moda-social-youtube

moda-social-youtube

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PREREQUISITE — load moda-core once per session (step-0, write contract, free/metered map). Already loaded? Skip ahead. If you cannot load it, the non-negotiables: run moda doctor --json before anything; moda brand list before creating; writes that pin a revision use your last read's — on stale_revision, re-read and retry once (it heals); send the canvas link the moment it exists; stuck or failed? moda ask "<question>" — free and fast, never guess.

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Sizes and defaults

Format	Size	--category	Notes
Thumbnail	1280×720	social	judged at ~320px wide — that is the real brief
Channel banner	2560×1440	social	only 1546×423 centred is visible on every device

• Thumbnail rules, not preferences: ≤4 words of on-image text; the subject or face fills a third of the frame; one high-contrast focal point; type ≥120px at 1280 wide so it survives the shrink. No thin weights, no full sentences.
• Banner safe core: everything that must be seen — name, tagline, upload cadence, logo — lives inside the centred 1546×423. Decoration extends outward into the 2560×1440 field, which desktop shows and phones crop away.

Recipe — thumbnail

1. moda canvas create --name "[Episode] — thumb" --intent "[one-line brief]" --size 1280x720 --category social --brand [KIT] — send the link immediately.
2. Subject first: a photo the user gave you (moda file upload [photo.jpg]) or moda media generate-image --prompt "[subject, high contrast, brand palette]" --model [MODEL].
3. Author in ONE apply: moda canvas markup [CANVAS_REF] --file - --page [PAGE_ID] — ≤4 words, type ≥120px, one focal point (references/markup.md).
4. The 320px check (this recipe's verify twist): --screenshot thumb.png on that apply (or moda canvas screenshot [CANVAS_REF] -o thumb.png), then judge it at thumbnail scale — a thumbnail that only reads full-size is a failed thumbnail. Fix what fails in at most ONE repair write, captured the same way, then ship.
5. moda export [CANVAS_REF] --format png --pixel-ratio 2 -o [episode]-thumb.png.

Recipe — channel banner

1. moda canvas create --name "[Channel] — banner" --intent "[brief]" --size 2560x1440 --category social --brand [KIT] — link immediately.
2. Author the safe core FIRST — the centred 1546×423 — then extend background, texture, and colour outward to the full frame in the same apply.
3. moda canvas screenshot [CANVAS_REF]; check that cropping to the core loses nothing that carries meaning; at most ONE repair write, captured the same way, then ship.
4. moda export [CANVAS_REF] --format png --pixel-ratio 2 -o [channel]-banner.png.

Examples

• "a thumbnail for this episode" → thumbnail recipe, judged at 320px.
• "thumbnails for these 3 videos" → run the thumbnail recipe per video, one canvas each; the winning layout goes to moda-templates.
• "refresh our channel art" → banner recipe, everything meaningful in the core.
• "a YouTube banner AD" → not channel art: moda-social-ads owns paid formats.

Errors

Any typed error → load moda-core and read its recovery reference. Most likely here: type that passes full-size and dies at 320px — shrink the screenshot before delivering. stale_revision heals — retry once.

Make it recurring

Template-ize the winning thumbnail via moda-templates, then moda-automate the per-video instance — a thumbnail system beats a thumbnail.

See also: moda-social — other platforms, ad sets, one-off graphics · moda-core — the contract, recovery, everything Moda can do.

References

Doc	Load when
references/youtube.md	depth: thumbnail composition patterns, banner device crops
references/markup.md	before any markup apply
references/no-brand-design.md	no kit is active — inventing the identity: palette law, type, imagery, layout system