By name: autoalbum-minimax version: 24.0-production-test-ready-2026-05-12 description: MiniMax Music 2.6 professional track/album creation-control skill with progressive disclosure, style catalogs, songwriting/production training, provider-aware generation packets, quality gates, and agent-native workflow enforcement. triggers: - "write an album" - "generate an album with minimax" - "autoalbum" - "run album pipeline" - "create an EP" - "create a MiniMax album" - "make a song with MiniMax"
AutoAlbum MiniMax 2.6
AutoAlbum is the creative-control layer for MiniMax Music 2.6. It guides an agent from concept to high-quality song/album artifacts: style resolution, songwriting, production planning, MiniMax packets, candidate renders, review, sequencing, final QC, and release packaging.
Prime directive
Create coherent, distinctive, high-craft, high-appeal tracks and albums. Every stage must improve at least one of: concept strength, songwriting, style fidelity, MiniMax controllability, candidate selection, album flow, or release readiness. Remove or skip work that does not improve those outcomes.
Progressive disclosure
Do not load the whole reference tree. Start with:
references/active/CURRENT.md
references/architecture/stage_reference_map.md
references/architecture/phase_gate_matrix.md
Then read only the stage-specific, style-specific, provider-specific, or failure-specific references named there. This follows the skill pattern: SKILL.md is the playbook, with resources and scripts loaded only when needed.
Agent-native enforcement
This is an agent-executed production pipeline. Required artifacts, gates, schemas, state updates, manifest updates, and controller checks are mandatory execution logic, not optional inspiration.
Use the helper for professional, release-grade, autonomous, album/EP/concept-album, or style-strict work:
python ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/autoalbum_guard.py <command> ...
Core commands:
init create project root and control files
status report phase, blockers, missing artifacts, next actions
route show phase route and required/conditional/skipped applicability for the project
validate check control files, JSON/JSONL syntax, and known schemas
gate check required artifacts for a phase
advance move state.json to next/specified phase
manifest refresh project_manifest.json
snapshot save a transaction snapshot before risky edits
rollback restore latest/named snapshot
record-result append a score/decision row to results.tsv
preflight run full production-test readiness checks before any completion claim
Controller checks prove structure, schema validity, and workflow completeness, not artistry. Musical quality still requires the rubrics, style catalog, listener/A&R review, post-render evaluation, and final QC.
Verification-first rule
A project is not complete because the required files exist. It is complete only when the files are current, schema-valid, content-valid, provider-ready, and independently verified.
Before any completion claim, run the production preflight. It reconciles state, refreshes manifest, validates schemas, verifies freshness/quotes/style/tournaments/variants/payloads, and lints MiniMax prompts:
python ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/autoalbum_guard.py preflight <project_slug> --reconcile
For minimax_ready_packets, generated_candidates, selected_album_sequence, and release_package, provider-ready payloads are required. Export and verify them before preflight if they do not already exist:
python ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/autoalbum_guard.py export-payloads <project_slug>
python ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/autoalbum_guard.py verify-payloads <project_slug>
Every evaluation/review that scores or criticizes an artifact must include the path and SHA-256 hash of the artifact it evaluated. Stale reviews, reviews quoting lines that do not exist, invalid style catalog references, non-renderable variants, or prompt lint blockers cap or fail downstream quality gates.
Controller routing is completion-oriented: even packet-only or generated-candidate projects must still run completion_fit before the agent claims the requested work is complete. Non-applicable phases are marked skip; they should not be fabricated.
Project root
Every project lives inside a top-level folder named for the work:
<project_slug>/
project_manifest.json
state.json
intent_intake.json
project_config.json
seed.txt
source_notes.md
results.tsv
style_catalog_outputs/
foundation/
planning/
tracks/
generation/
covers/
ops/
reviews/
release_package/
Skill references stay under references/ and are not modified during ordinary project execution.
Supported scopes
single_track
lead_single
EP
mixtape
album
concept_album
beat_tape
instrumental_score
cover_or_rerender
revision_of_existing_work
Execution modes:
autonomous_full_pipeline
collaborative_checkpoints
packet_only
render_review_only
release_package_only
Proceed with reasonable defaults unless a missing decision would materially change the result. If a user gives a concept but no style, treat style as material: generate distinct style-lane options, ask when interactive, or document the selected autonomous style as a material assumption in intent_intake.json, project_config.json, and style_selection.json.
Canonical workflow
Use references/architecture/canonical_phase_order.md, references/architecture/stage_reference_map.md, and the controller route command for exact stage files, gates, applicability, and escalation references.
Short form:
intent/config
→ concept option search when required/conditional by route
→ style resolution
→ style/voice trials
→ foundation and album canon
→ track planning/style cards/motifs
→ hook/form/preproduction
→ lyrics/prosody
→ adversarial song/preproduction edit
→ MiniMax packet compilation
→ prompt budget/compression
→ adversarial prompt/packet review
→ packet/style/API evaluation
→ unified quality decision
independent verifier review at lyrics, packet, and completion gates
→ variants and payloads
→ candidate rendering/review
→ post-audio rebuild
→ final QC/release package
→ executive producer review
→ completion fit check
Non-expert agent rule
Assume the agent does not already know songwriting, music theory, production, mixing, style analysis, or MiniMax prompting. For any stage that requires musical judgment, use the relevant references/agent_training/ and references/craft/ files named in the stage map.
A track cannot pass because it is elaborate. It must demonstrate concrete musical mechanisms: memorable hook, performable prosody, style-specific groove, arrangement tension/release, clear vocal identity, and MiniMax-actionable prompt controls.
Non-negotiable gates
A vocal track is not MiniMax-ready until the applicable gates pass:
hook/title lab
track style card
songcraft evaluation
arrangement/energy review
prosody/topline review
line polish review
preproduction brief
album canon consistency
adversarial song/preproduction review
provider profile selection
prompt budget report
MiniMax packet evaluation
style fidelity evaluation when a style/reference is requested
parameter audit
unified quality decision
independent verifier review at lyrics, packet, and completion gates
An album/release package is not complete until:
all required track artifacts pass
selected renders or approved pending-generation statuses exist
post-audio planning rebuild is complete when renders exist
sequence has been reviewed against actual audio
weakest track is revised, cut, or justified
final audio QC passes for release-package goals
completion claim matches the user’s requested output goal
Every material phase must update or explicitly justify no change to:
<project_slug>/state.json
<project_slug>/project_manifest.json
<project_slug>/results.tsv
MiniMax rules
Use the selected provider profile under references/api/provider_profiles/. Validate prompt, lyrics, tags, audio settings, streaming/output behavior, and cover-mode fields against that route.
Default serious-work policy:
model: music-2.6
lyrics_optimizer: false except diagnostic/scratch use
is_instrumental: true only for intentional instrumental tracks
prompt language: English unless user asks otherwise
output_format: url for ordinary batch generation, downloaded immediately
stream: false for final renders
archive highest reliable route-supported audio profile
Style catalog rule
When the user names a genre, subgenre, artist, producer, song, album, era, scene, or hybrid style, resolve it through the style catalog before foundation or prompt generation. Preserve the raw style request, then expand it into concrete controls: tempo, groove, drums, bass, harmony, instruments, vocal delivery, ad-libs, hook mechanics, lyric posture, arrangement, mix space, and failure modes.
A good lyric with a weak style card is not MiniMax-ready.
Optional critic mode
Use critic mode only for high-rigor, style-strict, release-grade, post-render, or blocked projects. It is not a default step after every minor phase.
Completion
Before claiming completion, run the user-story fit and full-skill quality checks in the stage map. Packet-ready is not generated audio; generated candidates are not a release-ready album.