enhancing-authors

name	enhancing-authors
description	Enhance author profiles by filling missing fields. Use when asked to "enhance author", "complete author profile", "find author info", or "update author details". Fills bio, avatar, website, and social links via parallel web research.
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash, WebFetch, Glob, Grep, Task, TaskOutput, WebSearch, AskUserQuestion

Enhancing Author Profiles

This skill fills in missing author profile fields (bio, avatar, website, socials) via web research.

Workflow Overview

Phase 1: Author Identification
   └─ Find and validate author file

Phase 2: Parallel Research (for missing fields only)
   ├─ WebSearch agent 1: bio/background
   ├─ WebSearch agent 2: avatar URL
   └─ WebSearch agent 3: website + socials

Phase 3: User Review (BLOCKING GATE)
   └─ Present findings, await approval

Phase 4: Save Enhanced Author
   └─ Update frontmatter fields

Phase 5: Quality Check
   └─ Run vp run check

---

Phase 1: Author Identification

1.1 Find the Author File

Accept an author slug, name, or partial name as argument:

1. Try exact slug match first: Check if src/content/notes/authors/{slug}.md exists (convert spaces to hyphens, lowercase)
2. If no exact match: Use Grep to search for the name in author files:

   Grep pattern: "name:.*{search term}" with glob: "src/content/notes/authors/*.md"
   

Outcomes:

• Single match → proceed with that file
• Multiple matches → list options for user to choose
• No match → list available authors

1.2 Identify Missing Fields

Read the author file and check which fields are missing or empty:

Required fields (always present):

• name
• slug

Optional fields to enhance:

• bio - Professional background and expertise
• avatar - URL to profile picture
• website - Personal website URL
• socials.twitter - Twitter/X handle
• socials.github - GitHub username
• socials.linkedin - LinkedIn username
• socials.youtube - YouTube channel

A field is "missing" if:

• It doesn't exist in the frontmatter
• It exists but is empty ("" or null)

If all fields are already populated, inform the user and offer to update specific fields.

---

Phase 2: Parallel Research

Spawn up to 3 WebSearch agents in parallel based on what fields are missing:

**Agent 1 - Bio/Background:**
Task tool with subagent_type: "general-purpose"
prompt: "Use WebSearch to find professional background info for [Author Name].
Query: '[Author Name]' bio background expertise
Extract: Job title, company, areas of expertise, notable projects.
Return: A 1-2 sentence professional bio."

**Agent 2 - Avatar URL:**
Task tool with subagent_type: "general-purpose"
prompt: "Use WebSearch to find a profile picture URL for [Author Name].
Query: '[Author Name]' site:github.com OR site:twitter.com
Extract: GitHub username or Twitter handle to construct avatar URL.
Return: Avatar URL (prefer GitHub format: https://github.com/{username}.png)"

**Agent 3 - Website & Socials:**
Task tool with subagent_type: "general-purpose"
prompt: "Use WebSearch to find social media profiles for [Author Name].
Query: '[Author Name]' twitter github linkedin youtube
Extract: Personal website, Twitter handle, GitHub username, LinkedIn profile, YouTube channel.
Return: List of found profiles with URLs/handles."

Only spawn agents for missing fields. If bio already exists, skip Agent 1.

Collect all results via TaskOutput (blocking).

---

Phase 3: User Review (BLOCKING GATE)

This is a mandatory approval step. Present the proposed changes before saving.

3.1 Present Changes

Display proposed updates as a comparison table:

## Proposed Updates for [Author Name]

| Field            | Current | Proposed                          |
| ---------------- | ------- | --------------------------------- |
| bio              | (empty) | "Founder of X, creator of Y..."   |
| avatar           | (empty) | "https://github.com/username.png" |
| website          | (empty) | "https://example.com"             |
| socials.twitter  | (empty) | "username"                        |
| socials.github   | (empty) | "username"                        |
| socials.linkedin | (empty) | "username"                        |
| socials.youtube  | (empty) | (not found)                       |

3.2 Request Approval

Use the AskUserQuestion tool:

question: "Save these changes to the author profile?"
header: "Review"
multiSelect: false
options:
  - label: "Save"
    description: "Update the author file with these values"
  - label: "Edit"
    description: "Tell me what to change"
  - label: "Cancel"
    description: "Don't modify the file"

3.3 Handle Response

• Save: Proceed to Phase 4
• Edit: Apply user feedback, show updated preview
• Cancel: Exit without changes

Do NOT proceed to Phase 4 without explicit user approval.

---

Phase 4: Save Enhanced Author

4.1 Update Frontmatter

Use the Edit tool to update only the approved fields:

Before:

---
name: "John Doe"
slug: "john-doe"
bio: ""
avatar: ""
website: ""
socials:
  twitter: ""
  github: ""
  linkedin: ""
  youtube: ""
---

After:

---
name: "John Doe"
slug: "john-doe"
bio: "Software engineer specializing in distributed systems..."
avatar: "https://github.com/johndoe.png"
website: "https://johndoe.dev"
socials:
  twitter: "johndoe"
  github: "johndoe"
  linkedin: "johndoe"
  youtube: ""
---

4.2 Preserve Existing Values

Critical: Never overwrite existing non-empty values unless explicitly requested:

• Keep existing name and slug unchanged
• Only update fields that were empty/missing
• Preserve any additional custom fields

4.3 Confirmation

Report to user:

Updated: src/content/notes/authors/{slug}.md

- bio: added
- avatar: added
- website: added
- socials.twitter: added
- socials.github: added

---

Phase 5: Quality Check

Run linter and type check to catch any issues:

vp run check

If errors are found, fix them before completing the task.

---

Error Recovery

Error	Recovery
Author not found	List available authors in src/content/notes/authors/
No missing fields	Inform user, offer to update specific fields
WebSearch fails	Try alternative query patterns
User rejects changes	Allow editing or cancel
Could not find info	Mark field as "(not found)", proceed with others

---

Quality Checklist

Before saving, verify:

• Author file exists in src/content/notes/authors/
• Only updating empty/missing fields
• Bio is 1-2 sentences, professional tone
• Avatar URL is valid (prefer GitHub format)
• Social handles are usernames only (no URLs)
• Existing non-empty values preserved
• User explicitly approved changes