Meme Generator

Create memes from popular templates with custom text overlays. Supports caption-only memes, template-based memes, batch generation, and direct sharing via Telegram or Obsidian.

Overview

Meme Generator lets you quickly produce memes using a library of 20+ popular templates. It uses Python Pillow for text overlay with Impact font, white text, and black stroke — the classic meme aesthetic. Memes can be saved to Obsidian attachments, sent via Telegram, or batch-generated for content calendars.

Commands

/meme <template> <top_text> | <bottom_text>

Generate a meme from a template with top and/or bottom text.

Arguments:

• <template> — Template name or ID (use /meme-templates to browse)
• <top_text> — Text for the top panel (use _ for none)
• <bottom_text> — Text for the bottom panel (separated by |)

Examples:

/meme drake "Write tests" | "Ship directly to prod"
/meme distracted-boyfriend "New framework" | "Current framework" | "Old framework"
/meme this-is-fine _ | "When the server crashes on Friday"

/meme-caption <text>

Generate a caption-only meme (Impact font, white text, black stroke on solid background).

Options:

• --bg <color> — Background color (default: black; options: black, white, red, blue, custom:#hex)
• --font-size <size> — Font size in pixels (default: auto-sized)
• --width <px> — Image width (default: 600)
• --height <px> — Image height (default: auto from text)

Examples:

/meme-caption "Nobody: ... Developers at 3am:"
/meme-caption "When it works on the first try" --bg white
/meme-caption "404 Motivation Not Found" --bg custom:#1a1a2e

/meme-custom <image_path> <top_text> | <bottom_text>

Apply meme text overlay to a custom image.

Options:

• --font <name> — Font to use (default: impact; options: impact, arial, comic-sans, helvetica)
• --stroke-width <px> — Stroke width (default: 3)
• --text-color <color> — Text fill color (default: white)
• --stroke-color <color> — Stroke color (default: black)

Examples:

/meme-custom ~/photo.jpg "My code" | "When my boss walks by"
/meme-custom ~/meme-base.png _ | "Bottom text only" --font arial

/meme-templates [filter]

List available meme templates. Optionally filter by name or category.

Examples:

/meme-templates
/meme-templates reactions

/meme-batch <csv_file>

Batch generate memes from a CSV file.

CSV format:

template,top_text,bottom_text,output_name
drake,"Write docs","Read the code",meme-001
this-is-fine,,"Server is fine",meme-002
distracted-boyfriend,"New JS framework","Current framework","The old one",meme-003

/meme-save <meme_id> [destination]

Save a generated meme to Obsidian attachments or a specified path.

Destination options:

• obsidian (default) — Save to ~/obsidian-vault/Attachments/memes/
• telegram — Send directly via Telegram
• both — Save to Obsidian and send via Telegram
• Custom path — Save to specified directory

Template Library

Reaction Memes

ID	Template	Panels	Description
drake	Drake Hotline	2	Preference/disapproval split
distracted-boyfriend	Distracted Boyfriend	3	Temptation triangle
this-is-fine	This is Fine	2	Denial in crisis
gal-brain	Expanding Brain	5	Escalating ideas
change-my-mind	Change My Mind	1	Stubborn opinion
surprised-pikachu	Surprised Pikachu	1	Unexpected consequence
disaster-girl	Disaster Girl	1	Sinister observer
side-eye-chloe	Side-Eye Chloe	1	Skeptical reaction

Comparison Memes

ID	Template	Panels	Description
two-buttons	Two Buttons	3	Difficult choice
trade-offer	Trade Offer	2	Unfair exchange
buffet-vs-dessert	Buffet vs Dessert	2	Priority comparison
is-this-a-pigeon	Is This a Pigeon	3	Misidentification

Situational Memes

ID	Template	Panels	Description
its-free-real-estate	It's Free Real Estate	1	Dubious offer
this-is-where-id-put-my-x	Where I'd Put X	2	Absent feature
slapping-car-roof	Slapping Car Roof	1	Product pitch
woman-yelling-at-cat	Woman Yelling at Cat	2	Heated disagreement
panik-kalm-panik	Panik Kalm Panik	3	Anxiety cycle
monkey-puppet	Monkey Puppet	1	Awkward avoidance
stonks	Stonks	1	Fake financial success
press-f	Press F to Pay Respects	1	Mock sorrow

Tech-Specific

ID	Template	Panels	Description
deployment-pipeline	Deployment Pipeline	4	CI/CD humor
stack-overflow	Stack Overflow	2	Copy-paste coding
works-on-my-machine	Works on My Machine	1	Environment excuses
git-blame	Git Blame	2	Code archaeology

Technical Implementation

Image Generation with Pillow

from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
import textwrap
import os

def create_meme(template_name, top_text, bottom_text):
    """Generate a meme from a template with text overlay."""
    # Load template image
    template_path = get_template_path(template_name)
    img = Image.open(template_path)
    draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img)

    # Load Impact font with fallback
    try:
        font = ImageFont.truetype("/usr/share/fonts/impact.ttf", size=48)
    except OSError:
        font = ImageFont.truetype("/usr/share/fonts/truetype/impact.ttf", size=48)

    # Text styling: white fill, black stroke
    fill_color = (255, 255, 255)    # White
    stroke_color = (0, 0, 0)        # Black
    stroke_width = 3

    # Calculate text wrapping based on image width
    max_chars = int(img.width / 18)  # Approximate chars per line

    # Draw top text
    if top_text and top_text != "_":
        lines = textwrap.wrap(top_text.upper(), width=max_chars)
        y = 10
        for line in lines:
            bbox = draw.textbbox((0, 0), line, font=font)
            x = (img.width - (bbox[2] - bbox[0])) // 2
            draw.text((x, y), line, font=font,
                      fill=fill_color, stroke_width=stroke_width,
                      stroke_fill=stroke_color)
            y += bbox[3] - bbox[1] + 8

    # Draw bottom text
    if bottom_text:
        lines = textwrap.wrap(bottom_text.upper(), width=max_chars)
        y = img.height - 10
        for line in reversed(lines):
            bbox = draw.textbbox((0, 0), line, font=font)
            x = (img.width - (bbox[2] - bbox[0])) // 2
            y -= (bbox[3] - bbox[1] + 8)
            draw.text((x, y), line, font=font,
                      fill=fill_color, stroke_width=stroke_width,
                      stroke_fill=stroke_color)

    return img

def create_caption_meme(text, bg_color="black", width=600):
    """Generate a caption-only meme with colored background."""
    # Create background
    font = ImageFont.truetype("/usr/share/fonts/impact.ttf", size=42)
    wrapped = textwrap.wrap(text.upper(), width=30)
    line_height = 52
    height = (len(wrapped) * line_height) + 40
    img = Image.new("RGB", (width, height), bg_color)
    draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img)

    y = 20
    for line in wrapped:
        bbox = draw.textbbox((0, 0), line, font=font)
        x = (width - (bbox[2] - bbox[0])) // 2
        draw.text((x, y), line, font=font,
                  fill=(255, 255, 255), stroke_width=3,
                  stroke_fill=(0, 0, 0))
        y += line_height

    return img

Multi-Panel Meme Assembly

For templates with multiple panels (e.g., Drake, Expanding Brain):

def create_panel_meme(template_name, texts):
    """Build a multi-panel meme by stacking image sections."""
    template = TEMPLATE_REGISTRY[template_name]
    panels = []

    for i, section in enumerate(template["sections"]):
        panel = load_panel_image(template_name, i)
        if texts[i]:
            panel = overlay_text(panel, texts[i],
                                 position=section["text_position"])
        panels.append(panel)

    return stack_panels(panels, direction=template["layout"])

Batch Generation for Content Calendars

Creating memes for a content calendar:

# memes-january.csv
template,top_text,bottom_text,output_name,schedule_date
drake,"Write documentation","Just add comments",meme-001,2025-01-06
this-is-fine,,"Prod is fine",meme-002,2025-01-08
surprised-pikachu,,"When the test passes",meme-003,2025-01-10

/meme-batch ~/memes-january.csv

→ 🎨 Generating batch memes (3 items)...
→ ✅ meme-001.png (drake)
→ ✅ meme-002.png (this-is-fine)
→ ✅ meme-003.png (surprised-pikachu)
→ 💾 All saved to: ~/obsidian-vault/Attachments/memes/batch/

📊 Batch Summary:
  - Generated: 3/3
  - Failed: 0
  - Total size: 1.2 MB

Integrate with social-poster skill:

/post-draft twitter "" --media ~/obsidian-vault/Attachments/memes/batch/meme-001.png --tone casual

Pitfalls

1. Font availability — Impact font may not be installed on all systems. The skill falls back to available bold sans-serif fonts, but the classic meme look requires Impact. Install fonts-freefont-ttf or equivalent.

2. Text overflow — Very long text can overflow panel boundaries. The skill auto-wraps text, but extremely long strings may produce tiny font sizes. Keep top/bottom text under 50 characters for best results.

3. Image quality — Template images must be at least 600px wide. Low-resolution templates produce blurry memes. The template library uses only high-quality source images.

4. Special characters — Unicode emojis and special characters in Impact font may not render correctly. Stick to ASCII for classic meme text; use --font arial for emoji support.

5. Multi-panel alignment — Templates with more than 2 panels require careful text placement. The skill uses predefined text zones per template, but custom images may need manual adjustment.

6. File size — Meme images with large dimensions can exceed Telegram's 5MB send limit. The skill auto-compresses to stay under limits.

7. Obsidian attachment path — The default save path ~/obsidian-vault/Attachments/memes/ must exist. The skill creates it if missing, but verify vault path configuration.

8. Batch CSV formatting — The batch CSV must use proper quoting for fields containing commas. A malformed CSV will skip the affected row with a warning.

9. Copyright concerns — Some meme images have copyright restrictions. The skill uses widely-shared template images, but commercial use may require additional licenses.

10. Pillow version — Requires Pillow >= 9.0 for stroke_width parameter in draw.text(). Older versions will throw a TypeError.

Verification Steps

1. Check Pillow is installed:

   python3 -c "from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont; print('Pillow OK')"

2. Check Impact font availability:

   python3 -c "from PIL import ImageFont; ImageFont.truetype('/usr/share/fonts/impact.ttf', 48); print('Impact font OK')"

   If missing, install: sudo apt install fonts-freefont-ttf or download Impact font.

3. Test basic meme generation:

   /meme drake "Write code" | "Write tests"

   Should produce a two-panel Drake meme image and display it.

4. Test caption-only meme:

   /meme-caption "Hello World this is a test"

   Should produce a black-background meme with white Impact text.

5. Verify template library:

   /meme-templates

   Should list 20+ templates with IDs, names, and panel counts.

6. Test custom image:
   Use /meme-custom with a local image file and verify text overlay is positioned correctly.

7. Test Obsidian save:

   /meme-save meme-output obsidian

   Check ~/obsidian-vault/Attachments/memes/ for the saved file.

8. Test Telegram send:

   /meme-save meme-output telegram

   Verify the meme image is sent as a photo in the current Telegram chat.

9. Test batch generation:
   Create a small CSV with 2-3 entries and run /meme-batch. Verify all images are generated and saved.

10. Test error handling:

    • Try /meme nonexistent-template "test" → should show template not found error
    • Try /meme drake "text that is extremely long and goes on forever" → should auto-wrap or warn