reddit-bip-microsaas-outreach

name

reddit-bip-microsaas-outreach

description

Screens r/buildinpublic and r/microsaas for threads that invite people to share or showcase projects, then drafts or posts a helpful comment mentioning https://www.newsimpactscreener.com/ with a link. Covers Reddit OAuth (read vs write), matching heuristics, rate limits, and self-promotion / spam risks. Use when the user asks about Reddit outreach, share-your-build threads, BIP, microsaas subs, or automated commenting for News Impact Screener.

Reddit: BIP + MicroSaaS “share your project” outreach

Operational playbook for finding invitation-style threads in r/buildinpublic and r/microsaas, then leaving a single, contextual comment that points builders to News Impact Screener when it genuinely fits the thread.

Runnable script (next to this skill): .cursor/skills/reddit-bip-microsaas-outreach/reddit_bip_microsaas_outreach.py — loads code/analytics/.env by walking up from the skill directory (or set REDDIT_ENV_FILE). Uses REDDIT_CLIENT_ID, REDDIT_SECRET, optional REDDIT_USER_AGENT; for posting, REDDIT_REFRESH_TOKEN or REDDIT_USERNAME + REDDIT_PASSWORD. Default REDDIT_DRY_RUN=1. Example from repo root: python3 .cursor/skills/reddit-bip-microsaas-outreach/reddit_bip_microsaas_outreach.py.

Preconditions (read this first)

1. Commenting is user-authenticated (Reddit-enforced). Listing public posts works with client_credentials (client_id + REDDIT_SECRET only). POST /api/comment rejects application-only tokens with USER_REQUIRED / “Please log in to do that.” — there is no supported way to comment as an anonymous “app”; every comment is tied to a user account. Use either REDDIT_REFRESH_TOKEN (refresh grant: no password in env after a one-time OAuth in the browser) or REDDIT_USERNAME + REDDIT_PASSWORD (script password grant). Never commit passwords or long-lived tokens to git; use env vars or a secrets manager.
2. Policy and etiquette. Reddit and many subs restrict self-promotion and repetitive linking. Automated drive-by comments are often reported as spam and can lead to subreddit bans or account sanctions. Before any automation:
   • Read each sub’s rules and pinned threads (many use a weekly “share your project” megathread).
   • Prefer one thoughtful comment per thread, when the post explicitly invites sharing, and the product is directly relevant (news ↔ tickers research for founders sharing a SaaS or build).
   • Add cooldowns, manual review, or a dry-run mode that only prints matches and draft comments.
3. Rotate credentials if client id, REDDIT_SECRET, or passwords ever appeared in chat, logs, or CI output.

Environment variables

Variable	Required for	Notes
REDDIT_CLIENT_ID	Token requests	From reddit.com/prefs/apps
REDDIT_SECRET	Token requests	Reddit app client secret (labelled “secret” in prefs/apps). Use this env name in scripts and analytics .env; do not use REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET unless you alias it yourself.
REDDIT_REFRESH_TOKEN	Posting comments (preferred)	From OAuth authorization code flow (or any flow that returns a refresh token). Script + grant_type=refresh_token yields a user access token without storing the account password in .env.
REDDIT_USERNAME	Posting comments	Only if not using REDDIT_REFRESH_TOKEN. Account for the script app.
REDDIT_PASSWORD	Posting comments	Only if not using REDDIT_REFRESH_TOKEN. If 2FA is on, use an app password where Reddit supports it.
REDDIT_USER_AGENT	All calls	Reddit requires a descriptive UA, e.g. NewsImpactScreenerOutreach/1.0 by /u/YourUsername

Optional: REDDIT_DRY_RUN=1 to never POST comments (agent should respect if implementing a script).

OAuth: get tokens

Read-only (listings, no comment):

POST https://www.reddit.com/api/v1/access_token
User-Agent: ${REDDIT_USER_AGENT}
Authorization: Basic base64("${REDDIT_CLIENT_ID}:${REDDIT_SECRET}")
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

grant_type=client_credentials

User context (comment, vote as you) — pick one:

Refresh (no password in env on each run):

POST https://www.reddit.com/api/v1/access_token
User-Agent: ${REDDIT_USER_AGENT}
Authorization: Basic base64("${REDDIT_CLIENT_ID}:${REDDIT_SECRET}")
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

grant_type=refresh_token&refresh_token=${REDDIT_REFRESH_TOKEN}

Password grant (script app):

POST https://www.reddit.com/api/v1/access_token
User-Agent: ${REDDIT_USER_AGENT}
Authorization: Basic base64("${REDDIT_CLIENT_ID}:${REDDIT_SECRET}")
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

grant_type=password&username=${REDDIT_USERNAME}&password=${REDDIT_PASSWORD}

Use the returned access_token as Authorization: bearer ... on oauth.reddit.com requests. client_credentials alone will not work for POST /api/comment.

Fetch latest posts from both subreddits

Combined feed (new):

GET https://oauth.reddit.com/r/buildinpublic+microsaas/new.json?limit=50

Also consider /hot or sub-specific weekly megathreads (often sticky or title contains “Weekly” / “Share”); adjust if the goal is megathreads only.

Parse JSON: data.children[] → data.kind === "t3" (link/text post) → use data.title, data.selftext, data.created_utc, data.name (fullname, e.g. t3_abc123 for thing_id when commenting), data.permalink.

Identify “share your project” style posts

Treat matching as heuristic + human-in-the-loop unless the user explicitly accepts false positives/negatives.

High-signal phrases (title or selftext, case-insensitive; any can trigger a candidate):

• share your project, share what you're building, share what you are building
• show your, show us your, showcase
• what are you building, what are you working on
• drop your, link your, post your, promote your (use with care; can be negative context)
• roast my, feedback on, critique my, tear down (often build-in-public style)
• side project, indie, microsaas, SaaS combined with built, launched, beta, looking for feedback
• Weekly thread titles: weekly, thread, megathread, showoff, shameless plug (only if sub rules allow replies with links)

Down-rank or skip when:

• Post is clearly hiring only, legal advice, pure rant with no invitation to share builds
• No selftext and title is ambiguous (prefer skipping unless title alone is explicit)
• Post age > 48–72 hours (stale threads annoy mods)
• You (or the bot account) already commented in that thread (track t3_id in a local store)

Optional: require minimum score or flair if the sub uses flairs for “Show” posts.

Posting a comment

Endpoint:

POST https://oauth.reddit.com/api/comment
Authorization: bearer ${USER_ACCESS_TOKEN}
User-Agent: ${REDDIT_USER_AGENT}
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

api_type=json&thing_id=${POST_FULLNAME}&text=${URL_ENCODED_MARKDOWN}

• thing_id is the submission fullname (t3_...), not the URL slug.
• text is markdown; include the canonical site link: https://www.newsimpactscreener.com/

Suggested tone (adapt to the post; do not paste identical text everywhere):

• One or two sentences tying headlines / market-moving news to tickers and themes (what the product does).
• Link once; avoid “sign up now” spam patterns.
• If the thread asks for feedback, offer one concrete thought about their positioning before the tool mention when possible.

Rate limits: Respect x-ratelimit-* response headers; sleep several seconds between comments; cap comments per day low (e.g. 3–5) unless operating under explicit mod approval.

Verification checklist (agent should run mentally or via script)

1. Token: GET https://oauth.reddit.com/api/v1/me with user bearer returns 200 and your username.
2. Listing: combined new.json returns children for both subs.
3. Match: title/selftext hits at least one high-signal phrase (or user-defined rule).
4. Safety: post age within window; not previously commented; dry-run OK if set.
5. POST api/comment; confirm response JSON contains non-error json.data.things[0].data.id (the new comment fullname).

When the user asks the agent to “run” this workflow

1. Do not ask them to paste passwords into chat; use local env or .env files already on their machine (and ensure .env is gitignored).
2. Default to listing + candidate posts + draft comment (dry-run). Only POST if the user clearly opts in and understands sub + Reddit rules.
3. Log permalink of each target post for auditability, not raw tokens.

Product link (canonical)

• Site: https://www.newsimpactscreener.com/

Use this exact HTTPS URL in comments unless the marketing team standardizes a tracked URL later.