| name | reddit-cultivate |
| description | Reddit account cultivation for founders and indie developers. Uses AppleScript to control real Chrome — undetectable by anti-bot systems. Checks karma, finds rising posts, drafts comments, and posts directly. Triggers on "/reddit-cultivate", "check my reddit", "reddit maintenance", "find reddit opportunities", "build reddit karma". |
| inputs | [{"name":"subreddits","type":"list","required":true,"description":"List of subreddits to scan and cultivate presence in (e.g. [\"r/SideProject\", \"r/ClaudeAI\"])"},{"name":"topic_context","type":"string","required":false,"description":"Optional topic or product context to guide comment relevance"}] |
| outputs | [{"name":"comments_posted","type":"list","description":"List of comments posted, each with {id, url, subreddit, quality_score}"}] |
Reddit Cultivation Skill (AppleScript Chrome Control)
Build and maintain Reddit presence by controlling your real Chrome browser via AppleScript. No Playwright, no Selenium, no API tokens.
How It Works
Claude Code → osascript → Chrome (real browser, logged in) → Reddit
- AppleScript executes JavaScript in Chrome's active tab
- Chrome is already logged into Reddit → cookies sent automatically
- Same-origin fetch → no CORS, no detection, no IP blocks
- Reddit cannot distinguish this from human browsing
Prerequisites
- macOS only (AppleScript is a macOS technology)
- Chrome: View → Developer → Allow JavaScript from Apple Events ✓ (restart Chrome after enabling)
- User logged into Reddit in Chrome
Method Detection (Run First)
Chrome multi-profile can cause AppleScript to not see windows. Always detect first:
WINDOWS=$(osascript -e 'tell application "Google Chrome" to return count of windows' 2>/dev/null)
if [ "$WINDOWS" = "0" ] || [ -z "$WINDOWS" ]; then
echo "Use Method 2 (System Events + Console)"
else
echo "Use Method 1 (execute javascript)"
fi
Method 1: AppleScript Execute JavaScript (Preferred)
Works when count of windows > 0.
Navigate
osascript -e 'tell application "Google Chrome" to tell active tab of first window to set URL to "https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/rising/"'
Execute JS & Read Result (document.title trick)
osascript -e 'tell application "Google Chrome" to tell active tab of first window to execute javascript "fetch(\"/api/me.json\",{credentials:\"include\"}).then(r=>r.json()).then(d=>{document.title=\"R:\"+JSON.stringify({name:d.data.name,karma:d.data.total_karma})})"'
sleep 2
osascript -e 'tell application "Google Chrome" to return title of active tab of first window'
JXA for Complex JS (avoids escaping hell)
osascript -l JavaScript -e '
var chrome = Application("Google Chrome");
var tab = chrome.windows[0].activeTab;
tab.execute({javascript: "(" + function() {
// Complex JS here — no escaping needed
fetch("/r/SideProject/rising.json?limit=10", {credentials: "include"})
.then(r => r.json())
.then(d => {
var posts = d.data.children.map(p => ({
title: p.data.title.substring(0, 60),
score: p.data.score,
comments: p.data.num_comments,
id: p.data.name,
url: "https://reddit.com" + p.data.permalink
}));
document.title = "POSTS:" + JSON.stringify(posts);
});
} + ")();"});
'
Method 2: System Events + Console (Multi-Profile Fallback)
When AppleScript can't see Chrome windows (multi-profile bug), use keyboard automation.
Step 1: Copy JS to Clipboard
python3 -c "
import subprocess
js = '''(async()=>{
let resp = await fetch('/api/me.json', {credentials: 'include'});
let data = await resp.json();
document.title = 'R:' + JSON.stringify({name: data.data.name, karma: data.data.total_karma});
})()'''
subprocess.run(['pbcopy'], input=js.encode(), check=True)
"
Step 2: Execute via Chrome Console Keyboard Shortcuts
osascript -e '
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Google Chrome"
set frontmost to true
delay 0.3
-- Cmd+Option+J = open/close Console
key code 38 using {command down, option down}
delay 1
-- Select all + Paste + Enter
keystroke "a" using {command down}
delay 0.2
keystroke "v" using {command down}
delay 0.5
key code 36
delay 0.3
-- Close Console
key code 38 using {command down, option down}
end tell
end tell'
Step 3: Read Title via System Events
sleep 3
osascript -e '
tell application "System Events"
tell process "Google Chrome"
return name of window 1
end tell
end tell'
Workflow
Step 1: Check Account Status
Get username, karma, verify login using /api/me.json.
Step 2: Scan Rising Posts
For each target subreddit, fetch rising posts:
/r/{subreddit}/rising.json?limit=10
Look for:
- Rising posts with < 15 comments (early = more visibility)
- Score > 2 (some traction)
- Questions you can answer or discussions with genuine insight
Step 3: Draft Comments
Rules:
- 1-3 sentences preferred. Sometimes 4 max. Short > long.
- Add genuine value (insights, experience, helpful info)
- No self-promotion, no links, no emojis
- Match the subreddit's culture
- Each comment must be unique
Anti-AI Detection Rules (CRITICAL):
Reddit users are very good at spotting AI comments. Follow these rules or get called out.
BANNED words (instant AI detection):
delve, tapestry, nuance/nuanced, realm, robust, pivotal, leverage, comprehensive, enhance, facilitate, catalyst, intricate, furthermore, moreover, consequently, nonetheless, endeavour, utilize/utilization, crucial, vital, significant, landscape, underscore, streamline
BANNED phrases:
- "It's important to note that..."
- "Great question!"
- "In today's [anything]..."
- "plays a crucial role"
- "I hope this helps!"
- Starting with a compliment before answering
BANNED patterns:
- ❌ Uniform sentence length (mix short and long)
- ❌ Bullet points or numbered lists in comments
- ❌ Perfect grammar with zero contractions
- ❌ Generic "I had a similar experience" without details
- ❌ Compliment → answer structure
REQUIRED human patterns:
- ✅ Use contractions: "I've", "don't", "it's", "wouldn't"
- ✅ Use casual Reddit language: "tbh", "imo", "fwiw", "ngl"
- ✅ Include specific details: tool names, version numbers, time, what went wrong
- ✅ Hedge opinions: "not sure if this helps but", "take this with a grain of salt"
- ✅ Mix sentence lengths: short sentence. Then a longer one. Then short again.
- ✅ Mild frustration when appropriate: "honestly this took me way too long to figure out"
- ✅ Be opinionated — take a stance. Don't "both sides" everything.
- ✅ Sometimes just write 1 sentence.
- ✅ Occasional informal grammar: starting with "And" or "But", sentence fragments
THE BALANCE (CRITICAL):
Comments should sound like an expert talking to a friend at a bar — deep technical substance, casual delivery. Not corporate AI assistant, not lazy troll.
Think: expert knowledge, casual delivery.
- Specific numbers, tool names, architecture decisions, tradeoffs
- Contractions, hedging, sentence fragments, mild opinions
- People read it and think "this person clearly knows their stuff" — not "this is ChatGPT"
Example of GOOD comment:
ran into the same thing when we were building our pipeline. switching from euclidean
to cosine similarity fixed it -- the normalized space handles magnitude differences
way better when you're working with 768-dim embeddings.
one gotcha: make sure you L2-normalize before indexing, not at query time. saves you
~40ms per lookup at scale.
Self-Promotion Rules:
- ❌ NEVER directly namedrop your product in comments
- ✅ Use indirect references: "when building our brand consistency system", "in our production AI system"
- Follow 9:1 rule: 9 helpful comments for every 1 that hints at your work
Formatting (CRITICAL):
- ❌ NO blockquote format (
> text) for multi-paragraph comments
- Blockquotes render as one continuous block without paragraph breaks
- ✅ Use plain paragraphs with double newlines (
\n\n) between them
- Reddit renders these as separate
<p> tags with visual spacing
Step 4: Post All Comments
Get modhash, then post each comment with 4s delay between posts.
let me = await fetch("/api/me.json", {credentials: "include"}).then(r=>r.json());
let uh = me.data.modhash;
let body = new URLSearchParams({
thing_id: "t3_xxxxx",
text: "Your comment here",
uh: uh,
api_type: "json"
});
let resp = await fetch("/api/comment", {
method: "POST",
credentials: "include",
headers: {"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"},
body: body.toString()
});
let result = await resp.json();
document.title = "POSTED:" + JSON.stringify(result);
Step 5: Session Summary with Links
ALWAYS end with a summary table containing direct links to every comment posted.
The comment link format is:
https://www.reddit.com/r/{subreddit}/comments/{post_id}/comment/{comment_id}/
Example summary table:
Recommended Target Subreddits
| Priority | Subreddit | Why |
|---|
| High | r/SideProject | Project launches, very welcoming |
| High | r/indiehackers | Revenue/growth discussions |
| Medium | r/ClaudeAI | AI tooling audience |
| Medium | r/coolgithubprojects | Open source visibility |
| Medium | r/startups | Startup discussions |
| Medium | r/entrepreneur | Business insights |
| Medium | r/opensource | Technical audience |
Retry & Repeat Rules
- ❌ Never post identical text to the same post
- ❌ Never retry more than once
- ✅ Multiple comments in the same subreddit = fine, as long as each has a different angle
Rate Limiting
| Action | Limit |
|---|
| Between API calls | 2+ seconds |
| Between posts | 4+ seconds |
| Per session | Max 5 comments |
| Daily | 10-15 comments max |
Karma Milestones
| Karma | Unlocks |
|---|
| 100+ | Can post in most subreddits |
| 500+ | Reduced spam filter triggers |
| 1000+ | Trusted contributor status |
| 5000+ | Community recognition |
Algorithm Insights
- First 30 minutes determine if post reaches Hot page
- Early upvotes weighted 10x more than later ones
- 2 early comments > 20 passive upvotes
- Best posting time: Sunday 6-8 AM ET
- Upvote ratio matters: 100↑/10↓ (90%) beats 150↑/50↓ (75%)
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|
count of windows = 0 | Chrome multi-profile bug → use Method 2 |
| "Allow JavaScript" not working | Restart Chrome after enabling |
| Modhash expired | Re-fetch from /api/me.json |
| 403 response | Rate limited, wait 5+ minutes |
| Comment not appearing | Check for shadowban: visit profile in incognito |
Why AppleScript (Not Playwright/Selenium)
| Tool | Problem |
|---|
| Playwright | Sets navigator.webdriver=true, detected instantly |
| Selenium | Same detection issue |
| Puppeteer | Same detection issue |
| curl + API | IP blocked by Reddit after few requests |
| AppleScript | Controls real Chrome, undetectable, cookies included |
