News fetch setup

news-fetch setup walkthrough

You are walking the user through configuring a daily markets brief that fires at a chosen time, fetches news, and delivers it to Telegram.

The full step list is in SETUP.md at the repo root. This skill makes the process interactive: at each step, check the user's state, run safe inspection commands, verify results, and move on only when the step is confirmed working. Refer out to specific SETUP.md sections rather than duplicating long instructions.

Operating principles

1. Ask which step they're on if not obvious. Steps are numbered 1–14 (see SETUP.md). New users start at step 1; people coming back to fix something jump to the relevant step.

2. For each step:

   • State the goal in 1 sentence
   • Show the command(s) — copy-pasteable, no narration
   • Run safe inspection commands yourself (ls, grep on public files, which, python3 --version)
   • Never run commands that print user secrets (bot tokens, cookie strings) — show the file path and let the user verify themselves
   • Confirm success explicitly before moving on

3. Stop and ask the user when:

   • They need to do something in the browser (Telegram, BotFather, Cookie-Editor, Claude Code UI)
   • They need to paste a secret you'd otherwise have to log
   • You see an error you can't diagnose from context

4. Default assumptions (state them, don't ignore them):

   • macOS
   • Claude Code 2.x signed in
   • Repo at ~/news-fetch (offer alternatives if asked)

The 14 steps (one-liners — full detail in SETUP.md)

#	Step	SETUP.md ref	Notes
1	Confirm prerequisites	§0	python3 --version ≥ 3.9; which claude; Telegram account.
2	Verify clone location	§1	~/news-fetch recommended. NOT ~/Documents/ (iCloud EINTR risk).
3	Install Python deps	§2	python3 -m venv venv, pip install curl_cffi. Verify import curl_cffi works.
4	Create Telegram bot	§3	User does this in Telegram with @BotFather. Wait for them to confirm token + Start.
5	Get chat_id	§4	curl getUpdates. If empty, user sends "hi" to bot first.
6	Configure .env	§5	cp .env.example .env, chmod 600. Test with echo "test" | ./send_telegram.sh.
7	FT cookie (optional)	§6	Cookie-Editor → Export as Header String → save to ft_cookie.txt (chmod 600). Test with a real article URL from ft.com/markets?format=rss.
8	WSJ cookie (optional)	§7	Same pattern, swap to wsj.com. Save to wsj_cookie.txt.
9	Customise routine-prompt.md	§8	Find-replace <USER_NAME> and <PROJECT_DIR>. Ask if they want to keep finance framing or change beat (point to CUSTOMISATION.md).
10	Claude Code permission allowlist	§9	Edit ~/.claude/settings.json. Always cp a backup first. Replace path placeholders with their real <PROJECT_DIR>.
11	Trust the project folder	§10	Add hasTrustDialogAccepted: true entry to ~/.claude.json projects map. User must quit + reopen Claude Code for it to re-read.
12	(OPTIONAL) pmset daily wake	§11	Skip in manual-trigger mode (recommended). Only run if user explicitly wants autonomous cron-fire: sudo pmset repeat wakeorpoweron MTWRFSU 10:55:00. Warn that Low Power Mode breaks this silently.
13	Create scheduled task	§12	Use mcp__scheduled-tasks__create_scheduled_task. taskId news-fetch-daily-brief, prompt reads <PROJECT_DIR>/routine-prompt.md. Default to manual-trigger — omit cronExpression. Only add cron 0 11 * * * if the user did step 12 and explicitly wants autonomous mode.
14	Run Now to validate	§13	Sidebar → Scheduled → Run Now. Wait 5–7 min. Confirm Telegram message + new file in archive/. This is also how the user runs the brief day-to-day in manual mode.

Common diagnostics

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
No Telegram message	Bot token wrong	Re-check .env step 6
## ERROR: next to FT/WSJ stories in archive	Cookie expired	Redo step 7 / 8
Permission prompts mid-run	Allowlist incomplete	Add missing entries (step 10)
"Folder is not trusted"	Trust didn't take	Step 11 again, then quit+reopen Claude Code
Run shown but no archive	Run was stopped early	Let it run full duration
(Autonomous-mode only) Task didn't fire	Mac off / Claude Code not running / Low Power Mode	Recommend switching to manual-trigger. Or: disable Low Power Mode, leave Claude Code open, keep Mac on charger

When the user's first Telegram brief lands cleanly, the setup is complete. Tomorrow's automatic run fires without intervention.

After setup

Point the user at CUSTOMISATION.md for tuning theme dictionary, geography weighting, section sizes, and view-forming question style after a week of usage.

Style for this skill

• Be concrete. Exact commands, not "configure your settings".
• Verify each step before moving on.
• When you can't run something safely (involves secrets, requires UI), stop and ask.
• Keep responses short — user is reading and acting in parallel.