# Cover image generation (Higgsfield MCP)

The cover is an **illustrative editorial image** — appetizing and on-topic, but never
implying a real photograph of a specific named restaurant, dish-as-served, or identifiable
person.

## Flow (use the Higgsfield claude.ai MCP tools)
1. **Pick a model:** call `mcp__claude_ai_Higgsfield__models_explore` with
   `action:"recommend"` and a goal like "editorial food/lifestyle photography cover image",
   to get a suitable `model` id and its valid `aspect_ratios`. If that fails, default to the
   `preferredModel` from config (`soul_2`).
2. **Generate:** call `mcp__claude_ai_Higgsfield__generate_image` with
   `params: { model, prompt, aspect_ratio, count: 1 }`. Use a valid aspect ratio close to
   3:2 landscape. This returns a job id.
3. **Wait for the result:** call `mcp__claude_ai_Higgsfield__job_status` with
   `{ jobId, sync: true }`; repeat (respecting `poll_after_seconds`) until the job is
   terminal. Read the resulting image URL from `results`.
4. **Download:** use Bash `curl -fsSL "<image_url>" -o "<draftDir>/cover.jpg"` to save the
   image as `cover.jpg` in the draft directory. Verify the file exists and is non-empty.

If image generation fails after a reasonable retry, continue without it and record
`imageGenerated: false` in `sources.json`.

## Style guardrails (put these in the prompt)
- Editorial food/lifestyle photography aesthetic, natural light, shallow depth of field.
- Medellín / Colombian context where relevant (tropical, warm, Paisa setting) but generic.
- No real logos, no readable signage, no recognizable real people, no text overlays.
- High detail, web-quality, landscape orientation.

## Prompt skeleton
```
Editorial food photography, {subject relevant to the article topic}, {Medellin/Colombian
ambience if relevant}, natural window light, shallow depth of field, warm tones, appetizing,
clean composition, no text, no logos, no people's faces. Photorealistic, high detail.
```
Fill `{subject}` from the article topic (e.g. "a vibrant brunch spread on a cafe table",
"specialty coffee being poured", "a colorful arepa plate"). Keep it generic and illustrative.
