ci: adopt shared reusable deploy workflow (deploy-app.yml)

Replaces the per-repo staging/smoke/production jobs with one call to
peptiderepo/peptide-e2e/.github/workflows/deploy-app.yml (target_path=wp-content/plugins/prautoblogger).
Validated end-to-end on the calculator pilot.

Agent-Session: cto rollout-reusable-deploy

.github/workflows/cto-review.yml

@@ -123,17 +123,18 @@ jobs:
           git fetch origin ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }} --depth=50
           BASE_SHA="${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha }}"
           HEAD_SHA="${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}"
-          DIFF=$(git diff --no-color "$BASE_SHA" "$HEAD_SHA" | head -c 400000)
+          # Write the diff to a file, not a step output / env var. Passing a
+          # ~400KB diff through the process env (execve argv+envp) exceeds the
+          # runner ARG_MAX and fails the next step with "Argument list too long"
+          # (issue #110). File transport also sidesteps the ~1MB step-output cap.
+          git diff --no-color "$BASE_SHA" "$HEAD_SHA" | head -c 400000 > /tmp/cto-review-diff.txt
           FILES=$(git diff --name-only "$BASE_SHA" "$HEAD_SHA")
-          SIZE=$(echo -n "$DIFF" | wc -c)
+          SIZE=$(wc -c < /tmp/cto-review-diff.txt)
           {
             echo "size=$SIZE"
             echo "files<<EOF_FILES"
             echo "$FILES"
             echo "EOF_FILES"
-            echo "diff<<EOF_DIFF"
-            echo "$DIFF"
-            echo "EOF_DIFF"
           } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Load repo conventions
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ jobs:
           PR_AUTHOR: ${{ github.event.pull_request.user.login }}
           PR_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
           REPO_NAME: ${{ github.event.repository.name }}
-          DIFF: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.diff }}
+          DIFF_PATH: /tmp/cto-review-diff.txt
           DIFF_SIZE: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.size }}
           CHANGED_FILES: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.files }}
           CONVENTIONS: ${{ steps.conventions.outputs.content }}
@@ -229,7 +230,9 @@ jobs:
           user_blocks.append(f"**Changed files:**\n```\n{os.environ['CHANGED_FILES']}\n```\n")
           if os.environ.get("CONVENTIONS", "").strip():
               user_blocks.append(f"# Repo CONVENTIONS.md\n{os.environ['CONVENTIONS']}\n")
-          user_blocks.append(f"# Diff\n```diff\n{os.environ['DIFF']}\n```\n")
+          with open(os.environ["DIFF_PATH"], encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as _df:
+              _diff_text = _df.read()
+          user_blocks.append(f"# Diff\n```diff\n{_diff_text}\n```\n")
           user_message = "\n\n".join(user_blocks)
 
           tools = [{

.github/workflows/deploy.yml

@@ -28,92 +28,10 @@ jobs:
             -not -path './.github/*' \
             -print0 | xargs -0 -n1 -P4 php -l > /dev/null
 
-  deploy-staging:
-    name: Deploy to Staging
+  deploy:
+    name: Deploy (shared pipeline)
     needs: validate
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    environment: staging
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Setup SSH key
-        run: |
-          mkdir -p ~/.ssh
-          echo "${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}" > ~/.ssh/deploy_key
-          chmod 600 ~/.ssh/deploy_key
-          ssh-keyscan -p ${{ secrets.SSH_PORT }} ${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }} >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts 2>/dev/null
-      - name: Deploy via rsync → staging
-        run: |
-          rsync -avz --delete \
-            --exclude '.git' --exclude '.github' \
-            --exclude 'tests' --exclude 'phpunit.xml.dist' \
-            --exclude 'composer.json' --exclude 'composer.lock' \
-            --exclude 'vendor' --exclude '.distignore' \
-            --exclude 'ARCHITECTURE.md' --exclude 'CONVENTIONS.md' \
-            -e "ssh -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key -p ${{ secrets.SSH_PORT }}" \
-            ./ ${{ secrets.SSH_USERNAME }}@${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }}:~/domains/peptiderepo.com/public_html/staging/wp-content/plugins/prautoblogger/
-      - name: Staging health check
-        run: |
-          sleep 5
-          STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://staging.peptiderepo.com/ || echo "000")
-          echo "Staging responded: HTTP $STATUS"
-          [ "$STATUS" = "000" ] && echo "Warning: staging DNS may still be propagating" || true
-      - name: Cleanup
-        if: always()
-        run: rm -f ~/.ssh/deploy_key
-
-  smoke:
-    name: Smoke tests (staging)
-    needs: deploy-staging
-    continue-on-error: true
-    uses: peptiderepo/peptide-e2e/.github/workflows/smoke.yml@main
-    secrets:
-      STAGING_WP_ADMIN_USER: ${{ secrets.STAGING_WP_ADMIN_USER }}
-      STAGING_WP_ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.STAGING_WP_ADMIN_PASSWORD }}
-
-  deploy-production:
-    name: Deploy to Production
-    needs: [validate, deploy-staging]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    environment: production
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Setup SSH key
-        run: |
-          mkdir -p ~/.ssh
-          echo "${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}" > ~/.ssh/deploy_key
-          chmod 600 ~/.ssh/deploy_key
-          ssh-keyscan -p ${{ secrets.SSH_PORT }} ${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }} >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts 2>/dev/null
-      - name: Deploy via rsync → production
-        run: |
-          rsync -avz --delete \
-            --exclude '.git' --exclude '.github' \
-            --exclude 'tests' --exclude 'phpunit.xml.dist' \
-            --exclude 'composer.json' --exclude 'composer.lock' \
-            --exclude 'vendor' --exclude '.distignore' \
-            --exclude 'ARCHITECTURE.md' --exclude 'CONVENTIONS.md' \
-            -e "ssh -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key -p ${{ secrets.SSH_PORT }}" \
-            ./ ${{ secrets.SSH_USERNAME }}@${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }}:~/domains/peptiderepo.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/prautoblogger/
-      - name: Purge LiteSpeed Cache
-        run: |
-          ssh -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key -p ${{ secrets.SSH_PORT }} \
-            ${{ secrets.SSH_USERNAME }}@${{ secrets.SSH_HOST }} \
-            "cd ~/domains/peptiderepo.com/public_html && \
-             wp litespeed-purge all 2>/dev/null || \
-             (find wp-content/litespeed/ -type f -delete 2>/dev/null; touch .lscache_purge 2>/dev/null) || true"
-      - name: Production health check
-        run: |
-          sleep 5
-          STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://peptiderepo.com)
-          if [ "$STATUS" != "200" ] && [ "$STATUS" != "403" ]; then
-            echo "ERROR: Site returned unexpected HTTP $STATUS after deploy"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-          echo "Production healthy (HTTP $STATUS)"
-      - name: Cleanup
-        if: always()
-        run: rm -f ~/.ssh/deploy_key
-      - name: Deploy summary
-        run: |
-          echo "## Deployment Complete" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          echo "- **Commit:** \`${GITHUB_SHA::7}\`" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          echo "- **Deployed to:** peptiderepo.com" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+    uses: peptiderepo/peptide-e2e/.github/workflows/deploy-app.yml@main
+    with:
+      target_path: wp-content/plugins/prautoblogger
+    secrets: inherit

.github/workflows/main-push-audit.yml

@@ -29,12 +29,22 @@ jobs:
         with:
           script: |
             const sha = context.sha;
-            const { data: prs } = await github.rest.repos.listPullRequestsAssociatedWithCommit({
-              owner: context.repo.owner,
-              repo: context.repo.repo,
-              commit_sha: sha,
-            });
-            const merged = prs.find(p => p.merged_at);
+            // Squash-merge -> PR association is eventually-consistent; poll briefly
+            // before concluding this was a direct push (avoids false positives on merges).
+            async function findMergedPR() {
+              for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= 5; attempt++) {
+                const { data: prs } = await github.rest.repos.listPullRequestsAssociatedWithCommit({
+                  owner: context.repo.owner,
+                  repo: context.repo.repo,
+                  commit_sha: sha,
+                });
+                const m = prs.find(p => p.merged_at);
+                if (m) return m;
+                if (attempt < 5) await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 10000));
+              }
+              return null;
+            }
+            const merged = await findMergedPR();
             if (merged) {
               core.info(`OK: commit ${sha.substring(0,7)} came from PR #${merged.number}`);
               return;

ARCHITECTURE.md

@@ -147,6 +147,7 @@ prautoblogger/
 │   │   ├── class-post-assembler.php   # Post-creation helpers: taxonomy, log linking, images, sanitization
 │   │   ├── class-image-pipeline.php   # Orchestrates A/B image generation (parallel via batch)
 │   │   ├── class-image-prompt-builder.php # Generates visual prompts from article/source data
+│   │   ├── class-image-template-filler.php # Fills the editorial style template's {{ topic_summary }} slot (v0.16.0)
 │   │   ├── class-image-media-sideloader.php # Imports images into WordPress media library
 │   │   ├── class-cost-tracker.php     # Logs all API costs, enforces budget limits
 │   │   ├── class-logger.php           # Structured logging singleton (error/warning/info/debug)
@@ -437,13 +438,14 @@ All prefixed with `prautoblogger_`:
 | `prautoblogger_schedule_time`          | Daily generation time (HH:MM, default: '03:00')       |
 | `prautoblogger_image_model`            | Image model slug from `Image_Model_Registry::get_models()`; provider is derived from this on save |
 | `prautoblogger_image_provider`         | Derived from the chosen model on save (v0.8.0+); not editable in admin UI |
-| `prautoblogger_image_prompt_instructions` | System prompt given to the image rewriter LLM (v0.8.0+); falls back to `Image_Prompt_Builder::REWRITER_SYSTEM_PROMPT` when empty |
+| `prautoblogger_image_prompt_instructions` | System prompt given to the image rewriter LLM (v0.8.0+); falls back to `Image_Prompt_Builder::REWRITER_SYSTEM_PROMPT` when empty. v0.16.0: the default now instructs the LLM to emit a 1-2 sentence editorial topic/mechanism summary as the SCENE (was a comic gag) |
 | `prautoblogger_image_nsfw_retry`       | Toggle: retry NSFW-blocked image slots with a rule-based fallback prompt (default: '1') |
 | `prautoblogger_migrated_image_provider_v080` | One-shot migration flag — auto-heals mismatched provider/model pairs on first admin_init after v0.8.0 upgrade |
 | `prautoblogger_article_font_family`    | Font family key: 'default', 'inter', 'georgia', 'merriweather', 'lora', 'open_sans', 'roboto', 'system' |
 | `prautoblogger_article_font_size`     | Body font size in px (0 = theme default). Recommended: 16–18. |
 | `prautoblogger_table_borders`         | Toggle: add borders/padding/striping to tables (default: '1') |
-| `prautoblogger_image_style_suffix`     | Text appended to every image prompt (default: CEO-locked 90s infomercial prompt) |
+| `prautoblogger_image_style_template`   | Full image prompt template (v0.16.0+); contains exactly one `{{ topic_summary }}` token filled per-article with the rewriter scene. Default = `PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE` (editorial scientific illustration). Replaces the Style Suffix. Validated on save (single-token, brief A5) |
+| `prautoblogger_image_style_suffix`     | DEPRECATED (v0.16.0). Former comic style suffix appended to every image prompt; no longer read by the builder. Mirrored to `prautoblogger_image_style_suffix_deprecated` for one cycle and not deleted yet |
 | `prautoblogger_openrouter_model_registry` | Normalized OpenRouter model list (JSON array, daily refresh, serves as durable cache) |
 | `prautoblogger_openrouter_model_registry_fetched_at` | Unix timestamp of last successful model registry refresh |
 
@@ -575,6 +577,16 @@ Reddit rejected our OAuth API application (April 2026). We initially switched to
 
 The admin model picker (v1) needs to list OpenRouter models with pricing and capabilities. We fetch `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models` (free, unauthenticated) once daily and store the normalized payload in a WP option fronted by a 24h transient. On stale-and-fetch-fails, we serve last-good + surface a warning. The registry class (`class-open-router-model-registry.php`) takes all config via constructor (option name, transient name, endpoint URL) — no PRAUTOBLOGGER_* constants inside the class body. Phase 2 lifts it into a shared Composer package with zero internal edits. Phase 3 adds a parallel `Cloudflare_WorkersAI_Model_Registry` behind the same interface. Capability vocabulary: `text→text`, `text+image→text`, `text+audio→text`, `text→image`, `text→audio`, `text→video`, `text→embedding`. Cost: $0/month.
 
+### #20: Editorial illustration prompt + style-template setting (v0.16.0, May 2026)
+
+Commit 1 of the in-plugin editorial image pipeline (brief `docs/proposals/2026-05-29-image-pipeline-in-plugin-brief.md`). The image style pivots from a single-panel newspaper comic to a **text-free editorial scientific illustration**. Two changes ship here; the deterministic PHP composer is a later commit.
+
+1. **Prompt structure.** `Image_Prompt_Builder::REWRITER_SYSTEM_PROMPT` now asks the rewriter LLM for a concise 1-2 sentence topic/mechanism summary (one concrete centered focal subject, no text/people-as-gag/logos) as the SCENE, keeping the short CAPTION line for the unchanged HTML-caption-below-image path. The scene/caption parsing contract (`Image_Scene_Parser`) is unchanged.
+2. **Template substitution.** The old `trim($scene . ' ' . $style_suffix)` concat is replaced by `PRAutoBlogger_Image_Template_Filler::fill($scene)` in all three entry points (`build_article_prompt`, `build_source_prompt`, `build_fallback_prompt`). The filler resolves the active template (admin override → default), strips control chars and clamps the summary length (brief A5), then substitutes the single `{{ topic_summary }}` token. Degradation (brief A5/A6): if the template lacks exactly one token it appends the summary and logs a warning; if the summary is empty it emits the style-only prompt — a blank or token-only prompt is never sent to the provider.
+3. **Setting.** New textarea `prautoblogger_image_style_template` (default `PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE`) replaces the Style Suffix field. On save it is sanitised with `sanitize_textarea_field` and validated to contain exactly one token (`Image_Template_Filler::sanitize_for_save`). The old `prautoblogger_image_style_suffix` is mirrored to `..._deprecated` for one cycle and not deleted (one-time migration `prautoblogger_migrated_style_template_v0160`).
+
+Provider/model are unchanged — only the prompt text changes, so production keeps emitting via Runware FLUX.1 schnell but now produces text-free editorial base images.
+
 ### #17: Runware as default image backend (v0.9.0, Apr 2026)
 
 After a comic-style A/B round in Apr 2026, FLUX.1 schnell via Runware was chosen as the default image backend. Cost is ~$0.0006/image vs ~$0.039/image for Gemini 2.5 Flash Image via OpenRouter (≈65× cheaper), and the looser schnell fidelity reads as editorial-cartoon style — a feature, not a bug, for our single-panel comic aesthetic. FLUX.1 dev (~$0.02/image, 28 steps) remains available as an opt-in for higher-fidelity runs. The Runware layer mirrors the OpenRouter split (interface + provider + support + pricing + batch), all under the 300-line cap. The batch class dispatches `imageInference` POSTs via `curl_multi_init/exec/select` — wall-clock time for the A/B pair drops to ≈ the slowest single image. A v0.9.0 one-time migration (`prautoblogger_migrated_default_image_v090`) flips sites still on the legacy default; explicit user selections are preserved. Cloudflare Workers AI was removed as an image provider in v0.10.0 (see ADR #16 note below).

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,43 @@ All notable changes to PRAutoBlogger will be documented in this file.
 Format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 
+## [0.16.0] - 2026-05-29
+
+### Changed
+- **Editorial image prompt (Commit 1 of the in-plugin editorial image pipeline).**
+  The image style pivots from a single-panel newspaper comic to a text-free
+  editorial scientific illustration. The rewriter LLM now emits a concise
+  1-2 sentence topic/mechanism summary as the SCENE (one centered focal
+  subject, no text/people-as-gag/logos), keeping the short CAPTION line for the
+  unchanged HTML-caption-below-image behavior. The scene/caption parsing
+  contract is unchanged. Provider/model are unchanged — production keeps
+  generating via Runware FLUX.1 schnell but now produces text-free editorial
+  base images. See `docs/proposals/2026-05-29-image-pipeline-in-plugin-brief.md`.
+- The prompt builder now substitutes the rewriter scene into an editable style
+  template's `{{ topic_summary }}` slot via the new
+  `PRAutoBlogger_Image_Template_Filler`, replacing the old
+  `scene + style suffix` concatenation, across all three entry points
+  (`build_article_prompt`, `build_source_prompt`, `build_fallback_prompt`).
+  Before substitution the scene is stripped of control characters and
+  length-clamped (brief A5). If the template lacks exactly one token the
+  summary is appended and a warning logged; if the summary is empty the
+  style-only prompt is emitted — a blank or token-only prompt is never sent to
+  the provider (brief A5/A6).
+
+### Added
+- New setting **Style Template** (`prautoblogger_image_style_template`,
+  textarea) replacing the Style Suffix field. Default =
+  `PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE` (the editorial template). On save
+  it is validated to contain exactly one `{{ topic_summary }}` token; an invalid
+  template keeps the previous value and surfaces a settings error.
+
+### Deprecated
+- `prautoblogger_image_style_suffix` is deprecated and no longer read by the
+  prompt builder. A one-time migration (`prautoblogger_migrated_style_template_v0160`)
+  mirrors its value to `prautoblogger_image_style_suffix_deprecated` for one
+  version cycle and seeds the new template default. The old option is NOT
+  deleted this cycle.
+
 ## [0.15.1] - 2026-05-14
 
 ### Fixed

includes/admin/class-admin-page.php

@@ -330,6 +330,11 @@ class PRAutoBlogger_Admin_Page {
 		if ( 'prautoblogger_image_model' === $option_name ) {
 			return $this->sanitize_image_model( (string) $value );
 		}
+		if ( 'prautoblogger_image_style_template' === $option_name ) {
+			// Multi-line template: validation + textarea-safe sanitisation
+			// (incl. the single-token check, brief A5) lives in the filler.
+			return PRAutoBlogger_Image_Template_Filler::sanitize_for_save( (string) $value );
+		}
 		return sanitize_text_field( (string) $value );
 	}
 

includes/admin/class-settings-fields-extended.php

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ declare(strict_types=1);
  *
  * What: Declarative field definitions for operational settings sections.
  * Who calls it: PRAutoBlogger_Settings_Fields::get_fields() merges these in.
- * Dependencies: PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_MODEL, PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_SUFFIX constants,
+ * Dependencies: PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_MODEL, PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE constants,
  *               PRAutoBlogger_Article_Typography (font choices), PRAutoBlogger_Image_Model_Registry.
  *
  * @see admin/class-settings-fields.php       — Core fields and sections; calls get_extended_fields().
@@ -235,12 +235,12 @@ class PRAutoBlogger_Settings_Fields_Extended {
 				'icon'        => '🔑',
 			),
 			array(
-				'id'          => 'prautoblogger_image_style_suffix',
-				'label'       => __( 'Style Suffix', 'prautoblogger' ),
+				'id'          => 'prautoblogger_image_style_template',
+				'label'       => __( 'Style Template', 'prautoblogger' ),
 				'type'        => 'textarea',
 				'section'     => 'prautoblogger_images',
-				'default'     => PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_SUFFIX,
-				'description' => __( 'Appended to every image prompt. Controls visual look. Changing mid-run causes visible style drift.', 'prautoblogger' ),
+				'default'     => PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE,
+				'description' => __( 'The full image prompt template. Must contain exactly one {{ topic_summary }} token, which is filled with a 1-2 sentence topic/mechanism summary per article. The rest is brand-locked editorial style. Replaces the old Style Suffix (now deprecated). Changing mid-run causes visible style drift.', 'prautoblogger' ),
 			),
 			array(
 				'id'          => 'prautoblogger_image_prompt_instructions',
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ class PRAutoBlogger_Settings_Fields_Extended {
 				'type'        => 'textarea',
 				'section'     => 'prautoblogger_images',
 				'default'     => PRAutoBlogger_Image_Prompt_Builder::REWRITER_SYSTEM_PROMPT,
-				'description' => __( 'System prompt given to the rewriter LLM that turns each article into a SCENE + CAPTION for the image generator. Changing this reshapes the look of all future images. Leave blank to use the default.', 'prautoblogger' ),
+				'description' => __( 'System prompt given to the rewriter LLM that turns each article into a SCENE (a 1-2 sentence editorial topic/mechanism summary, substituted into the Style Template) plus a CAPTION (HTML text shown below the image). Changing this reshapes the look of all future images. Leave blank to use the default.', 'prautoblogger' ),
 			),
 			array(
 				'id'          => 'prautoblogger_image_nsfw_retry',

includes/class-prautoblogger.php

@@ -267,6 +267,24 @@ class PRAutoBlogger {
 			update_option( 'prautoblogger_migrated_style_suffix_v4', '1' );
 		}
 
+		// One-time migration (v0.16.0): editorial pivot. The comic Style Suffix
+		// is replaced by the editorial Style Template. Mirror the old suffix
+		// value into a deprecated-keyed option for one version cycle (so a
+		// customised value is recoverable / auditable) and seed the new
+		// template with its editorial default. The old option is intentionally
+		// NOT deleted this cycle. See docs/proposals/2026-05-29-image-pipeline-in-plugin-brief.md §8 Commit 1.
+		if ( ! get_option( 'prautoblogger_migrated_style_template_v0160' ) ) {
+			$old_suffix = get_option( 'prautoblogger_image_style_suffix', '' );
+			if ( '' !== $old_suffix && false === get_option( 'prautoblogger_image_style_suffix_deprecated', false ) ) {
+				update_option( 'prautoblogger_image_style_suffix_deprecated', $old_suffix );
+			}
+			// Only seed the new template if the admin has not already set one.
+			if ( '' === (string) get_option( 'prautoblogger_image_style_template', '' ) ) {
+				update_option( 'prautoblogger_image_style_template', PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE );
+			}
+			update_option( 'prautoblogger_migrated_style_template_v0160', '1' );
+		}
+
 		// v0.9.0 — Runware as default image model. v0.10.0 — remove CF Workers AI.
 		PRAutoBlogger_Activator::migrate_default_image_v090();
 		PRAutoBlogger_Migrate_Remove_Cloudflare_V0100::run();

includes/core/class-image-prompt-builder.php

@@ -6,13 +6,16 @@ declare(strict_types=1);
  *
  * Builds image prompts from article content or source data.
  *
- * Uses a cheap LLM (via OpenRouter) to distill article content into concise
- * visual scene descriptions optimised for image generation. Falls back to rule-based
+ * Uses a cheap LLM (via OpenRouter) to distill article content into a concise
+ * 1-2 sentence editorial topic/mechanism summary, then substitutes that summary
+ * into the admin-editable editorial style template (the {{ topic_summary }}
+ * slot) to produce a text-free image-gen prompt. Falls back to rule-based
  * synthesis if the LLM call fails, so image generation never blocks on a
  * prompt-rewriting outage.
  *
  * Triggered by: PRAutoBlogger_Image_Pipeline during content generation run.
  * Dependencies: PRAutoBlogger_OpenRouter_Provider (LLM call),
+ *               PRAutoBlogger_Image_Template_Filler (template substitution),
  *               PRAutoBlogger_Cost_Tracker (logs prompt-rewrite cost),
  *               PRAutoBlogger_Logger (diagnostics).
  *
@@ -27,34 +30,39 @@ class PRAutoBlogger_Image_Prompt_Builder {
 	 * prompts. Exposed as a `public const` so the admin-settings layer can
 	 * use it as the default value for `prautoblogger_image_prompt_instructions`.
 	 * The option, when non-empty, wins at call time (see rewrite_via_llm).
+	 *
+	 * Editorial pivot (v0.16.0): the model emits a concise topic/mechanism
+	 * summary as the SCENE — concrete, single centered focal subject, no text,
+	 * no people-as-gag, no logos — which the prompt builder substitutes into
+	 * the editorial style template's {{ topic_summary }} slot. The CAPTION line
+	 * is preserved unchanged for the existing HTML-caption-below-image path.
 	 */
 	public const REWRITER_SYSTEM_PROMPT = <<<'PROMPT'
-You are a comedy writer and single-panel cartoon creator, like Gary Larson (The Far Side) meets science humor.
+You write subject descriptions for a text-free editorial science illustration about peptides, supplements, or biohacking.
 
-Given an article title and summary about peptides, supplements, or biohacking, create a SINGLE-PANEL COMIC concept. Output TWO parts separated by a blank line:
+Given an article title and summary, output TWO parts separated by a blank line:
 
-SCENE: One sentence describing the visual gag — a funny, absurd, or ironic situation related to the article's topic. Favor CONCRETE, HUMAN-SCALE scenes: people reacting to things, doctors and patients, scientists in a lab, gym bros with peptide vials, partners at a kitchen table, ordinary objects in ordinary rooms. Keep it simple — one clear visual joke, 1-3 characters max.
+SCENE: A concise 1-2 sentence description of the article's core topic or mechanism, written as the SUBJECT of a single editorial illustration. Name ONE concrete, centered focal subject and the few supporting visual elements around it (e.g. a labelled-free vial and dropper, a stylised receptor on a cell membrane, a molecular chain, a dosing syringe, an organ cross-section). Favor a clear central focal point with margin around it so the image crops well. This is image-gen direction, not prose.
 
-CAPTION: A short, punchy caption or speech bubble line (under 15 words) that delivers the punchline. The humor should be dry, nerdy, and accessible — the reader should chuckle even if they only half-understand the science.
+CAPTION: A short, informative caption line (under 15 words) for display as HTML text below the image. Plain and editorial, not a joke.
 
 Rules:
-- The joke MUST relate to the article's actual subject matter, not generic science humor
-- DO NOT personify molecules, peptides, hormones, proteins, or other chemical structures (no "anthropomorphic molecule", no "cartoon hormone"). Image models render anthropomorphized chemistry as incoherent blobs. If the article is about a substance, show a PERSON reacting to or using the substance; if the article is abstract (a mechanism, a process, a concept), fall back on a human observer reacting to its effect.
-- Characters can have simple cartoon faces (round heads, dot eyes, expressive eyebrows)
-- Keep the scene physically simple — few objects, clear staging, easy to read at thumbnail size
-- The caption should work as a standalone joke even without the image
-- No logos, watermarks, or branding
+- The SCENE must depict the article's actual subject/mechanism, not a generic science scene.
+- NO text, words, captions, speech bubbles, labels, or logos described in the SCENE — the illustration is text-free; text is rendered separately.
+- NO people used as a visual gag and NO cartoon/comic framing. A human anatomical element (a cell, an organ, a hand holding a vial) is fine if it is the legitimate subject.
+- Do NOT personify molecules, peptides, hormones, or proteins (no "smiling molecule"); depict them as clean stylised diagrams or structures.
+- Keep the staging simple with one clear focal subject, readable at small sizes.
 - Output ONLY the scene and caption. No preamble, no explanation.
 
 Example output format:
-A muscular gym bro stares, deflated, at a tiny glass vial in his hand while his friend squats a barbell effortlessly in the background.
+A single glass peptide vial on a clean surface with a fine dropper above it, a faint stylised molecular chain arcing behind as a backdrop, centered with generous negative space.
 
-"They told me the peptide did the work, not the squats."
+A concentrated look at how the compound is prepared before use.
 PROMPT;
 
 	/**
-	 * Max tokens for the rewriter response. Comic concepts need more room
-	 * for the scene description plus the caption punchline.
+	 * Max tokens for the rewriter response. Enough room for the 1-2 sentence
+	 * topic/mechanism summary plus the short editorial caption line.
 	 */
 	private const REWRITER_MAX_TOKENS = 180;
 
@@ -85,8 +93,9 @@ PROMPT;
 	 * Build a visual prompt from finished article content.
 	 *
 	 * Tries LLM rewriting first; falls back to rule-based synthesis on
-	 * failure. Splits scene (for image gen) from caption (HTML below the
-	 * image) and appends the style suffix.
+	 * failure. Splits scene (the topic summary, for image gen) from caption
+	 * (HTML below the image) and substitutes the scene into the editorial
+	 * style template's {{ topic_summary }} slot.
 	 *
 	 * @param array{post_title?: string, post_content?: string, suggested_title?: string} $article_data
 	 * @return array{prompt: string, caption: string}
@@ -98,10 +107,8 @@ PROMPT;
 
 		$parsed = $this->rewrite_via_llm( $title, $first_para );
 
-		$style_suffix = $this->get_style_suffix();
-
 		return array(
-			'prompt'  => trim( $parsed['scene'] . ' ' . $style_suffix ),
+			'prompt'  => PRAutoBlogger_Image_Template_Filler::fill( $parsed['scene'] ),
 			'caption' => $parsed['caption'],
 		);
 	}
@@ -120,10 +127,8 @@ PROMPT;
 
 		$parsed = $this->rewrite_via_llm( $title, $context );
 
-		$style_suffix = $this->get_style_suffix();
-
 		return array(
-			'prompt'  => trim( $parsed['scene'] . ' ' . $style_suffix ),
+			'prompt'  => PRAutoBlogger_Image_Template_Filler::fill( $parsed['scene'] ),
 			'caption' => $parsed['caption'],
 		);
 	}
@@ -260,10 +265,9 @@ PROMPT;
 	 * @return array{prompt: string, caption: string}
 	 */
 	public function build_fallback_prompt( string $title ): array {
-		$parsed       = PRAutoBlogger_Image_Scene_Parser::synthesize_visual_concepts_fallback( $title, '' );
-		$style_suffix = $this->get_style_suffix();
+		$parsed = PRAutoBlogger_Image_Scene_Parser::synthesize_visual_concepts_fallback( $title, '' );
 		return array(
-			'prompt'  => trim( $parsed['scene'] . ' ' . $style_suffix ),
+			'prompt'  => PRAutoBlogger_Image_Template_Filler::fill( $parsed['scene'] ),
 			'caption' => $parsed['caption'],
 		);
 	}
@@ -281,20 +285,4 @@ PROMPT;
 		$override = (string) get_option( 'prautoblogger_image_prompt_instructions', '' );
 		return '' !== trim( $override ) ? $override : self::REWRITER_SYSTEM_PROMPT;
 	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Get image style suffix with empty-string safeguard.
-	 *
-	 * Treats both absent and empty string as "use default" to prevent
-	 * silent style loss if the admin settings field is saved empty.
-	 *
-	 * @return string The style suffix with safe fallback.
-	 */
-	private function get_style_suffix(): string {
-		$style_suffix = (string) get_option( 'prautoblogger_image_style_suffix', '' );
-		if ( '' === trim( $style_suffix ) ) {
-			$style_suffix = PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_SUFFIX;
-		}
-		return $style_suffix;
-	}
 }

includes/core/class-image-scene-parser.php

@@ -70,22 +70,25 @@ class PRAutoBlogger_Image_Scene_Parser {
 	/**
 	 * Rule-based fallback when LLM rewriting is unavailable.
 	 *
-	 * Kept deliberately simple — this only runs if OpenRouter is down.
+	 * Kept deliberately simple — this only runs if OpenRouter is down. Produces
+	 * a text-free editorial-illustration subject (not a comic) so the prompt
+	 * builder always has a non-empty topic summary to substitute into the
+	 * style template, never shipping a blank prompt to the provider (brief A6).
 	 *
 	 * @param string $title           Main heading / topic.
 	 * @param string $supporting_text Additional context.
 	 * @return array{scene: string, caption: string} Scene for image gen, caption for HTML.
 	 */
 	public static function synthesize_visual_concepts_fallback( string $title, string $supporting_text ): array {
-		// Fallback produces a simple comic concept when the LLM is unavailable.
+		// Fallback produces a simple editorial-illustration subject when the LLM is unavailable.
 		$scene = sprintf(
-			'A cartoon scientist in a lab coat looking bewildered while examining something related to: %s.',
+			'A clean, centered editorial science illustration representing the topic of %s, with a single clear focal subject and generous negative space.',
 			$title
 		);
 
 		return array(
 			'scene'   => trim( $scene ),
-			'caption' => 'Science is full of surprises.',
+			'caption' => '',
 		);
 	}
 }

includes/core/class-image-template-filler.php

@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+<?php
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+/**
+ * phpcs:ignore WordPress.Files.FileName.InvalidClassFileName -- class naming convention differs from WordPress standard
+ *
+ * Fills the admin-editable editorial image-prompt template with the
+ * rewriter-produced topic summary, replacing the old "scene + style suffix"
+ * concatenation.
+ *
+ * The template (option `prautoblogger_image_style_template`, default
+ * PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE) contains exactly one
+ * `{{ topic_summary }}` token. This class:
+ *   - resolves the active template (admin override wins; blank → default),
+ *   - sanitises and length-clamps the topic summary (brief A5),
+ *   - substitutes the token, and
+ *   - degrades safely (brief A5/A6) so a blank or token-only prompt is never
+ *     emitted to the image provider.
+ *
+ * Who calls it: PRAutoBlogger_Image_Prompt_Builder (static call from each of
+ *               build_article_prompt / build_source_prompt / build_fallback_prompt).
+ * Dependencies: PRAutoBlogger_Logger (diagnostics only).
+ *
+ * @see core/class-image-prompt-builder.php — Sole caller.
+ * @see ARCHITECTURE.md                      — Image generation data flow.
+ */
+class PRAutoBlogger_Image_Template_Filler {
+
+	/** The single substitution token the template must contain. */
+	public const TOKEN = '{{ topic_summary }}';
+
+	/**
+	 * Max characters retained from the rewriter topic summary before it is
+	 * substituted into the template. Keeps the final provider prompt bounded
+	 * even if the rewriter ignores its length guidance.
+	 */
+	public const MAX_SUMMARY_CHARS = 320;
+
+	/**
+	 * Build the final image-generation prompt from a rewriter scene.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $scene Raw topic/mechanism summary from the rewriter (the
+	 *                      "scene" half of the scene/caption contract).
+	 * @return string Provider-ready prompt; never empty.
+	 */
+	public static function fill( string $scene ): string {
+		$template = self::resolve_template();
+		$summary  = self::sanitize_summary( $scene );
+
+		// Brief A6: never ship a blank or token-only prompt. If the rewriter
+		// produced nothing usable, return the template with the token removed
+		// only as a last resort — but the caller guards this by passing a
+		// rule-based fallback scene, so an empty summary here is unexpected.
+		if ( '' === $summary ) {
+			PRAutoBlogger_Logger::instance()->warning(
+				'Editorial prompt fill received an empty topic summary; emitting style-only prompt.',
+				'image_template_filler'
+			);
+			return self::strip_token( $template );
+		}
+
+		$token_count = substr_count( $template, self::TOKEN );
+
+		if ( 1 === $token_count ) {
+			return trim( str_replace( self::TOKEN, $summary, $template ) );
+		}
+
+		// Brief A5: admin removed or duplicated the token. Fall back to
+		// appending the summary to the style text and log a warning rather
+		// than shipping a malformed prompt.
+		PRAutoBlogger_Logger::instance()->warning(
+			sprintf(
+				'Image style template has %d "%s" tokens (expected 1); appending summary instead of substituting.',
+				$token_count,
+				self::TOKEN
+			),
+			'image_template_filler'
+		);
+
+		$base = self::strip_token( $template );
+		return trim( $base . ' ' . $summary );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Sanitise and validate the admin-submitted style template on save.
+	 *
+	 * Multi-line, so sanitised with sanitize_textarea_field() (not
+	 * sanitize_text_field(), which would strip newlines). Per brief A5 the
+	 * template must contain exactly one TOKEN; otherwise the previous value is
+	 * kept and a settings error is surfaced. A blank submission falls back to
+	 * the editorial default so image generation can never be bricked.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $value Submitted template.
+	 * @return string Sanitised, validated template.
+	 */
+	public static function sanitize_for_save( string $value ): string {
+		$clean = sanitize_textarea_field( $value );
+
+		if ( '' === trim( $clean ) ) {
+			return PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE;
+		}
+
+		$token_count = substr_count( $clean, self::TOKEN );
+		if ( 1 !== $token_count ) {
+			add_settings_error(
+				'prautoblogger_image_style_template',
+				'prautoblogger_image_style_template_token',
+				sprintf(
+					/* translators: 1: required token, 2: number of tokens found. */
+					esc_html__( 'The Style Template must contain exactly one %1$s token (found %2$d). Keeping the previous value.', 'prautoblogger' ),
+					esc_html( self::TOKEN ),
+					(int) $token_count
+				)
+			);
+			return (string) get_option( 'prautoblogger_image_style_template', PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE );
+		}
+
+		return $clean;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Resolve the active template: admin override wins; blank → default.
+	 *
+	 * @return string Non-empty template string.
+	 */
+	private static function resolve_template(): string {
+		$override = (string) get_option( 'prautoblogger_image_style_template', '' );
+		if ( '' !== trim( $override ) ) {
+			return $override;
+		}
+		return PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Strip control characters and clamp length of the rewriter summary
+	 * (brief A5). Whitespace runs (including newlines) are collapsed to single
+	 * spaces so the summary sits cleanly inside the template.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $scene Raw rewriter scene.
+	 * @return string Sanitised, length-clamped summary (possibly empty).
+	 */
+	private static function sanitize_summary( string $scene ): string {
+		// Remove control characters (C0/C1) except via whitespace collapse below.
+		$clean = preg_replace( '/[\x00-\x1F\x7F]+/u', ' ', $scene );
+		if ( null === $clean ) {
+			// preg_replace can return null on bad UTF-8; degrade conservatively.
+			$clean = preg_replace( '/[\x00-\x1F\x7F]+/', ' ', $scene );
+			$clean = is_string( $clean ) ? $clean : '';
+		}
+
+		// Collapse whitespace runs to single spaces.
+		$collapsed = preg_replace( '/\s+/u', ' ', $clean );
+		$clean     = is_string( $collapsed ) ? $collapsed : $clean;
+		$clean     = trim( $clean );
+
+		if ( '' === $clean ) {
+			return '';
+		}
+
+		// Clamp length (multibyte-aware where available).
+		if ( function_exists( 'mb_strlen' ) ) {
+			if ( mb_strlen( $clean ) > self::MAX_SUMMARY_CHARS ) {
+				$clean = rtrim( mb_substr( $clean, 0, self::MAX_SUMMARY_CHARS ) ) . '...';
+			}
+		} elseif ( strlen( $clean ) > self::MAX_SUMMARY_CHARS ) {
+			$clean = rtrim( substr( $clean, 0, self::MAX_SUMMARY_CHARS ) ) . '...';
+		}
+
+		return $clean;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Remove every occurrence of the token from a template, tidying the
+	 * leftover whitespace so the residual style text is still well-formed.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $template Template possibly containing the token.
+	 * @return string Token-free, trimmed template.
+	 */
+	private static function strip_token( string $template ): string {
+		$stripped = str_replace( self::TOKEN, '', $template );
+		$stripped = preg_replace( '/[ \t]+/', ' ', $stripped );
+		$stripped = is_string( $stripped ) ? $stripped : $template;
+		return trim( $stripped );
+	}
+}

prautoblogger.php

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
  * Plugin Name:       PRAutoBlogger
  * Plugin URI:        https://peptiderepo.com/prautoblogger
  * Description:       Monitors social media for trending topics, generates SEO-friendly blog posts using AI, and publishes them on a daily schedule with full cost tracking and self-improvement metrics.
- * Version:           0.15.1
+ * Version:           0.16.0
  * Requires at least: 6.0
  * Requires PHP:      7.4
  * Author:            PeptideRepo
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
 | Defined here so every file in the plugin can reference paths, versions,
 | and limits without magic strings.
 */
-define( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_VERSION', '0.15.1' );
+define( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_VERSION', '0.16.0' );
 define( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DB_VERSION', '1.1.0' );
 define( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_PLUGIN_FILE', __FILE__ );
 define( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_PLUGIN_DIR', plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) );
@@ -66,6 +66,22 @@ define(
 	'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_SUFFIX',
 	'Style: a single-panel newspaper comic in classic black ink on white paper, simple clean linework like The Far Side or B.C., slightly yellowed newsprint texture, hand-drawn crosshatching for shading, bold panel border, warm and humorous tone, visible in a newspaper comics section. IMPORTANT: Do not render any text, captions, speech bubbles, or words inside the image.'
 );
+// Default editorial-illustration prompt template for the image generator.
+// Updated 2026-05-29 (v0.16.0): pivot from single-panel comic to text-free
+// editorial scientific illustration. The {{ topic_summary }} token is filled
+// at build time with a 1-2 sentence topic/mechanism description from the
+// rewriter LLM; the rest is brand-locked. Replaces the old Style Suffix.
+// Users may override via Settings -> Images -> Style Template. Per brief A5
+// the template must contain exactly one {{ topic_summary }} token.
+define(
+	'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE',
+	"Editorial scientific illustration, flat vector aesthetic, limited palette of\n" .
+	"teal (#1B8A92) and cream (#FAF6EE) with ink (#0D0D0D) line work and accents\n" .
+	"of orange (#FF8A3D) and lime (#7FD600). Subject: {{ topic_summary }}.\n" .
+	"Style reference: Quanta Magazine, The Pudding, scientific editorial illustration.\n" .
+	"Composition: clear focal point, balanced negative space, subtle textural detail.\n" .
+	'Mood: authoritative, clinical, calm. NO TEXT. NO PEOPLE. NO LOGOS. NO LABELS.'
+);
 // Opik observability (feature-flag gated).
 // API credentials must be defined in wp-config.php constants:
 // - PRAUTOBLOGGER_OPIK_API_KEY: API key for authentication

tests/bootstrap.php

@@ -67,11 +67,20 @@ if ( ! defined( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_PROVIDER' ) ) {
     define( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_PROVIDER', 'runware' );
 }
 
-// Default image style suffix used by ImagePromptBuilder and settings UI.
+// Default image style suffix used by legacy ImagePromptBuilder paths / settings UI.
 if ( ! defined( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_SUFFIX' ) ) {
     define( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_SUFFIX', 'Style: test infomercial style.' );
 }
 
+// Editorial style template (v0.16.0): default for prautoblogger_image_style_template.
+// Must contain exactly one {{ topic_summary }} token (brief A5).
+if ( ! defined( 'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE' ) ) {
+    define(
+        'PRAUTOBLOGGER_DEFAULT_IMAGE_STYLE_TEMPLATE',
+        "Editorial scientific illustration. Subject: {{ topic_summary }}. NO TEXT. NO PEOPLE. NO LOGOS. NO LABELS."
+    );
+}
+
 // WordPress database constants used in $wpdb queries.
 if ( ! defined( 'ARRAY_A' ) ) {
     define( 'ARRAY_A', 'ARRAY_A' );

tests/unit/Core/ImagePromptBuilderTest.php

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  * Tests for PRAutoBlogger_Image_Prompt_Builder.
  *
  * Validates prompt generation from article content and source data,
- * including style suffix appending and HTML stripping.
+ * including editorial-template substitution ({{ topic_summary }}) and HTML stripping.
  *
  * @package PRAutoBlogger\Tests\Core
  */
@@ -68,7 +68,9 @@ class ImagePromptBuilderTest extends BaseTestCase {
 		[ 'prompt' => $scene, 'caption' => $caption ] = $builder->build_article_prompt( $article_data );
 
 		$this->assertStringContainsString( 'How to Train Your Dragon', $scene );
-		// Style suffix should be appended.
+		// Editorial template wraps the topic summary; token must be substituted.
+		$this->assertStringNotContainsString( '{{ topic_summary }}', $scene );
+		$this->assertStringContainsString( 'Editorial scientific illustration', $scene );
 		$this->assertNotEmpty( $scene );
 		$this->assertGreaterThan( 50, strlen( $scene ) );
 		$this->assertIsString( $caption );