Meme Factory

Create memes using the free memegen.link API and textual meme formats.

Triggers

Trigger	Description
`/meme-factory`	Manual invocation
`/meme-factory {template} {top} {bottom}`	Direct meme generation
`meme-factory: create a meme about X`	Natural language request

Quick Reference

Action	Format
Basic meme	`https://api.memegen.link/images/{template}/{top}/{bottom}.png`
With sizing	`?width=1200&height=630`
Custom background	`?style=https://example.com/image.jpg`
All templates	https://api.memegen.link/templates/
Interactive docs	https://api.memegen.link/docs/

Additional Resources:

Markdown Memes Guide - 15+ textual meme formats
Examples - Practical usage examples
meme_generator.py - Python helper script

Quick Start

Basic Meme Structure

https://api.memegen.link/images/{template}/{top_text}/{bottom_text}.{extension}

Example:

https://api.memegen.link/images/buzz/memes/memes_everywhere.png

Result: Buzz Lightyear meme with "memes" at top and "memes everywhere" at bottom.

Text Formatting

Character	Encoding
Space	`_` or `-`
Newline	`~n`
Question mark	`~q`
Percent	`~p`
Slash	`~s`
Hash	`~h`
Single quote	`''`
Double quote	`""`

Popular Templates

Template	Use Case	Example
`buzz`	X, X everywhere	bugs/bugs_everywhere
`drake`	Comparisons	manual_testing/automated_testing
`success`	Victories	deployed/no_errors
`fine`	Things going wrong	server_on_fire/this_is_fine
`fry`	Uncertainty	not_sure_if_bug/or_feature
`changemind`	Hot takes	tabs_are_better_than_spaces
`distracted`	Priorities	my_code/new_framework/current_project
`mordor`	One does not simply	one_does_not_simply/deploy_on_friday

Template Selection Guide

Context	Template	Why
Comparing options	`drake`	Two-panel reject/approve format
Celebrating wins	`success`	Positive outcome emphasis
Problems ignored	`fine`	Ironic "everything is fine"
Uncertainty	`fry`	"Not sure if X or Y" format
Controversial opinion	`changemind`	Statement + challenge
Ubiquitous things	`buzz`	"X, X everywhere"
Bad ideas	`mordor`	"One does not simply..."

Validation

After generating a meme:

URL returns valid image (test in browser)
Text is readable (not too long)
Template matches the message context
Special characters properly encoded
Dimensions appropriate for platform

Platform Dimensions

Platform	Dimensions
Social media (Open Graph)	1200x630
Slack/Discord	800x600
GitHub	Default

Anti-Patterns

Avoid	Why	Instead
Spaces without encoding	URL breaks	Use `_` or `-`
Too much text	Unreadable	2-6 words per line
Wrong template	Message mismatch	Match template to context
Missing extension	Invalid URL	Always include `.png`, `.jpg`, etc.
Unencoded special chars	URL breaks	Use `~q`, `~s`, `~p`, etc.
Assuming template exists	404 error	Check templates list first

Verification

Meme generation is successful when:

URL is valid - Returns HTTP 200
Image renders - Displays correctly in markdown
Text is visible - Properly formatted on image
Context matches - Template fits the message

Test command:

curl -I "https://api.memegen.link/images/buzz/test/test.png"
# Should return: HTTP/2 200

Image Formats

Extension	Use Case
`.png`	Best quality, default
`.jpg`	Smaller file size
`.webp`	Modern, good compression
`.gif`	Animated templates

Dimensions

?width=800
?height=600
?width=800&height=600  (padded to exact)

Layout Options

?layout=top     # Text at top only
?layout=bottom  # Text at bottom only
?layout=default # Standard top/bottom

Custom Fonts

View available: https://api.memegen.link/fonts/

?font=impact  (default)

Custom Images

Use any image as background:

https://api.memegen.link/images/custom/hello/world.png?style=https://example.com/image.jpg

Code Reviews

Template: fry
https://api.memegen.link/images/fry/not_sure_if_feature/or_bug.png

Deployments

Template: interesting
https://api.memegen.link/images/interesting/i_dont_always_test/but_when_i_do_i_do_it_in_production.png

Documentation

Template: yodawg
https://api.memegen.link/images/yodawg/yo_dawg_i_heard_you_like_docs/so_i_documented_the_documentation.png

Performance Issues

Template: fine
https://api.memegen.link/images/fine/memory_usage_at_99~/this_is_fine.png

Successful Deploy

Template: success
https://api.memegen.link/images/success/deployed_to_production/zero_downtime.png

Generating Memes in Response

Here's a relevant meme:

![Meme](https://api.memegen.link/images/buzz/bugs/bugs_everywhere.png)

Dynamic Generation (Python)

def generate_status_meme(status: str, message: str):
    template_map = {
        "success": "success",
        "failure": "fine",
        "review": "fry",
        "deploy": "interesting"
    }

    template = template_map.get(status, "buzz")
    words = message.split()
    top = "_".join(words[0:3])
    bottom = "_".join(words[3:6])

    return f"https://api.memegen.link/images/{template}/{top}/{bottom}.png"

Using the Helper Script

from meme_generator import MemeGenerator

meme = MemeGenerator()
url = meme.generate("buzz", "features", "features everywhere")
print(url)

Endpoints

Endpoint	Purpose
`/templates/`	List all templates
`/templates/{id}`	Template details
`/fonts/`	Available fonts
`/images/{template}/{top}/{bottom}.{ext}`	Generate meme

API Characteristics

Free and open-source
No API key required
No rate limiting (normal use)
Stateless (all info in URL)
Images generated on-demand

Error Handling

Check template at https://api.memegen.link/templates/
Verify text formatting (underscores for spaces)
Check special character encoding
Ensure valid extension
Test URL in browser

References

Document	Content
markdown-memes-guide.md	15+ textual meme formats (greentext, copypasta, ASCII, etc.)
examples.md	Practical usage examples

Scripts

Script	Purpose
meme_generator.py	Python helper for meme generation

Summary

Generate contextual memes to:

Add humor to conversations
Create social media visuals
Make code reviews engaging
Celebrate successes

Golden rule: Keep text concise, match template to context.

meme-factory