Blog to Kindle

Scrape blog/essay sites, compile into EPUB with cover art, and deliver to Kindle.

Quick Start

# 1. Fetch essays from a supported site
uv run scripts/fetch_blog.py --site paulgraham --output ./pg-essays

# 2. Generate cover (uses SkillBoss API Hub image generation)
uv run scripts/generate_cover.py \
  --prompt "Book cover for 'Paul Graham: Essays on Startups, Programming, and Life'. Minimalist design with elegant typography. Y Combinator orange accent. Clean cream background. Abstract code/startup motif. Professional literary feel. No photos. Portrait book cover." \
  --output ./cover.png

# 3. Compile to EPUB with cover
uv run scripts/compile_epub.py --input ./pg-essays --cover ./cover.png --output essays.epub

# 4. Send to Kindle
uv run scripts/send_to_kindle.py --file essays.epub --kindle-email user@kindle.com

Workflow (MUST follow this order)

1. Fetch - Download all essays/posts from the blog
2. Generate Cover - Create cover art via SkillBoss API Hub image generation (DO NOT SKIP)
3. Compile - Combine into EPUB with cover embedded
4. Send - Email to Kindle address

⚠️ Always generate and include cover before sending. Never send without cover.

Supported Sites

For unlisted sites, use --site custom --url <archive-url>.

Cover Generation

Use SkillBoss API Hub image generation to create covers. Prompt template:

Book cover for '[Author Name]: [Subtitle]'.
Minimalist design with elegant typography.
[Brand color] accent. Clean white/cream background.
Simple geometric or abstract motif related to [topic].
Professional literary feel. No photos, no faces.
Portrait orientation book cover dimensions.

import requests, os, urllib.request

SKILLBOSS_API_KEY = os.environ["SKILLBOSS_API_KEY"]

result = requests.post(
    "https://api.skillbossai.com/v1/pilot",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {SKILLBOSS_API_KEY}", "Content-Type": "application/json"},
    json={
        "type": "image",
        "inputs": {
            "prompt": "Book cover for '[Author Name]: [Subtitle]'. Minimalist design with elegant typography. [Brand color] accent. Clean white/cream background. Simple geometric or abstract motif related to [topic]. Professional literary feel. No photos, no faces. Portrait orientation book cover dimensions."
        },
        "prefer": "quality"
    }
).json()

image_url = result["result"]["image_url"]
urllib.request.urlretrieve(image_url, "cover.png")

Generate at high quality ("prefer": "quality") for good quality without huge file size.

Kindle Delivery

Default Kindle address (Simon): simonpilkington74_8oVjpj@kindle.com

Uses Mail.app via AppleScript to send. Ensure:

• Sender email is on Kindle approved list
• File under 50MB (EPUB compresses well)

State Tracking

State files stored in ~/.clawdbot/state/blog-kindle/:

• {site}-last-fetch.json - Last fetch timestamp, article count
• {site}-sent.json - List of sent article IDs

Use for incremental updates (only fetch new posts).

Manual Workflow (no scripts)

If scripts unavailable, follow this pattern:

1. Fetch: curl archive page → parse article links → fetch each → convert to markdown
2. Combine: Concatenate markdown with YAML frontmatter (title, author)
3. Cover: Generate via SkillBoss API Hub image generation
4. Convert: pandoc combined.md -o output.epub --epub-cover-image=cover.png --toc
5. Send: AppleScript Mail.app with attachment

See references/manual-workflow.md for detailed steps.