version: "1.0.0" name: briefing description: Formats the standalone daily briefing — curated picks with why-it-matters lines, community buzz, the trend read across runs, and the taste note that keeps the learning visible.

Briefing Skill

Use this skill to end every sweep. The briefing is the run's product: it must be fully understandable by someone who reads nothing else — no "as I mentioned", no open questions, no references to the conversation.

Instructions for the Agent

Write .agents/workspace/briefings/<YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM>.md (UTC, from date -u). Create the briefings/ directory if needed.

[!IMPORTANT]

Exact structure required. The delivery step parses this file to build

the chat message, so follow the heading structure precisely:

- the title is a single # line,

- each section is a ## line,

- every item — in every section — is a ### [headline] — [source]

line, followed by its why-it-matters sentence, followed by a link line

[Source Link](url).

Do NOT use tables, bullet lists for items, or any other layout for the

curated items. The ###-heading-plus-link shape is what makes each

headline render as a clean clickable link. (Trends, Taste Note, and Data

Health are prose/bullets, not items — they have no ### entries.)

Use this exact layout:

# Daily Briefing — [date] — [reader's topics, comma-separated]
 
## Top Stories
### [headline] — [outlet]
[1-2 sentences: why this matters to THIS reader, tied to their topics or
stated preferences. Mention breadth if multiple outlets covered it.]
[Source Link](url)
 
### [headline] — [outlet]
[why-it-matters sentence]
[Source Link](url)
 
## Discoveries
### [headline] — [outlet]
[one line on why this genre-feed item outside the explicit topics earned a slot]
[Source Link](url)
 
## Community Buzz
### [paraphrased comment/story hook] — Hacker News, [n] points
[One line on what the discussion adds beyond the news coverage.]
[Source Link](url)
 
## Worth a Longer Read
### [title] — Medium (by [author])
[one line on the depth it offers; member-only stories may be paywalled at the link]
[Source Link](url)
 
## Trends
[2-4 sentences computed from curation_history.csv: which topics are heating
up or cooling across sweeps, with the numbers cited
("Gemini API: 4 → 9 → 15 items over the last three sweeps").
First run: "First sweep — trend data starts today."]
 
## Taste Note
[1-3 sentences: which stored preferences shaped today's selection, any
profile change made since the last run, and — at most once per week — one
question-free observation the reader could correct
(e.g. "I've been down-ranking funding news per your 2026-07-15 note.").]
 
## Data Health
-Fetched: [new_count] new items ([x] news, [y] community, [z] longform) · History rows: [line count of curation_history.csv]
-[Source errors from new_items.json verbatim, or "All sources healthy."]

Rules:

1. Omit an entire section (its ## header included) when nothing qualified —

never emit an empty section or a placeholder item.

1. Every item links to its source. Headlines may be lightly trimmed but never

rewritten into something the outlet did not say.

1. Community items are paraphrased (≤ 25 words) — never reproduce full comment

text.

1. Every number is derived, never guessed: Fetched counts come from

new_items.json (new_count and the per-item source field), and History rows from the line count of curation_history.csv. If you cannot derive a number, omit it rather than estimate.

1. The Taste Note never asks a question — scheduled runs have no one to answer.

It states, in declarative form, what the reader could correct in chat later.

1. Keep it plain and factual — no meta-commentary about cognitive load,

utility, or attention; just the news and why it matters.