Image & Graphic Design Matrix (S5 — v2 capability-based)

Scenario S5. Deepest creation coverage after S2 — raster (GIMP + Krita), vector (Inkscape), AI (ComfyUI + Jimeng + 7 APIs), diagram (drawio + mermaid). Figma is the headline gap (also affects S7).

Schema: docs/cli-matrix/matrix_registry.schema.md. Matrix plan: docs/cli-matrix/cli-matrix-plan.md.

Install

cli-hub matrix install image-design
cli-hub matrix info    image-design
cli-hub matrix preflight image-design --json

---

Provider selection constraints

1. Use preflight as an availability report, not as a provider selector.
2. Treat provider order as documentation order only.
3. Choose from user requirements, output quality bar, offline needs, credential state, install cost, and provider notes.
4. Escalate to paid or metered APIs only when credentials are already present or the user explicitly consents. AI image is paid-API-diverse, so ask which provider the user wants when several credentialed choices are available.

Offline context? GIMP, Krita, Inkscape, and local diffusers cover almost everything offline.

---

Preflight

Run cli-hub matrix preflight image-design --json first. Use the manual block below for extra probes or older cli-hub versions.

cli-hub list --json
python - <<'PY'
import importlib.util
for m in ("PIL","cv2","skimage","rembg","svgwrite","cairosvg","svgpathtools","vpype",
          "diffusers","replicate","rawpy"):
    print(m, importlib.util.find_spec(m) is not None)
PY
for b in inkscape gimp krita drawio magick convert exiftool upscayl darktable-cli \
         rawtherapee-cli graphviz dot mermaid plantuml hugo mkdocs; do
  command -v "$b" >/dev/null && echo "$b: yes" || echo "$b: no"
done
for e in OPENAI_API_KEY STABILITY_API_KEY IDEOGRAM_API_KEY RECRAFT_API_KEY \
         GOOGLE_API_KEY MIDJOURNEY_TOKEN FIGMA_TOKEN CANVA_API_KEY PENPOT_TOKEN \
         REPLICATE_API_TOKEN TOPAZ_API_KEY REMOVE_BG_API_KEY FIREFLY_TOKEN; do
  [ -n "${!e}" ] && echo "$e: set" || echo "$e: unset"
done

---

Suggest-to-user template

To enable <capability> via <provider>, please set <ENV_VAR>.
  Cost: <cost notes>
  Quality: <quality tier>
Reply 'skip' to fall back to <next provider>.

Examples:

• To enable sota AI image generation via OpenAI GPT-Image-1, please set OPENAI_API_KEY. Cost: metered per-image. Quality: sota for photoreal + text rendering. Reply 'skip' to fall back to local comfyui (FLUX/SDXL).
• To round-trip UI mockups with Figma, please set FIGMA_TOKEN. Cost: free tier works for most users. Quality: sota (design system aware). Reply 'skip' to fall back to sketch or drawio wireframes.

---

Capabilities

visual.generate — AI image generation

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
cli-anything-comfyui	harness-cli	ComfyUI + weights	free	high	yes
jimeng	public-cli	dreamina bin	metered	high	no
diffusers (SD/SDXL/FLUX)	python	pkg + weights + GPU	free	good-high	yes
replicate	python	REPLICATE_API_TOKEN	metered	high	no
OpenAI GPT-Image-1	api	OPENAI_API_KEY	metered	sota	no
Ideogram	api	IDEOGRAM_API_KEY	metered	sota	no
Stability AI	api	STABILITY_API_KEY	metered	high	no
Recraft	api	RECRAFT_API_KEY	paid	sota	no
Google Imagen / Nano Banana	api	GOOGLE_API_KEY	metered	high	no
Midjourney (Discord bridge)	api	MIDJOURNEY_TOKEN	paid	sota	no
Adobe Firefly	api	FIREFLY_TOKEN	paid	high	no

visual.edit.raster — raster editing

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
cli-anything-gimp	harness-cli	GIMP installed	free	sota	yes
cli-anything-krita	harness-cli	Krita installed	free	sota	yes
Pillow	python	pkg	free	good	yes
opencv-python	python	pkg	free	high	yes
scikit-image	python	pkg	free	high	yes
rembg (background removal)	python	pkg	free	high	yes
remove.bg	api	REMOVE_BG_API_KEY	metered	sota	no
Adobe Firefly	api	FIREFLY_TOKEN	paid	sota	no
Cutout.pro	api	token	metered	high	no

visual.edit.vector — vector editing

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
cli-anything-inkscape	harness-cli	Inkscape installed	free	sota	yes
svgwrite	python	pkg	free	good	yes
cairosvg	python	pkg	free	good	yes
svgpathtools	python	pkg	free	high	yes
vpype (vector post-processing)	python	pkg	free	high	yes

visual.mockup — UI / mockup / wireframe

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
cli-anything-sketch	harness-cli	Sketch installed (macOS)	paid app	sota	yes
cli-anything-drawio	harness-cli	drawio installed	free	high	yes
drawio-desktop	native	binary	free	high	yes
penpot	native	binary / self-host	free	high	yes
Figma API	api	FIGMA_TOKEN	free tier	sota	no
Canva API	api	CANVA_API_KEY	paid	high	no
Penpot API	api	PENPOT_TOKEN	free	high	no

Known gap — Figma is the cross-scenario gap (S5 and S7).

visual.diagram — diagrams / flowcharts

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
cli-anything-drawio	harness-cli	drawio	free	sota	yes
cli-anything-mermaid	harness-cli	mermaid-cli	free	high	yes
graphviz (dot)	native	binary	free	high	yes
plantuml	native	binary + java	free	high	yes

visual.upscale — super-resolution

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
Real-ESRGAN	python	pkg + weights	free	high	yes
GFPGAN (faces)	python	pkg + weights	free	high	yes
upscayl	native	binary	free	high	yes
Topaz	api	TOPAZ_API_KEY	paid	sota	no
Replicate upscalers	python	REPLICATE_API_TOKEN	metered	high	no

photo.library — DAM / photo organization

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
exiftool + Pillow	native+python	binary+pkg	free	high	yes
digikam	native	binary	free	high	yes
photoprism	native	binary / self-host	free	high	yes
Google Photos API	api	OAuth	free tier	high	no

photo.develop — RAW processing

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
rawpy	python	pkg	free	high	yes
darktable-cli	native	binary	free	sota	yes
rawtherapee-cli	native	binary	free	sota	yes
Adobe Lightroom API	api	Adobe creds	paid	sota	no

publish.cms — publish images / articles to a CMS

Provider	Kind	Requires	Cost	Quality	Offline
contentful	public-cli	bin + token	metered	high	no
sanity	public-cli	bin + token	metered	high	no
hugo / mkdocs	native/python	binary/pkg	free	high	yes
WordPress REST	api	app password	free	high	no

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Recipes

• social-card — generate + compose a social sharing image. Uses: visual.generate, visual.edit.raster, publish.cms.

• logo-set — design a logo + size variants. Uses: visual.edit.vector, visual.edit.raster (rasterize), batch export.

• ui-wireframe — mockup a UI flow. Uses: visual.mockup, optional visual.edit.vector polish.

• photo-batch — RAW ingest → develop → edit → library → publish. Uses: photo.develop, visual.edit.raster, photo.library, publish.cms.

• icon-pack — systematic icon production. Uses: visual.edit.vector, batch rasterize via cairosvg.

• thumbnail-set — thumbnails for a video/article series. Uses: visual.generate (hero imagery), visual.edit.raster (layout, type), batch variant export.

• ai-concept-art — generate → upscale → touch up. Uses: visual.generate, visual.upscale, visual.edit.raster.

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Known gaps

• Figma — cross-scenario gap (UI/UX loop for S5 and S7). API escalation works but we lack a native harness.
• photo.library / photo.develop — strong native CLIs, no harness.
• Midjourney — Discord bridge only; no clean API.

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Agent guidance

• Match generation provider to intent. GPT-Image-1 for text-in-image and photoreal; Ideogram for poster/typography; FLUX for artistic; Midjourney for stylized beauty shots; Stability for control+speed.
• Vector-first for design systems — logos, icons, illustrations start in visual.edit.vector, rasterize last.
• Preserve color profiles. exiftool + Pillow handles ICC; when moving between rawpy and Pillow, convert to sRGB at the boundary.
• AI + edit chain. Agents should plan: generate → background removal (rembg) → composite (visual.edit.raster) → export. Skipping cleanup is the most common visible defect.
• Workspace discipline. Keep generation seeds + prompts in a manifest alongside output PNGs so variations are reproducible.