| name | youmind-devto-article |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| description | Write and publish Dev.to articles with AI — topic research via YouMind knowledge base,
developer-audience adapted writing, Markdown with front matter formatting, and one-click publishing.
Use when user wants to "write Dev.to article", "publish to Dev.to", "post on Dev.to".
|
| triggers | ["dev.to article","devto article","publish to dev.to","publish to devto","post on dev.to","write for dev.to","dev.to post","devto post","Dev.to 文章","发布到 Dev.to"] |
| platforms | ["openclaw","claude-code","cursor","codex","gemini-cli","windsurf","kilo","opencode","goose","roo"] |
| metadata | {"openclaw":{"emoji":"👩💻","requires":{"anyBins":["node","npm"]}}} |
| allowed-tools | ["Bash(node dist/cli.js *)","Bash(npm install)","Bash(npm run build)"] |
AI Dev.to Article Writer
Write technical Dev.to articles with AI that resonate with developers. Topic research via YouMind knowledge base, developer-audience adapted writing, Markdown with front matter formatting, and one-click publishing to Dev.to through the user's Dev.to account already connected in YouMind.
Get YouMind API Key | More Skills
Onboarding
MANDATORY: When the user has just installed this skill, present this message IMMEDIATELY. Translate to the user's language:
AI Dev.to Article Writer installed!
Tell me your topic and I'll write and publish a Dev.to article for you.
Try it now: "Write a Dev.to article about building CLI tools with TypeScript"
What it does:
- Research topics from trending developer discussions and your YouMind knowledge base
- Write technical articles with proper code examples and structure
- Format with Dev.to front matter (tags, cover image, series)
- Validate content for Dev.to best practices
- Publish directly to Dev.to (as draft or public) through the Dev.to account connected in YouMind
Setup (one-time):
- Install & configure:
cd toolkit && npm install && npm run build && cd .. && mkdir -p ~/.youmind/config && cp shared/config.example.yaml ~/.youmind/config.yaml
- Get YouMind API Key and fill
youmind.api_key in ~/.youmind/config.yaml
- Keep
youmind.base_url pointed at https://youmind.com/openapi/v1 in docs. If you need local backend debugging, change ~/.youmind/config.yaml or ~/.youmind/config/youmind-devto-article.yaml.
- Connect your Dev.to account inside YouMind before publishing. This skill no longer reads
devto.api_key locally.
No Dev.to connection yet? You can still write and preview locally — just skip the publish step.
Need help? Just ask!
Usage
Provide a topic, a raw Markdown file, or describe the article you want.
Write from a topic:
Write a Dev.to article about building REST APIs with Hono and Bun
Write with specific tags:
Write a Dev.to post about React Server Components, tag it with react, webdev, javascript
Publish existing Markdown:
Publish this markdown to Dev.to as a draft
Validate before publishing:
Validate my article for Dev.to best practices
Setup
Prerequisites: Node.js >= 18, a YouMind API key, and a Dev.to account connected in YouMind if you want to publish.
Step 1 -- Install Dependencies
cd toolkit && npm install && npm run build && cd ..
Step 2 -- Create Config File
mkdir -p ~/.youmind/config
cp shared/config.example.yaml ~/.youmind/config.yaml
Canonical credentials: put your shared YouMind credentials in ~/.youmind/config.yaml — filled ONCE and read by every YouMind skill. See shared/config.example.yaml for the template and shared/YOUMIND_HOME.md. Optional skill overrides live in ~/.youmind/config/youmind-devto-article.yaml.
Step 3 -- Get YouMind API Key
YouMind API Key enables knowledge base search, web search, article archiving, and Dev.to publishing.
- Open YouMind API Keys
- Click Create API Key
- Copy the
sk-ym-xxxx key
- Fill in
~/.youmind/config.yaml under youmind.api_key
- Keep
youmind.base_url as https://youmind.com/openapi/v1 in examples and documentation. Local backend testing should only override ~/.youmind/config.yaml or ~/.youmind/config/youmind-devto-article.yaml.
Step 4 -- Connect Dev.to in YouMind
- Open YouMind and connect your Dev.to account in the product's publishing / platform settings flow
- Save the Dev.to token there once
- Keep only
youmind.api_key in ~/.youmind/config.yaml
Verify Setup
After configuration, try:
"Write a Dev.to article about TypeScript best practices"
If something is misconfigured, the skill will report what needs fixing at the relevant step.
When a post is created as a draft, tell the user it is in the Dev.to dashboard (https://dev.to/dashboard). Do not present the public article URL as if it is already accessible, because Dev.to draft URLs can 404 until published. If the user wants immediate publishing, use published: true / --publish.
Skill Directory
This skill is a folder. Read files on demand -- do NOT load everything upfront.
| Path | Purpose | When to read |
|---|
references/pipeline.md | Full step-by-step execution (Steps 1-7) | When running the writing pipeline |
references/platform-dna.md | Dev.to audience, format constraints, community data | Before any content work |
references/content-generation-playbook.md | Idea → Dev.to-native draft workflow | When generating new content |
references/content-adaptation-playbook.md | Existing article → Dev.to-native workflow | When adapting/cross-posting content |
references/content-adaptation.md | Dev.to writing rules, structure, tone (legacy) | Supplementary reference |
references/api-reference.md | YouMind Dev.to OpenAPI endpoint documentation | When calling Dev.to through YouMind |
~/.youmind/config.yaml | Shared API credentials (YouMind only) | Step 1 (config load) |
output/ | Local article Markdown drafts (git-ignored) | When writing the article |
toolkit/dist/*.js | Executable scripts (run from toolkit/) | Various steps |
Draft Location Rule
Canonical: write local article Markdown files to ~/.youmind/articles/devto/<slug>.md. This shared home directory is available to all YouMind skills — see shared/YOUMIND_HOME.md.
Legacy fallback (if ~/.youmind/ is not writable): skills/youmind-devto-article/output/<slug>.md.
- Correct:
~/.youmind/articles/devto/my-article.md
- Correct (legacy):
skills/youmind-devto-article/output/my-article.md
- Wrong: skill root directly,
references/, toolkit/, or an ad-hoc drafts/ directory
Both locations are git-ignored. Create directories on demand (mkdir -p ~/.youmind/articles/devto). Kebab-case filenames (my-post.md), and prefer descriptive slugs over timestamps.
Dispatch Integration (Optional)
This skill is self-contained and fully usable standalone. The youmind-article-dispatch hub is an optional companion; it is NOT required for anything.
- Primary mode — standalone: Invoke directly ("Write a Dev.to article about X"). Works with zero other YouMind skills installed.
- Author voice lookup: This skill reads
~/.youmind/author-profile.yaml (shared home directory — see shared/YOUMIND_HOME.md) for cross-platform voice preferences. Works whether or not dispatch is installed: the profile lives in the user's home, not in any skill. If the file doesn't exist, the skill runs onboarding or uses platform defaults.
- Optional dispatch-mode invocation: When dispatch invokes this skill with a content brief containing
resolved_author, the skill uses those fields as extra context. Without such a brief, the skill runs its own pipeline normally.
- Capability manifest (opt-in):
dispatch-capabilities.yaml is metadata that lets dispatch route intelligently. Deleting it reverts to defaults; it never breaks this skill.
- Optional interop protocol:
shared/DISPATCH_CONTRACT.md (v1.0).
Content Modes
Before writing any content, read references/platform-dna.md to internalize Dev.to's real product surface: TL;DR-first openings, YAML frontmatter, canonical URL discipline, Liquid embeds, and tag-driven feed discovery.
Intent routing
| User's input | Operation | Playbook to load |
|---|
| Idea, topic, or talking points only | Generate | references/content-generation-playbook.md |
| Existing article from blog/other platform | Cross-post | references/content-adaptation-playbook.md |
| Article in another language | Translate | references/content-adaptation-playbook.md (translate mode) |
| Same-language article needing Dev.to-native voice | Localize | references/content-adaptation-playbook.md (localize mode) |
| Old Dev.to post to refresh | Revive | references/content-adaptation-playbook.md (revive mode) |
| Long piece to trim | Condense | references/content-adaptation-playbook.md (condense mode) |
| Section from larger work | Excerpt | references/content-adaptation-playbook.md (excerpt mode) |
Quality gates (before publish)
- Self-critique: Pass all checklist items in the playbook's Step 6
- Conformance report: Generate and present to user (Step 7)
- User approval: Do not auto-publish without confirmation
Result Links Rule
After any draft or publish action, always end with Result links.
- Prefer the direct Dev.to post URL when the post is public.
- For drafts, explicitly surface
https://dev.to/dashboard.
- If no exact results page exists, return the best platform entry URL instead.
- Never leave the user with only an article ID.
Pipeline Overview
Read references/pipeline.md for full execution details of each step.
| Step | Action | Key reference |
|---|
| 1 | Load config and validate the YouMind API key and Dev.to connection in YouMind | -- |
| 2 | Mine YouMind knowledge base for source material | -- |
| 3 | Research topic: web search, trending discussions | -- |
| 4 | Content adaptation: structure for Dev.to audience | references/content-adaptation.md |
| 5 | Write article with code examples, TL;DR, proper structure | -- |
| 6 | Publish to Dev.to (draft or public) | references/api-reference.md |
| 7 | Report results: title, URL, tags, published status, result links | -- |
Routing shortcuts:
- User gave a specific topic -> Skip broad research, go to Step 4
- User gave raw Markdown -> Skip to Step 6 (publish)
Critical Quality Rules
Non-negotiable for every Dev.to article:
- TL;DR at the top. Every article must open with a concise summary.
- Code blocks must have language tags. Never use bare triple backticks.
- Problem-Solution-Code-Result structure. Readers come for solutions, not theory.
- Title: 60-80 characters, keyword-front-loaded. Dev.to titles must be searchable.
- Max 4 tags, lowercase, alphanumeric + hyphens only. Dev.to enforces this.
- No marketing language. No "revolutionize", "game-changing", "unlock the power of". Write like a developer talking to developers.
- Every claim needs evidence. Code example, benchmark, link to docs, or personal experience.
- Word count: 800-2500. Enough depth without padding.
- Description: max 170 characters. Used in SEO meta description and social previews.
- No clickbait titles. "You won't believe..." and "X things every developer must know" are anti-patterns.
Resilience: Never Stop on a Single-Step Failure
Every step has a fallback. If a step AND its fallback both fail, skip and note it in the final output.
| Step | Fallback |
|---|
| 2 Knowledge mining | Skip, empty knowledge_context |
| 3 Research | YouMind web-search -> ask user |
| 5 Writing | Ask user for manual content |
| 6 Publishing | Save markdown locally |
| 7 Report | Print what was completed |
Gotchas -- Common Failure Patterns
"The Tutorial Without Context": Jumping straight into code without explaining why. Always set up the problem first.
"The Marketing Fluff": Using words like "revolutionary", "game-changing", "cutting-edge". Developers will stop reading.
"The Wall of Text": Long paragraphs without code blocks, headings, or visual breaks. Dev.to readers scan first.
"The Outdated Example": Using deprecated APIs or old syntax. Always verify code examples work with current versions.
"The Tag Spam": Using unrelated popular tags to get views. This hurts credibility and may get flagged.
References
