The patterns become visible: real capture gifs where they teach (#6)

* docs: nika gifs where they teach — patterns-as-code/README.md

* docs: nika gifs where they teach — workflows/03-parallelization.md

* docs: nika gifs where they teach — workflows/01-prompt-chaining.md

* docs: nika gifs where they teach — README.md

Author: ThibautMelen

README.md

@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@ mindmap
 > [!TIP]
 > **New in the 2026 edition** — [🗞️ What Changed 2025-2026](foundations/what-changed-2026.md) (the dated map: context engineering, the multi-agent debate, the AGENTS.md · SKILL.md · MCP stack, harness engineering) and [📜 Patterns as Code](patterns-as-code/) (every pattern as a runnable file — checked in CI on every push, no API key needed).
 
+<p align="center">
+  <a href="patterns-as-code/"><img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/supernovae-st/nika/main/media/gifs/chat-to-workflow.optimized.gif" alt="A repeated chat prompt becomes a workflow file; checked before a token is spent, then a real local run — the patterns in this repo, as runnable files" width="850"></a>
+</p>
+<p align="center"><sub>⬆️ real capture: a repeated prompt graduates into a checked, runnable file — <a href="patterns-as-code/">every pattern in this repo works this way</a> · and <a href="patterns-as-code/real-world/">three of them run a real campaign daily</a> 🛰️</sub></p>
+
 ## 🗺️ Navigation
 
 <table>

patterns-as-code/README.md

@@ -40,6 +40,15 @@ nika check patterns-as-code/02-routing.nika.yaml
 nika run   patterns-as-code/02-routing.nika.yaml
 ```
 
+![A broken pattern file: nika check catches the DAG bug with a named finding, the three-line fix, then a clean verdict — before any token is spent](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/supernovae-st/nika/main/media/gifs/static-check-fix.optimized.gif)
+
+*The check loop above is real terminal output from the released binary — the same gate CI runs on this folder.*
+
+**And the file IS the DAG** — open any of these in VS Code ([extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=supernovae.nika-lang)) and the YAML renders as a live graph:
+
+![The same .nika.yaml file rendered as an interactive DAG canvas in VS Code — yaml to dag, one keystroke](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/supernovae-st/nika-vscode/main/media/dag-execution.gif)
+
+
 | Pattern | File | The pattern's essence, in file form |
 |---------|------|-------------------------------------|
 | [⛓️ Prompt Chaining](../workflows/01-prompt-chaining.md) | [`01-prompt-chaining.nika.yaml`](01-prompt-chaining.nika.yaml) | steps chained by `depends_on:` — `schema:` blocks ARE the 🚧 gates |

workflows/01-prompt-chaining.md

@@ -36,6 +36,12 @@ flowchart LR
 
 ---
 
+**From chat to chain, for real** — the moment a repeated prompt becomes a chained file (then a real local run writes typed output):
+
+![A repeated chat prompt becomes meeting-actions.nika.yaml: check audits the chain, then a real local run (ollama) writes typed action items](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/supernovae-st/nika/main/media/gifs/chat-to-workflow.optimized.gif)
+
+*Runnable version of this pattern: [`01-prompt-chaining.nika.yaml`](../patterns-as-code/01-prompt-chaining.nika.yaml).*
+
 ## 🚧 Gate
 
 > A checkpoint between steps that validates the output before proceeding. If validation fails, the chain exits early.

workflows/03-parallelization.md

@@ -35,6 +35,12 @@ flowchart LR
 
 ---
 
+**What it looks like for real** — parallel waves executing in the terminal (tasks with no mutual deps run concurrently, the lanes are the fan-out):
+
+![nika run executes independent tasks in parallel waves — live lanes, per-task timings, then the verdict](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/supernovae-st/nika/main/media/gifs/dag-execution.optimized.gif)
+
+*From the runnable version of this exact pattern: [`03-parallelization.nika.yaml`](../patterns-as-code/03-parallelization.nika.yaml) — offline, no API key.*
+
 ## Key Insight
 
 ```