What this skill does
Creates original editorial illustrations where a recurring mascot character performs the idea — one caught scene by default, a hand-built explainer diagram (a flow, fan-out, timeline, loop, or stack) when the structure itself is the point, or a transparent character cutout (pose-only compositing asset, no scene or text) — in one of seventeen bundled looks (sixteen print, plus a photoreal toy-brick set). Also handles "surprise me" / "random" (optionally scoped to a focus or character): rolls provenance, builds three saying candidates, picks via interactive choice or auto-pick-best (`--autopick`), and renders one image. Triggers only when the skill is directly invoked or "illo" is requested; never on generic illustrate / draw / make-an-image requests.
illo is part of the Developer Tools category — developer tools that help your agent write, review, debug, and ship code. You can install it on its own or alongside other developer tools skills from the OpenClaw catalog.
How to install illo
The easiest path is via the OpenClaw Easy desktop app — one click, no terminal required:
- Download OpenClaw Easy for macOS or Windows (free, one-click installer, ~30 seconds).
- Open the in-app Skills panel.
- Search for
illoand click Install. - The skill activates automatically when an incoming message matches its description.
Install from the command line
If you already run the OpenClaw CLI, add illo with a single command:
openclaw skills add illo
This pulls illo from ClawHub and installs it into ~/.openclaw/skills/illo/. Restart the OpenClaw gateway afterwards so the new skill is discovered.
How to use illo
Once installed, illo activates on its own: when an incoming message on WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Feishu or Line matches the skill's description, your OpenClaw agent loads it and runs the workflow. You can also trigger it explicitly by describing the task in chat. No extra configuration is required after install.
Turning images into video
illo works with images. Getting from there to something postable is a separate job: ViralMint — an open-source video pipeline — turns stills into motion — pans and transitions, synced captions, and a vertical export for short-form feeds.
It runs as an MCP server, so an OpenClaw agent can drive it from the same chat you already use: ask for a short, and the render comes back finished. See how to connect a video pipeline to your agent.
Manual install (advanced)
If you prefer manual installation:
- Click the Download .zip button above to grab
illo-0.33.0.zipdirectly from our S3 mirror. - Unzip into
~/.openclaw/skills/illo/(create the directory if it does not exist). - Restart OpenClaw Easy (or the OpenClaw CLI gateway) so the new skill is discovered.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install illo?
Install illo in the OpenClaw Easy desktop app by opening the Skills panel, searching for illo, and clicking Install. From a terminal you can run: openclaw skills add illo. Either way the skill is placed in ~/.openclaw/skills/illo/.
Is illo free?
Yes. illo is free and open-source, distributed under the Apache-2.0 license through ClawHub. No account or payment is required to download or run it.
What does illo do?
Creates original editorial illustrations where a recurring mascot character performs the idea — one caught scene by default, a hand-built explainer diagram (a flow, fan-out, timeline, loop, or stack) when the structure itself is the point, or a transparent character cutout (pose-only compositing…
Related: more developer tools skills
If illo looks useful, you may also want to check out other developer tools skills in the OpenClaw catalog:
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Free, open-source · Apache-2.0 · Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or local Ollama models