counts are tuned for ~640x480 canvases. On very large
+  images you may want a second pass with a different seed for density.
+- `mono_green` / `mono_amber` force `color=0.0` (desaturate). If you override
+  and keep chroma, the 2-color palette can produce stripes on smooth regions.
+- `clarify` loop: call it at most twice per turn (style, then scene). Don't
+  pepper the user with more picks.
+
+## Verification
+
+- PNG is created at the output path
+- Clear square pixel blocks visible at the preset's block size
+- Color count matches preset (eyeball the image or run `Image.open(p).getcolors()`)
+- Video is a valid MP4 (`ffprobe` can open it) with non-zero size
+
+## Attribution
+
+Named hardware palettes and the procedural animation loops in `pixel_art_video.py`
+are ported from [pixel-art-studio](https://github.com/Synero/pixel-art-studio)
+(MIT). See `ATTRIBUTION.md` in this skill directory for details.
+
+## Mandatory actions when this skill is active
+
+Before applying this skill:
+- [ ] Read the task requirements fully before acting
+- [ ] Confirm you understand the goal and constraints
+- [ ] Check for existing work or prior context in the codebase
+
+While working:
+- [ ] Follow the methodology described above step by step
+- [ ] Document any decisions or findings as you go
+
+After completing:
+- [ ] Self-check: does the output satisfy the original requirement?
+- [ ] Verify no regressions or unintended side effects
+