Generate markdown newsletters from stored events. Use when the user wants to create, write, or generate a newsletter from scraped events.
This skill generates markdown newsletters from events stored in SQLite. The workflow splits responsibility:
Users describe how they want newsletters formatted in plain English. You interpret these instructions directly - no templates or structured syntax needed.
Example preference from config:
formatting_preferences: |
Organize by date with each day as a section header.
Use emojis: 🎵 music, 🎨 art, 🍴 food.
Format: **Title** @ Venue | Time | Price
Events are stored in SQLite at ~/.config/local-media-tools/data/events.db.
Config is at ~/.config/local-media-tools/sources.yaml.
Generated markdown saved to ./newsletter_YYYY-MM-DD.md in the current working directory.
NEVER write inline Python to load events or config. Use the CLI tool:
# Get plugin directory first
PLUGIN_DIR=$(cat ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json | jq -r '.plugins["newsletter-events@local-media-tools"][0].installPath')
# Load events and preferences (default: next 7 days)
cd "$PLUGIN_DIR" && uv run python scripts/cli_newsletter.py load --days 7
The CLI tool handles:
Do NOT:
cat ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json | jq -r '.plugins["newsletter-events@local-media-tools"][0].installPath'
Save the output path as PLUGIN_DIR.
Run the CLI to get events and formatting preferences:
cd "$PLUGIN_DIR" && uv run python scripts/cli_newsletter.py load --days 7
Or for a specific date range:
cd "$PLUGIN_DIR" && uv run python scripts/cli_newsletter.py load --from 2025-01-01 --to 2025-01-14
Output: JSON containing:
newsletter_name - Newsletter titleregion - Geographic regionformatting_preferences - User's natural language formatting instructionsdate_range - Start and end datesevent_count - Number of eventsevents - Array of event objectsIf no events found, the CLI returns an error with suggestions.
Using the JSON output from Step 1, generate markdown that follows the formatting_preferences.
Your task: Interpret the natural language preferences and apply them creatively:
formatting_preferences fieldEach event in the events array has:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
title |
Event name | "Jazz Night" |
venue |
Venue name | "The Blue Note" |
venue_city |
Venue city | "Kingston" |
date |
ISO date | "2025-01-20" |
day_of_week |
Full day name | "Saturday" |
formatted_date |
Human-readable date | "January 20" |
time |
Start time | "8:00 PM" or null |
description |
Event description | "Live jazz trio..." |
category |
Event category | "music", "art", "food_drink" |
price |
Price or null | "$15" |
is_free |
Boolean | true/false |
ticket_url |
Link to buy tickets | URL or null |
event_url |
Link to event page | URL or null |
source_url |
Where event was found | URL or null |
Write the generated markdown to the current working directory:
./newsletter_YYYY-MM-DD.md
Use today's date for the filename.
Show the first ~50 lines of generated markdown so user can review.
Report:
The CLI will return:
{
"error": "no_events",
"message": "No events found from 2025-01-01 to 2025-01-07",
"suggestion": "Run /newsletter-events:research to scrape new events, or try a wider date range with --days 14"
}
Report this to the user with the suggestion.
If formatting_preferences is null or empty, use sensible defaults:
Organize events chronologically by date.
Use section headers for each day (e.g., "## Saturday, January 20").
Include event title, venue, time, and price.
Keep formatting simple and readable.
The CLI will return:
{
"error": "database_not_found",
"message": "Database not found at ~/.config/local-media-tools/data/events.db",
"suggestion": "Run /newsletter-events:research to scrape events first"
}