/newsletter-digest

name: newsletter-digest
description: Aggregates RSS feeds from the past week, synthesizes the top stories using Gemini, and publishes a newsletter digest to Ghost CMS. Optionally outputs formatted Markdown for Substack or any other platform. Use when asked to generate a newsletter, create a weekly digest, summarize RSS feeds, compile top stories for a newsletter, or publish a digest to Ghost. Trigger when a user mentions newsletter digest, weekly roundup, RSS digest, compile top stories, or publish to Ghost.
author: OpenDirectory
version: 1.0.0

Newsletter Digest

Aggregate content from RSS feeds, synthesize the week's top stories with Gemini, and publish a digest to Ghost CMS. Supports weekly digests, topic-focused roundups, and curated picks formats.

Writing Style

Apply to all generated digest content:

• Active voice only
• Short sentences, one idea per sentence
• No em dashes — use a period or comma instead
• No semicolons
• No markdown or asterisks in the final newsletter body
• No hashtags

Banned words — do not use any of these in the digest: incredible, amazing, leveraging, synergize, game-changing, game changer, delve, harness, unlock, groundbreaking, cutting-edge, remarkable, paradigm, revolutionize, disruptive, transformative, thrilled, excited to share, powerful, innovative, comprehensive, actionable, crucial, vital, pivotal, elucidate, utilize, dive deep, tapestry, illuminate, revolutionize

CRITICAL RULE

Every claim, statistic, and summary in the digest must come from the fetched articles. Never fabricate data points, quotes, or facts. If a source article has no meaningful content, skip it.

---

Step 1: Check Setup

**1a. Verify feeds are configured**

Check if `feeds.json` exists in the skill directory:

ls /Users/ksd/Desktop/Varnan_skills/newsletter-digest/feeds.json 2>/dev/null

If missing, ask the user: "Which RSS feeds should I monitor? Share a list of URLs and I'll create feeds.json."

The format is:

[
  { "url": "https://example.com/feed", "name": "Source Name" },
  { "url": "https://another.com/rss", "name": "Another Source" }
]

**1b. Verify required environment variables**

Check that these are set:

• `GEMINI_API_KEY` (required): for synthesis
• `GHOST_URL` and `GHOST_ADMIN_KEY` (required for Ghost publishing, optional if output-only)

If GEMINI_API_KEY is missing, stop and ask the user to set it.

GHOST config is optional. If not set, the skill outputs formatted Markdown instead of publishing.

**1c. Verify script dependencies**

ls /Users/ksd/Desktop/Varnan_skills/newsletter-digest/node_modules 2>/dev/null | head -1

If missing:

cd /Users/ksd/Desktop/Varnan_skills/newsletter-digest && npm install

---

Step 2: Fetch and Parse Feeds

Run the fetch script:

node /Users/ksd/Desktop/Varnan_skills/newsletter-digest/scripts/fetch-feeds.js

The script:

• Reads `feeds.json` for the list of feeds
• Fetches each feed using `rss-parser`
• Filters items published in the last 7 days
• Deduplicates by URL
• Sorts by publish date, newest first
• Saves results to `/tmp/newsletter-digest-articles.json`

If the script errors on a specific feed, it logs a warning and continues. One bad feed does not stop the run.

After the script completes, verify the output:

node -e "
const fs = require('fs');
const data = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('/tmp/newsletter-digest-articles.json', 'utf8'));
console.log('Total articles:', data.articles.length);
console.log('From feeds:', data.feedsSummary.map(f => f.name + ': ' + f.count).join(', '));
console.log('Date range:', data.dateRange.from, 'to', data.dateRange.to);
"

If fewer than 3 articles are found, warn the user and ask if they want to extend the date range to 14 days. Pass `--days=14` to the script to widen the window.

---

Step 3: Read Format Rules

Read `references/digest-format.md` in full before generating any content. Internalize:

• Three digest formats (Weekly Roundup, Topic Deep Dive, Curated Picks) and when to use each
• Section structure and length requirements per format
• Attribution rules (every claim links to a source)
• Tone and voice guidelines

Read `references/output-template.md` and select the template matching the requested format.

If the user did not specify a format, default to Weekly Roundup.

---

Step 4: Synthesize with Gemini

Read `/tmp/newsletter-digest-articles.json` and build a synthesis prompt.

**Prompt structure:**

You are a newsletter editor writing a digest of this week's top stories.

Sources (use ONLY these — do not invent facts):
[For each article: Title | Source | Date | Summary]

Task:
Write a [FORMAT] digest following this structure:
[Paste the selected template from references/output-template.md]

Rules:
- Every claim, statistic, and quote must come from the sources above
- Write in active voice, short sentences, contractions allowed
- Do not use: incredible, amazing, leveraging, game-changing, delve, groundbreaking, cutting-edge, revolutionize
- No em dashes, no semicolons, no hashtags
- Include [Source: Name](URL) attribution after each major claim
- Output plain text with HTML heading tags only (no markdown asterisks)

Call Gemini with this prompt. Target model: `gemini-2.0-flash` or the latest available.

If the response contains any banned words or invented statistics not present in the source articles, regenerate with a stricter prompt.

---

Step 5: Self-QA

Run every check before presenting. Fix violations first.

• [ ] Every claim, statistic, and quote traces to a source article
• [ ] No banned words in any section
• [ ] No em dashes in the text
• [ ] No semicolons in the text
• [ ] Every section has at least one source attribution with URL
• [ ] Word count is within the format's target range (see references/digest-format.md)
• [ ] No section repeated the same story twice
• [ ] Title is specific (includes the date range or issue number, not just "Weekly Digest")
• [ ] HTML