generate-excerpt

name	generate-excerpt
description	Generate a catchy excerpt for an existing blog post — resolves the post from a slug, path, or conversation context, produces 3 variants in the blog's established style, then writes the chosen one to the post's frontmatter. Use when the user wants to generate, create, or write an excerpt for a blog post.

Generate Excerpt

Resolve the post

Determine the target post from one of these sources, in order:

1. Explicit slug in args (e.g. /generate-excerpt 2024-01-15-mailpit-spring-boot) — find the file:

   find src/content/posts -type f -name "index.md" | grep "<slug>"
   

2. Explicit file path in args — use it directly
3. Context inference — if the recent conversation mentions a post file path or slug (e.g. from a prior /new-post run), confirm with the user before proceeding: "I see we were working on <path> — should I generate an excerpt for that post?"
4. Ask — if nothing can be resolved, ask: "Which post should I generate an excerpt for? You can provide a slug (e.g. 2024-01-15-mailpit-spring-boot) or a file path."

If the resolved file does not exist, report the error and ask the user to correct it.

The resolved path is the project-relative path to the post's index.md (e.g. src/content/posts/2024/2024-01-15-mailpit-spring-boot/index.md). Pass it as-is to the script.

Read and identify the post

Read the resolved file. Identify the post type from the content:

• Tutorial: step-by-step instruction, code examples are central, "how to" framing
• Opinion/reflective: personal takes, experience, comparisons, "should I…" questions
• Year-in-review: annual recap, metrics, personal reflection

Generate 3 variants

Generate all three and present as a lettered list. Treat the word counts as firm targets, not suggestions.

• A — Short & punchy (15–20 words): One crisp sentence distilling the core takeaway.
• B — Standard (20–28 words): Follows the "In this post/tutorial, I'll…" convention used throughout the blog.
• C — Hook-led (25–35 words): Opens with a provocative or interesting observation, then frames what the post covers.

Style rules for all variants:

• Conversational and first-person
• No marketing language or superlatives ("powerful", "amazing", "deep dive")
• Factual preview of what the post delivers
• Tone matches the identified post type (tutorials use "I'll show"/"we'll explore"; reflective posts use narrative framing)

Present as:

Here are 3 excerpt options:

A — "…" B — "…" C — "…"

Reply with a letter to use one, ask for a tweak ("B but without 'In this post'"), request all new variants, or share your own text to refine.

Write the chosen excerpt

Once the user selects or approves an excerpt, run:

node .claude/skills/generate-excerpt/scripts/write-excerpt.js "{\"file\":\"<resolved-path>\",\"excerpt\":\"<chosen-excerpt>\"}"

Escape any " characters within the excerpt as \".

If the script exits with an error, report the error message to the user.

On success, reply with the file path only — no further commentary.