| name | topic-patrol |
| description | Proactively explore the web for topics matching the user's interests and share findings conversationally. Designed for cron execution with Flash model. |
| enabled | true |
Topic Patrol
Explore the web based on the user's interests and share discoveries like a curious friend — not a news bot.
1. Read → USER.md (Interests + Work Context + sources) + prior state
2. Explore → Route to the right source tool per topic
3. Filter → "Would I tell a friend about this?"
4. Share → Conversational message to home channel (or stay silent)
5. Record → Update state + findings log
Trigger Patterns
- Cron job — scheduled every 4-8 hours with a lightweight model (e.g.
gemini-2.5-flash)
- Manual — user says "patrol", "track this topic", "what's new in {X}", or "anything interesting lately?"
When triggered manually, reply directly in the conversation instead of posting to home channel.
Execution Flow
Step 1: Understand the User
- Read
USER.md:
- Interests section — primary exploration source. Each topic may have a
sources: line (see Source Routing below).
- Work Context section — anchor findings to what the user is currently working on
- If Interests is empty, fall back to Work Context topics. If both are empty, skip and stay silent.
- Read
patrol/state.json (default: { "lastRun": null, "rotationIndex": 0 } if missing)
- Read
patrol/findings.md (default: empty if missing) — for dedup
- Check for entries marked
deferred from a previous quiet-hours run. If still relevant, share them first before exploring new topics.
Step 2: Explore
Run 2-3 queries, rotating through Interests across runs via rotationIndex. Wrap around to 0 when it exceeds the number of Interest topics.
Source Routing
Each Interest topic in USER.md may have an optional sources: line. Route queries to the appropriate tool based on source type:
| Source prefix | Tool | Example query |
|---|
| (no sources specified) | web_search + web_fetch | {interest} latest news 2026 |
HN | web_search with site:news.ycombinator.com | site:news.ycombinator.com {interest} |
Reddit/{subreddit} | web_search with site:reddit.com/r/{subreddit} | site:reddit.com/r/LocalLLaMA {interest} |
github:{owner}/{repo} | github skill tools (releases, issues) | Check latest releases / recent issues |
@{handle} | Twitter/X MCP tools if available, else web_search | from:{handle} {interest} or web_search fallback |
rss:{url} | RSS MCP tools if available, else skip | Fetch and filter feed entries |
URL (e.g. https://blog.nodejs.org) | web_fetch directly | Read the page and look for new content |
Fallback rule: if the specified source tool is not available, fall back to web_search with a site: filter or topic keywords. Never error on a missing tool — degrade gracefully.
Query Categories
| Category | What to search | Example |
|---|
| Interest-driven | A topic from the Interests section, using its sources | site:news.ycombinator.com AI agents |
| Work-adjacent | Something near the user's current work | {technology} best practices tips |
| Serendipity (occasional) | Cross-topic or tangential discovery | {work_context_tool} alternative approaches |
For promising results, read the actual page with web_fetch to get substance beyond snippets. Do not curate based on search snippets alone.
Not every run needs a Serendipity query. Rotate it in roughly 1 in 3 runs.
Step 3: Filter — "Would I tell a friend?"
For each finding, consider:
- Novel? — not already in
patrol/findings.md
- Interesting? — not a generic press release or product announcement
- Relevant? — connects to the user's work or stated interests
- Worth sharing? — would make someone say "oh cool, I didn't know that"
Use your judgment. If nothing clears the bar, share nothing — silence is better than noise.
Step 4: Share (only when worth it)
Check the current time via geminiclaw_status. Respect quiet hours (23:00–08:00) — defer delivery until morning.
Post to home channel via geminiclaw_post_message. Limit to 1-2 topics per message.
Tone: natural, conversational. Explain WHY it's interesting, not just WHAT it is. Connect it to the user's current work. End with a question or action prompt.
Good:
Hey — spotted something relevant to your {work_context} work.
{1-2 sentence summary of the finding and why it matters}.
Source: {URL}
Want me to dig into this further?
Bad (do NOT do this):
📰 Topic Patrol Report
1. {topic}: {summary}
2. {topic}: {summary}
3. {topic}: {summary}
Step 5: Update State
-
Append to patrol/findings.md (whether shared or not):
## YYYY-MM-DD
- {topic}: {one-line summary} — shared / skipped ({reason}) / deferred (quiet hours)
Prune entries older than 14 days to keep the file small. Use geminiclaw_status for the current date.
-
Update patrol/state.json:
{ "lastRun": "2026-03-10T14:00:00+09:00", "rotationIndex": 2 }
If nothing was found, still update lastRun and increment rotationIndex.
Cron Setup
Schedule: { "type": "every", "intervalMin": 360 }
Timezone: [user's timezone from config]
Prompt: "Run the topic-patrol skill."
Model: flash
Graceful Degradation
| Condition | Behavior |
|---|
| USER.md has no Interests or Work Context | Stay silent — nothing to explore |
web_search not available | Stay silent — cannot explore |
| Source tool not available (RSS, Twitter, etc.) | Fall back to web_search with site: filter |
patrol/state.json missing | Start fresh with defaults |
patrol/findings.md missing | Treat as empty (no dedup history) |
| Quiet hours (23:00–08:00) | Skip delivery, record findings for next run |
Prohibited Patterns
- Formatted news-briefing style (numbered lists, emoji headers, "report" framing)
- Cramming 3+ topics into a single message
- Sharing something just because it's new — it must be genuinely interesting
- Reporting "nothing found" — silence is the correct response
- Sending duplicates without checking
patrol/findings.md
