https://github.com/skvggor/acag
A native desktop app that generates article cover art in an Omakase / Japanese-constructivist style — five aspect ratios (square, link, wide, portrait, banner), six themes, five patterns, three layouts, a live preview, exported up to 4K PNG (plus the source SVG).
https://github.com/skvggor/acag
2k 4k acag articles blog design dev devto graphic-design hyprland instagram linkedin linux native native-linux og-image omarchy post rust rust-lang
Last synced: 26 days ago
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A native desktop app that generates article cover art in an Omakase / Japanese-constructivist style — five aspect ratios (square, link, wide, portrait, banner), six themes, five patterns, three layouts, a live preview, exported up to 4K PNG (plus the source SVG).
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/skvggor/acag
- Owner: skvggor
- License: other
- Created: 2026-06-16T14:00:20.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-06-17T15:35:44.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-06-17T16:50:59.413Z (about 1 month ago)
- Topics: 2k, 4k, acag, articles, blog, design, dev, devto, graphic-design, hyprland, instagram, linkedin, linux, native, native-linux, og-image, omarchy, post, rust, rust-lang
- Language: Rust
- Homepage:
- Size: 2.56 MB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
acag
article cover art generator
A native desktop app that generates article cover art in an
Omakase / Japanese-constructivist style: five aspect ratios
(square, link, wide, portrait, banner), six themes, five patterns, three layouts, a live
preview, exported up to 4K PNG (plus the source SVG).
## The idea
Built around **Omakase** (お任せ, "I leave it to you", the sushi chef's choice) and the
geometry of traditional Japanese patterns (**wagara**, 和柄), tempered with bold,
structural, constructivist typography. The result is calm but assertive: a huge
**Montserrat Black** title, a lot of **Ma** (negative space), and a quiet wave "seal".
The Japanese identity comes **only from geometry and color**; there are deliberately
**no Japanese glyphs in the artwork**. It shares its design language (themes, wagara,
the sumi-ê palette) with [skvggor.dev](https://skvggor.dev) and
[`waka-readme`](https://github.com/skvggor/waka-readme).
## Features
- **6 sumi-ê themes**: `terracotta` 赤土 · `sumi` 墨 · `matcha` 抹茶 · `washi` 和紙 · `ai` 藍 · `sakura` 桜
- **5 wagara patterns**: `seigaiha` (waves) · `shippo` (interlocking circles) · `kikko`
(tortoiseshell) · `yabane` (arrow feathers) · `asanoha` (hemp leaf)
- **3 layouts**: `editorial` (asymmetric), `bloco` (constructivist color block), `ma` (negative space)
- **5 formats**: `1:1` square, `1.91:1` link/Open Graph (LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Slack),
`16:9` wide (native LinkedIn article, YouTube), `4:5` portrait, `2:1` banner; the layouts
adapt to each ratio
- **Live preview**: every control updates the preview instantly
- **Adjustable film grain** and **pattern strength** sliders, shown live in the preview
- **Omakase button**: randomizes the visual style and lets the house plate it for you
- **Named presets**: save any number of looks as TOML and load/delete any of them (`~/.config/article-cover-art-generator/presets/` on Linux, `%APPDATA%\article-cover-art-generator\presets\` on Windows)
- **WCAG AAA**: all readable text is forced to ≥ 7:1 contrast against its background
- **Montserrat** Black / Bold / Regular, embedded in the binary (no system fonts needed)
- **Export**: **2K or 4K** (longest edge) PNG at each format's exact dimensions, plus the
resolution-independent source SVG; a non-blocking save (spinner while it rasterizes) and
optional open-after-export
- **Native**: Rust + [slint](https://slint.dev) + [resvg](https://github.com/linebender/resvg),
running directly on Wayland (no web view, no Node)
Only the **title** is required; category, date, number and brand are optional, keeping the
cover generic enough for any platform (blog, dev.to, LinkedIn, X, OG image, thumbnail…).
## Download
Prebuilt binaries are attached to each [GitHub release](https://github.com/skvggor/acag/releases). No Rust toolchain or system dependencies required.
- **Linux**: `acag-*-x86_64.AppImage` (self-contained: `chmod +x` and run), or `acag-*-linux-x86_64.tar.gz` (raw binary).
- **Windows**: `acag-*-windows-x86_64.zip` (standalone `acag.exe`, no Visual C++ runtime needed).
### Rendering backend
By default the app uses Slint's **software (CPU) renderer**, so it runs everywhere,
including headless VMs and RDP sessions without a usable OpenGL driver. For this
form-plus-preview UI the difference is imperceptible. To opt into GPU rendering:
```sh
SLINT_BACKEND=winit-femtovg acag
```
## Build from source
Requires a recent stable Rust toolchain. On Linux, Slint also needs a few system
libraries for the windowing/build:
```sh
# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config \
libxkbcommon-dev libwayland-dev wayland-protocols \
libxcb1-dev libxcb-render0-dev libxcb-shape0-dev libxcb-xfixes0-dev \
libfontconfig1-dev libgl1-mesa-dev
```
```sh
# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel \
libxkbcommon wayland wayland-protocols \
libxcb fontconfig mesa
```
```sh
cargo run --release
```
Covers are saved to `~/Pictures/article-covers/` on Linux and
`%USERPROFILE%\Pictures\article-covers\` on Windows (named from the title). Set
`ACAG_OUTPUT_DIR` to write them somewhere else.
### Install on Omarchy / Hyprland
```sh
cargo build --release
install -Dm755 target/release/acag ~/.local/bin/acag
install -Dm644 assets/icons/icon-512.png \
~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/512x512/apps/article-cover-art-generator.png
install -Dm644 assets/article-cover-art-generator.desktop \
~/.local/share/applications/article-cover-art-generator.desktop
```
It will then show up in the app launcher (walker/rofi). Run it from a terminal with `acag`.
## Usage
1. Type a **title** (the only required field).
2. Fill in optional **category / date / number / brand**.
3. Pick a **theme**, **pattern**, **layout** and **format** (1:1 … 2:1); tune the **pattern strength** and **film grain** sliders.
4. Hit **Omakase** to shuffle the style, or set it by hand; name and **Save** a preset, then **Load** or **Delete** any saved one.
5. Choose **2K or 4K**, then **Export PNG** or **Export SVG** (enable *Open after export* to view it).
## How it works
A single pure function, `render_cover_svg(&CoverConfig) -> String`, is the source of truth.
The live preview and both exports rasterize **the same SVG** with resvg/tiny-skia, so the
preview is exactly the file you get. Titles are auto-wrapped and auto-sized using the real
Montserrat glyph metrics (`ttf-parser`).
```
src/
design/ themes · wagara patterns · WCAG contrast
cover/ config · format (aspect ratios) · typesetting · render · layouts
raster.rs SVG → Pixmap/PNG by longest edge (resvg + embedded Montserrat)
export.rs save SVG / PNG (2K or 4K)
preset.rs save/load named presets as TOML
main.rs slint GUI wiring (background export + spinner)
ui/app.slint the editor + live preview
```
## Development
```sh
cargo test # unit tests
cargo run --example gallery # regenerate docs/samples
cargo run --example icon # regenerate the app icon
```
## Credits
- **Montserrat** by Julieta Ulanovsky et al., under the [SIL Open Font License](https://github.com/JulietaUla/Montserrat).
- **resvg / tiny-skia** and **slint** for native rendering and UI.
- Design language shared with [skvggor.dev](https://skvggor.dev) and `waka-readme`.
## License
[MIT](LICENSE).