PREREQUISITE — load moda-core once per session (step-0, write contract,
free/metered map). Already loaded? Skip ahead. If you cannot load it, the
non-negotiables: run moda doctor --json before anything; moda brand list
before creating; writes that pin a revision use your last read's — on
stale_revision, re-read and retry once (it heals); send the canvas link the
moment it exists; stuck or failed? moda ask "<question>" — free and fast,
never guess.
Sizes and defaults
| Format | Size | --category |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover frame / photo-mode page | 1080×1920 | social |
9:16 — everything on TikTok is this size |
| Photo-mode set | 1080×1920 × N | carousel |
one page per photo; ships as a zip of pngs |
Safe areas — design full-bleed; only text, logos, CTAs, and focal points stay inside:
- Post: UI covers top y 0–190, the right icon rail x 900–1080 (y 190–1780), and the caption band y 1780–1920. Safe zone x 120–840, y 252–1742.
- Ad: extra CTA chrome — bottom reserved from y 1400. Safe zone x 120–840, y 252–1280. Assume a normal post unless the user says ad.
- Cover frames are also shown as a small grid tile on the profile: the subject and any title must survive at ~1/6 scale.
- Type: body ≈ 48px at 1080 wide, floor 32px — vertical video is read in motion.
This skill owns the STILL: the cover frame and photo-mode pages. An actual TikTok video is moda-video (render format wins over platform).
Recipe — cover frame or single photo-mode page
moda canvas create --name "[Topic] — TikTok" --intent "[one-line brief]" --size 1080x1920 --category social --brand [KIT]— send the link immediately.- Image-led?
moda media generate-image --prompt "[subject, brand palette]" --model [MODEL]for the backdrop; type-led is equally strong. - Author in ONE apply:
moda canvas markup [CANVAS_REF] --file - --page [PAGE_ID]— title inside x 120–840, y 252–1742 (references/markup.md). - Look ONCE —
--screenshot PATHon that apply returns the capture (ormoda canvas screenshot [CANVAS_REF]): check the right rail and caption band are clear, then judge the title at tile scale; at most ONE repair write, captured the same way, then ship. moda export [CANVAS_REF] --format png --pixel-ratio 2 -o [topic]-tiktok.png.
Recipe — photo-mode set
moda canvas create --name "[Topic] — photo set" --size 1080x1920 --category carousel --brand [KIT]— link immediately.- Prove page 1 alone (author → look → at most one fix) before adding pages: it sets the system every later page repeats — 2–4 colors, two fonts, one motif.
moda canvas add-pages [CANVAS_REF] --count [N-1], then one markup apply per page, serial on the one canvas; vary composition so neighbours differ.moda canvas screenshot [CANVAS_REF]in ≤3-page batches; judge as a set, fix in ONE repair round, then export.moda export [CANVAS_REF] --format png --pixel-ratio 2 -o [topic]-tiktok.zip— the zip of page images IS the photo-mode deliverable.
Examples
- "a cover for our new TikTok" → cover recipe at 1080×1920.
- "a 5-photo TikTok post about [Topic]" → photo-mode set, 5 pages, zip.
- "a TikTok ad still" → cover recipe with the ad safe zone (bottom clear from y 1400).
- "make the TikTok video itself" → not this skill: load moda-video.
Errors
Any typed error → load moda-core and read its recovery reference.
Most likely here: text drifting under the right rail — capture the fixing write
(--screenshot PATH); still one repair round, not a loop. stale_revision heals — re-read and retry once.
Make it recurring
A cover-frame series on a posting cadence → moda-automate; the proven cover layout → moda-templates, so every upload starts from the winner.
See also: moda-social — other platforms, carousel theory, one-off graphics · moda-core — the contract, recovery, everything Moda can do.
References
| Doc | Load when |
|---|---|
| references/tiktok.md | depth: safe-area map, cover-vs-photo craft, tile-scale legibility |
| references/markup.md | before any markup apply |
| references/no-brand-design.md | no kit is active — inventing the identity: palette law, type, imagery, layout system |