- name
- vlm-image-helper
- description
- Visual inspection helper for VLM and OCR workflows. Use when agent needs to help a vision model see an image more clearly before re-analysis: rotate misaligned or sideways text, crop to a relevant region, zoom small details, enhance readability, or convert an image for re-input. Trigger especially when the model cannot confidently read text, cannot tell similar characters apart such as O/0 or I/l/1, says the image is unclear, needs to inspect only one area of the image, or would benefit from a second pass on a clearer view. Do not use as a general-purpose image editor.
VLM Image Helper
Treat this skill as a visual aid for the model, not as a general image editor.
Use scripts/image_helper.py to create a clearer intermediate image, then re-run analysis on that result.
Core Workflow
- Start from the original image path, a raw base64 string, or a data URI.
- Apply the smallest transformation that is likely to remove the ambiguity.
- Prefer semantic crop presets over manual coordinates unless the exact box is already known.
- Return the processed image as a file or base64, then re-read that result.
- If the image is still unclear, iterate once with a tighter crop or stronger zoom instead of stacking many edits at once.
Quick Commands
# Rotate sideways text
python scripts/image_helper.py image.png --rotate 90 -o rotated.png
# Crop a likely area and zoom it
python scripts/image_helper.py image.png --crop-preset bottom-right --scale-preset x3 -o detail.png
# Improve low-contrast text
python scripts/image_helper.py image.png --auto-enhance -o enhanced.png
# Convert an existing file path directly to base64
python scripts/image_helper.py image.png --base64Choose the Next Action
- Text is sideways or upside down: use
--rotate. - Only one region matters: use
--crop-presetfirst, then add--scale-preset. - Small text or icons are hard to read: use
--scale-preset x2orx3. - Contrast is weak or edges are fuzzy: use
--auto-enhance, or manually tune--contrastand--sharpness. - Another tool needs inline image data instead of a file path: add
--base64. - The source image arrives as raw base64 or a data URI: use
--input-mode autoor force--input-mode base64/data-uri.
Input and Output Rules
- Accept a file path, raw base64 string, or data URI as input.
- Return a file with
-oor return inline base64 with--base64. - Allow passthrough output with no edits when the only goal is format conversion or path-to-base64 conversion.
References
- Full CLI reference:
references/cli-reference.md - Crop and scale preset table:
references/presets.md
Prerequisite
Install Pillow if it is missing:
pip install Pillow
# or
uv pip install Pillow