new-blog-post

name	new-blog-post
description	Create, edit, audit, and prepare DEV.to posts using the repository templates, cover generator, and targeted quality checks.

DEV.to Post Workflow

Use this skill for new articles, edits to existing articles, cover generation, post audits, and publication preparation.

Choose a mode

• Create: start a new post from a topic-specific template.
• Edit: change an existing post while preserving its DEV.to identity and publication metadata.
• Audit: validate one post, selected posts, changed posts, or the archive informationally.

Ask only for missing information. Infer the year, slug, date, and template when the user's request makes them clear.

Create mode

Gather or infer:

Input	Required	Default
Title	Yes	None
Slug	No	Dash-cased title
Description	Yes	A concise summary, 150 characters maximum
Tags	Yes	Up to four relevant tags
Format	No	tutorial, announcement, deep-dive, or general
Series	No	null
Cover subtitle	No	Empty

1. Choose Blog-template/tutorial.md for an executable guide, announcement.md for a release or news post, deep-dive.md for architecture and analysis, or BlogTemplate.md for another format.

2. Create posts/<year>/<slug>/, copy the selected template to <slug>.md, and create assets/ and code/ only when needed.

3. Replace every front-matter placeholder. Keep published: false, id: null, and canonical_url: null for a new post.

4. Generate the cover:

   python scripts/cover_creative.py --title "<Title>" --subtitle "<Subtitle>" --output "posts/<year>/<slug>/assets/main.png"
   

   Use --style or --seed when the user requests a controlled variation. The script's supported styles are authoritative.

5. Draft in British English. Use authoritative sources for factual or time-sensitive claims. Include runnable samples, expected output, and validation steps where relevant.

6. Run the targeted checks in the Validation section.

Edit mode

• Read the existing front matter before changing it.
• Preserve id, canonical_url, published, series, and the existing publication date unless the user explicitly requests a metadata change.
• Do not rename or remove assets until all references have been searched.
• Keep the existing footer unless the user asks to update the author identity or social links.
• Run the audit against the edited post, then run Prettier and embedded-code checks when applicable.

Audit mode

For one post:

pwsh ./scripts/audit_posts.ps1 -Path posts/<year>/<slug>/<slug>.md -FailOnIssues

For changed posts in a branch:

pwsh ./scripts/audit_posts.ps1 -ChangedOnly -BaseRef origin/main -FailOnIssues

For an informational archive report, omit -FailOnIssues. Legacy posts are not required to satisfy the current contract unless they are edited.

Report findings by metadata, assets, links, structure, footer, style, and code. Include the file path and a practical correction for each finding.

Current post contract

• Front matter includes title, published, description, tags, cover_image, canonical_url, id, series, and date.
• description is no longer than 150 characters, tags contain no more than four values, and date is ISO 8601 UTC.
• New covers are assets/main.png, 1000x420 pixels, referenced by the repository's raw GitHub URL.
• The post filename matches its folder slug. Local image links resolve to files in the post folder.
• The post contains no template placeholders or emdashes and uses British English.
• The exact author footer contains {% user pwd9000 %}, GitHub, X, LinkedIn, and a Date: DD-MM-YYYY line.
• Include primary or authoritative sources for factual claims, especially current product behaviour, version details, pricing, and security guidance.

Validation

Run locally:

npx prettier --write <changed files>
npx prettier --check <changed files>
npx embedme <post.md> --verify
pwsh ./scripts/audit_posts.ps1 -Path <post.md> -FailOnIssues

Use yarn embedme:write only when <!-- embedme ... --> directives need synchronising. Never use the missing cover_fix.py; cover dimensions are checked by audit_posts.ps1.

Summary

After completing work, report the post path, selected template, cover path, checks run, and any remaining issues. Remind the user that merging to main publishes the post through the repository workflow.