devtools-episode-doc

name	devtools-episode-doc
description	Create episode prep documents for devtools.fm podcast. Use when asked to create a new episode doc, prep a guest doc, or write an interview guide for an upcoming episode. The document is posted as a GitHub Discussion in the devtools-fm/devtools.fm repo.

devtools.fm Episode Doc

devtools.fm is a podcast about developer tools and the people who make them. The audience is software engineers — comfortable with technical depth, interested in open source, and curious about business models behind dev tools.

Workflow

1. Ask the user: Who is the guest and what do they work on? If they haven't provided it.
2. Research the guest and their work using web search before writing.
3. Draft the episode doc following the structure in references/structure.md.
4. Open it in Roughdraft for review, wait for the user to finish.
   • After Roughdraft closes, re-read the file from disk. Roughdraft may reformat it — in particular it breaks - [ ] **Question?** into multi-line list items. Fix these before posting: each question must be a single line with the checkbox and question text together.
   • All checkboxes in the posted doc must be unchecked ([ ]), regardless of [x] / [ ] distinctions used during drafting.
5. Post it as a GitHub Discussion using GraphQL (the REST endpoint doesn't work):

# Repo ID: R_kgDOFXAlwg  |  Announcements category ID: DIC_kwDOFXAlws4CN_gm
BODY=$(cat /path/to/file.md)
gh api graphql -f query='mutation CreateDiscussion($repoId: ID!, $categoryId: ID!, $title: String!, $body: String!) {
  createDiscussion(input: {repositoryId: $repoId, categoryId: $categoryId, title: $title, body: $body}) {
    discussion { url }
  }
}' -f repoId="R_kgDOFXAlwg" -f categoryId="DIC_kwDOFXAlws4CN_gm" -f title="[GUEST NAME] - [COMPANY/PROJECT]" -f body="$BODY"

Title format: "First Last - Company" (no episode number — matches existing discussions)

Tone & Approach

• Questions should feel like actual conversation starters, not interview questionnaire items
• Research-backed: include real context (metrics, dates, quotes, links) so hosts can sound informed without memorizing facts
• Opinionated framing: push past surface-level answers — the audience wants the real story
• Balance retrospective ("how did this start?") with forward-looking ("where is this going?")
• Don't shy away from technical depth, but don't let any one technical rabbit hole consume the episode

Question Checklist Format

Used during drafting to prioritize questions — all are posted as [ ] (unchecked):

• [x] = must-ask question (prioritize these)
• [ ] = optional or contingent question (ask if time allows or conversation naturally goes there)

See Also

• references/structure.md — full document structure with annotated example