CMA Can Now Generate and Embed Images

We just updated the Content Management Agent spec to document something the CMA has been able to do for a while: generate and embed images in Lab content. The spec now makes it explicit.

What we did

The CMA spec had a brief "Optional: visuals" section. It mentioned that an image-generation capability might exist, that the CMA could suggest or generate one image per entry, and that Lab tone applied. But it was vague. It didn't say where images go, how to embed them, or when to offer.

We rewrote it as "Image generation and embedding" and added:

• When to generate: Proactively for new entries, on request, or when the guide implies visuals. Optional—no image required.
• Style and constraints: Lab tone (research sketch, conceptual, minimal). No faces or people. Geometric shapes, soft abstractions.
• Where images go: public/images/<content-type>/<slug>-hero.png. Reference in markdown with ![Alt](/images/.../slug-hero.png).
• Workflow: Generate, save or copy to the public path, embed in content, populate frontmatter if the guide defines it. If the tool saves elsewhere, instruct the user to move the file.

We tested the generation capability first—using a local Stable Diffusion model. It works. This insight is the first Lab entry created with both the updated spec and an embedded generated image.

Why it matters

The Lab should feel like a research notebook—warm, distinctive, not generic. Images help. A hero or thumbnail per entry gives the archive visual coherence. The CMA can now do that without manual steps, as long as the environment provides the generation tool.

Documenting it in the spec means the CMA knows when to offer, where to put files, and how to embed. No guessing. The capability was always there; the spec now describes it clearly.