The .SKEL format.
Flat relational YAML for stories that LLMs read and write without losing referential integrity. Open, published, and yours.
story.skel is the native, human-readable story file: acts → scenes → shots, with v_setup camera tokens, a bone_registry, and metadata.
Lossless by design
The v2.6 merged format is fully additive — 2.0 files still validate. It adds lifecycle, embedded characters and environments, scene mood and intent, shot cinematography, and structured dialogue.
Opening an AI-generated story and saving it never drops generated depth. Genlock compiles spec/skel.schema.json; .skel.json is a separate portability export.
metadata:
lifecycle: production
director: "Elena Vasquez"
bone_registry: [higgsfield-video]
scenes:
- id: sc-01
shots:
- v_setup:
size: CU angle: LOW
move: PUSH lens: 85mm
light: NEON
bones:
higgsfield-video:
soul_id: "soul-abc123"
duration: 15
# prompt kept with every asset