From Idea to InputPeek – how I’m trying to automate AI selfies
From Idea to InputPeek – how I’m trying to automate AI selfies
Introduction
The spark for InputPeek.com came one evening while doom‑scrolling Instagram. My feed was packed with split‑screen selfies: plain photo on the left, AI glow‑up on the right. The posts got plenty of likes, but you could tell someone was doing each one by hand. My first thought was, “A script could crank these out non‑stop.” That hunch turned into commit history.
How InputPeek actually works
On the surface the site is dead simple: pick a prompt, see the before‑and‑after, copy the text. Behind the scenes two main pieces keep it moving.
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The prompt factory A meta‑prompt spits out batches of ideas. I skim the list, keep the fun ones, and let the service pull a random selfie from a folder. The selfie plus prompt go to an image model (right now OpenAI plus a couple of open‑source models). The original and AI result are uploaded straight to InputPeek.com.
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The distribution layer A helper script grabs the new image pairs, drops them into a posting calendar, and hands everything off to a rented scheduler (Post‑Bridge or similar) that publishes on Instagram, YouTube Shorts and Facebook at the right times. Once the flow feels bullet‑proof I’ll swap the rental for my own scheduler.
Parts that might become mini‑products
1. A home‑grown social‑media scheduler
Most schedulers I tried charge way too much for what is basically a queue and a calendar. A solid scheduler only needs a clean REST API, a few workers that push media, and a status table. Prices shoot up mainly because tools have to pay Twitter’s (X) new API fee of at least 100 USD a month. I’m not using X anyway, so I can skip that integration and keep costs low.
| Service | Cheapest plan / month | X support | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer Essentials | 5 USD | Yes | Charged per social channel |
| Later Starter | 16.67 USD | Yes | Billed yearly |
| Hootsuite Standard | 99 USD | Yes | Price per user |
| Sprout Social Standard | 199 USD | Yes | Price per user |
| Twitter API Basic | 100 USD | – | The reason prices spike |
| My planned scheduler | ≈ 1.67 USD (20 USD / yr) | No | YouTube, Instagram, Facebook only |
The goal is a no‑nonsense API, webhook callbacks for status, and OAuth flows you can slide into a cron job— all for about $20 / year.
2. The media composer
The tool that stitches two stills into a vertical short video saves hours of manual editing. Packaging it as a CLI or small web service is low‑hanging fruit.
3. Direct generation on the site
Visitors will soon be able to upload their own photo, pay a small markup, and get the AI version without copying a single line of text. That’s where my upcoming support tool ApproveReply.com will step in to handle questions and error reports with an AI assist.
The plan going forward
- Use third‑party services until the whole loop runs and real people are using it.
- Replace one block at a time— scheduler first, then rendering, then the rest.
- Package and sell any block that gets rock‑solid, while InputPeek.com keeps showing the full pipeline live.
Closing words
I’m building this mostly for the fun of watching things run themselves— and to see if people actually like the output. If it takes off, great; if not, I’ve learned a ton and have a few reusable modules in my pocket. So give a prompt a spin, upload a photo (soon), shout if something breaks, and let’s see where it goes.