blackboard-school

name	blackboard-school
category	education
description	Cetys Blackboard automation — scrape tasks, generate LaTeX reports and essays, track assignments. Uses CuaDriver for browser control.
trigger	["blackboard","cetys","tareas","cursos","assignments","ensayo","latex"]

blackboard-school

Automates CETYS Blackboard (cetys.blackboard.com). Scrapes pending assignments, generates LaTeX reports and essays, tracks task status.

Blackboard Credentials

• URL: https://cetys.blackboard.com
• Matrícula: M041852
• Password: Per-session only — ask Alejandro and never store

Workflow

1. Login to Blackboard

https://cetys.blackboard.com

• Click "Iniciar sesión" / "Login"
• Enter matrícula M041852 + password (from current chat)
• Dismiss "Save Password?" Safari sheet → click "Not Now"

2. Scrape Tasks (EFFICIENT — use Activity Stream)

PRIMARY path: Activity/Stream (/ultra/stream) — aggregates ALL assignments with due dates, status, course tags. 10x faster than entering each course.

1. After login → sidebar → "Actividad" or navigate to https://cetys.blackboard.com/ultra/stream
2. Use get_window_state without query filter → read tree_markdown for text (AX tree works without JS; page tool fails unless "Allow JS from Apple Events" is enabled)
3. Sections: "Importante" (past due), "Próximo" (upcoming), "Hoy" (due today)
4. Each entry has: course code, title, due date, due time, status (Vencido/Vence hoy/Fecha de vencimiento)
5. Click "Mostrar más próximas actividades" to reveal hidden entries
6. Log to tasks.json (see references/activity-stream-scrape.md)

FALLBACK: course-by-course via sidebar "Cursos" → click course → "Contenido" → expand folders

3. LaTeX Compilation

• Use tectonic at /opt/homebrew/bin/tectonic
• CETYS logo (amarillo/dorado): official at https://www.cetys.mx/userfiles/plecas/66_LogotipoInstitucional.jpg → saved as assets/cetys-logo-yellow.png
• Pitfall: tectonic rejects relative asset paths. Copy logos to /tmp/ before compile, or use absolute paths
• Output PDF to skill assets/ directory

4. Essay Writing (Ser Humano y Ética / humanidades)

User style: "Menos es más" — simple palabras, redacción like Alejandro.

Rules:

• Words a high schooler would use. No academic jargon. No fancy connectors.
• Sentences short. One idea per sentence. Periods, not semicolons.
• Paragraphs: 3-4 sentences max.
• Tone: direct, conversational, like talking to a classmate.
• Structure: intro (what we compare + why), development (interview vs theory + comparison), conclusion (learnings, gaps).
• Cover: CETYS yellow logo, course code, group members (no "Alumno:" or "Matrícula:" heading — just the 4 names under "Integrantes:"), professor, date.
• Interviewees: never use real names or phone numbers. "Entrevistado 1: Profesionista, área X" and "Entrevistado 2: Profesionista, área Y". Generic.
• Length: exactly what the assignment asks. Body only (not cover/annexes). No filler.
• SafeAssign: essays are originality-checked. Keep content plausible. No robotic fabricated data — use generic-but-realistic responses.
• Never echo raw LaTeX in output — just compile and deliver PDF.
• Template: templates/ensayo-template.tex — copy to /tmp/, replace PLACEHOLDER_CAPS with real content, compile with tectonic.
• Logo: use assets/cetys-logo-clean.png (cropped version, no "Logotipo Institucional" label). Source PNG at assets/cetys-logo-yellow.png if re-crop needed.

5. Task Tracking (tasks.json format)

{
  "tasks": [{
    "id": "1",
    "course": "Nombre del Curso",
    "code": "MXL2601-XXX-XX",
    "title": "Título",
    "due_date": "2026-05-20",
    "due_time": "23:59",
    "status": "pendiente|atrasado|entregado|evento",
    "urgency": "hoy|mañana|próximo|vencido"
  }]
}

Tools & Paths

Tool	Path
LaTeX (tectonic)	/opt/homebrew/bin/tectonic
Computer Use	CuaDriver MCP (mcp_cua_driver_*)
Skills dir	/Volumes/SandiskSSD/Documents/Local/hermes-agent/home/skills/blackboard-school/
CETYS logo (amarillo)	assets/cetys-logo-yellow.png (119KB, official source)

State File

• Location: /Volumes/SandiskSSD/Documents/Local/hermes-agent/home/state/HANDOFF.md
• ALWAYS update after each session with: last login, task counts, active courses, in-progress items
• This file is the Telegram context recovery mechanism — if session drops, reload from here

Pitfalls

• 2FA: stop and ask Alejandro if Blackboard asks for code
• Session expiry: re-login if pages return to login screen
• Context loss: Telegram loses history; always load HANDOFF.md on session start
• JS from Apple Events: page(action='get_text') fails unless enabled in Safari Developer settings. Fallback: use get_window_state AX tree text
• Password save popup: after login, click "Not Now" to dismiss — never save credentials
• Wrong URL: /ultra/activity → 404. Use /ultra/stream
• Logo path in tectonic: absolute paths may fail. Copy logo to /tmp/ and use local path
• ¿ glyph in tectonic: ¿ renders as £ in PDF output. \textquestiondown also fails (same glyph). Use plain ? — only stable option with Latin Modern font. Verify with pdftotext file.pdf - | grep '£' after compile.
• ª glyph in tectonic: feminine ordinal ª renders as ł. Use \textordfeminine instead of raw char. Same T1/Latin Modern limitation as ¿.
• Logo crop: CETYS official download includes a left-side "Logotipo Institucional" label. Open with PIL: img.crop((int(w*0.46), 0, w, h)) removes it. Save as cetys-logo-clean.png.
• PDF verification: after compile, run pdftotext file.pdf - | grep '£' to confirm zero visible pounds. Also check ł for ordinal issues.
• NEVER SUBMIT: do not click Enviar/Submit on Blackboard. Only prepare drafts and PDFs. Submission is Alejandro-only.

Verification

• After login: confirm "ALEJANDRO APODACA CORDOVA" in user menu
• After scrape: tasks.json has entries with due dates in YYYY-MM-DD format
• After compile: PDF at target path, verify file size > 0