Paperclip Capsules

Use this skill when creating or checking Paperclip capsule visuals. The central rule is simple: the capsule is the agent. A capsule is not generic chrome, a button shape, a random status pill, or background decoration.

The one approved decorative exception is the canonical hero capsule bank. Treat it as a specific Paperclip brand surface, not a license to make arbitrary capsule wallpaper.

When to Use

• Generating Paperclip capsule art, agent avatars, capsule fields, hero capsule banks, or seeded capsule identicons.
• Implementing an individual agent capsule in product UI.
• Rendering heartbeat status capsules for agent status.
• Building Paperclip feature videos or marketing graphics that use the capsule motif.
• Reviewing a design for capsule brand correctness.

When Not to Use

• Generic rounded pills, badges, buttons, tags, nav items, or decorative blobs.
• Non-agent illustrations where capsules would only be visual texture.
• Product UI color choices unrelated to agents or heartbeat status.
• Replacing the app's existing AgentCapsule or status-color helpers from memory.

Non-Negotiable Rules

• Capsules represent agents. If the surface does not involve agents, do not add capsules.
• Do not use the agent capsule palette outside capsules. Never apply agent gradients to buttons, text, page backgrounds, cards, or generic UI chrome.
• Keep capsule families separate. App individual capsules, heartbeat status capsules, website marketing capsules, video capsules, seeded identicons, and the hero bank have different data.
• Hero bank is the only decorative exception. Use the canonical bank spec; do not hand-roll a new bank.
• Record reproducibility data. For generated assets, record seed, template, palette, dimensions, and source workflow.
• Respect reduced motion. Any pulsing, blinking, breathing, wave, or fill-rise animation needs a static reduced-motion fallback.

Choose the Right Capsule Surface

Use individual agent capsules when one capsule equals one agent in product UI, onboarding, org surfaces, or avatars. Read references/individual-status-capsules.md before implementing or changing UI behavior.

Use heartbeat status capsules for small solid status markers: idle/active gray, running blue pulse, paused amber, error red blink. These are not tall gradient identity capsules.

Use the hero capsule bank only for brand hero imagery, feature-video hero scenes, or approved marketing motif work. Read references/hero-capsule-bank.md before drawing it.

Use graphic-generator layouts when the task asks for capsule graphics such as blend rows, chains, grids, icon marks, or hero compositions. Prefer seeded tools and exportable workflows; read references/generator-workflows.md.

Use seeded identicons/profile pills when an agent needs a reproducible personal capsule mark. Read references/identicon-prototyper.md before choosing variants, color schemes, dither algorithms, density, sheen, aurora, mesh, motion, or exports.

Implementation Workflow

1. Identify which capsule family you are working in: individual agent, status capsule, hero bank, generator layout, or identicon.
2. Load the matching reference file from this skill.
3. Prefer existing source implementations:
   • Product UI: ui/src/components/AgentCapsule.tsx, ui/src/index.css, and ui/src/lib/status-colors.ts.
   • Hero bank: canonical spec in references/hero-capsule-bank.md.
   • Video work: pair this skill with the Paperclip feature-video HyperFrames skill when available.
4. If generating an artifact, choose a reproducible workflow and write down the seed/config.
5. Verify that the result still reads as agent-related. Remove capsules if they became decoration.
6. Attach or otherwise expose generated deliverables when doing issue work, and name the exact workflow used.

Output Expectations

For any generated capsule asset, include:

• Capsule family: individual-agent, heartbeat-status, hero-bank, graphic-generator, or identicon.
• Source workflow or implementation path.
• Seed and config where available.
• Dimensions, format, and renderer.
• Any divergence from canonical Paperclip rendering.

For code changes, include targeted checks that exercise the edited surface. For visuals, include screenshots or inspectable SVG/PNG/HTML when possible.

Validation Checklist

• Does each capsule represent an agent, agent state, or the canonical hero-bank exception?
• Are gradients confined to capsule shapes?
• Are app, website, video, identicon, and hero-bank palettes kept separate?
• Is motion reduced or removed under reduced-motion settings?
• Is the source path or reproducible seed/config recorded?
• Are generated files attached or linked as inspectable deliverables for issue work?

References

• references/individual-status-capsules.md - product app capsules, heartbeat status capsules, palette caveats, and reduced-motion rules.
• references/hero-capsule-bank.md - canonical hero-bank geometry, palette, grain, wave, crop, and rendering checklist.
• references/generator-workflows.md - website generator and external graphic-generator workflows.
• references/identicon-prototyper.md - deterministic profile-pill variants, color schemes, dither algorithms, density behavior, motion, export/share controls, and recommended combinations.