Skill: WordPress Remote News Publisher

Automated news article generation and publishing to WordPress via SSH and WP-CLI.

Folder Structure

WordPress-Remote-News-Publisher/
  SKILL.md
  config.json
  scripts/
    download_cover.py
    optimize_image.sh
    upload_media_remote.sh
    publish_wp_remote.sh

Metadata

---
name: wordpress-remote-news-publisher
description: |
  Automatically generates and publishes news articles to a remote WordPress 
  installation via SSH using public key authentication. Downloads and optimizes 
  cover images from Unsplash, transfers them via SCP, and publishes articles 
  with SEO metadata (Yoast).
user-invocable: true
triggers:
  - cron: "0 10 * * 1-5"  # Weekdays at 10:00
  - cron: "0 16 * * 1-5"  # Weekdays at 16:00
  - manual: "/wordpress-remote-news-publisher [topic]"
metadata:
  emoji: "📰"
  version: "1.0.0"
  author: "ClawHub Community"
  license: "MIT"
  openclaw:
    requires:
      bins:
        - ssh
        - scp
        - python3
        - curl
        - convert
      env:
        - WP_SSH_HOST
        - WP_SSH_USER
        - WP_SSH_KEY
        - WP_SSH_PORT
        - WP_REMOTE_PATH
        - WP_REMOTE_TMP
        - WP_AUTHOR_ID
        - UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY
---

Overview

This skill enables automated news content creation and publication to WordPress websites hosted on remote servers. It leverages SSH with public key authentication for secure, passwordless connections, and WP-CLI for all WordPress operations on the server side.

Key Features

• Remote Execution: All WP-CLI operations run on the remote server via SSH
• Automated Topic Selection: Round-robin rotation through configured topics
• Journalistic Writing Style: Senior journalist quality content with lede, body, and attribution
• Image Pipeline: Unsplash download → local optimization → SCP transfer → WordPress import
• SEO Integration: Yoast SEO meta description and focus keyword support
• Cron Scheduling: Automated execution on weekdays

Required Environment Variables

Editorial Philosophy

Every article MUST adhere to these rules:

1. Write like a senior journalist, not an AI assistant
2. Use variable sentence length: Alternate short periods with complex constructions
3. Lead with a clear thesis in the first paragraph (lede)
4. Include attributed quotes from real sources when available
5. Avoid AI-sounding phrases: Never use "it's important to note," "in the digital age," "in today's world," "in conclusion," "obviously," "clearly," or similar formulas
6. Specific titles: No clickbait. The title must contain the main fact

Complete Procedure

Phase 1: Topic Selection

If no topic is provided as argument:

1. Read config.json for the configured topic list
2. Select the topic with the oldest publication date (round-robin)
3. Use that topic for content generation

Phase 2: SSH Connection Verification

Before any operation, verify SSH connectivity:

ssh -i "$WP_SSH_KEY" -p "${WP_SSH_PORT:-22}" \
    -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \
    -o BatchMode=yes \
    -o ConnectTimeout=10 \
    "$WP_SSH_USER@$WP_SSH_HOST" \
    "wp --info --path=$WP_REMOTE_PATH"

If this fails, abort and notify via Telegram with error details.

Phase 3: Research and Fact Gathering

1. Web Search: Query "[topic] latest news [current month]" and English equivalents for international sources

2. Fact Collection (only verifiable facts):

   • Numerical data with source attribution
   • Statements from real people with name and role
   • Specific dates and events
   • Avoid unattributed speculation

3. Store Facts: Save to /tmp/wp_facts.json

Phase 4: Article Generation

Mandatory Editorial Structure

TITLE (max 65 characters)

• Specific, not generic. Contains the main fact.
• ✅ Good: "Meta cuts 3,600 jobs: farewell to Base AI teams"
• ❌ Bad: "Meta takes important step for the future"

LEDE (first paragraph, 40-60 words)

• Answers: Who? What? When? Where? Why?
• The most important news in dense, precise form
• Never starts with "In the world of..." or "In recent years..."

BODY (600-900 total words)

• Paragraph 2: Context and background
• Paragraphs 3-4: Main development with data and citations
• Paragraph 5: Reactions and positions from key players
• Paragraph 6: Implications and prospects (attributed to experts)
• Final paragraph: Narrative closing element

META DESCRIPTION (max 155 characters) SEO TAGS (3-5 tags, without #) PRIMARY KEYWORD (1 keyword)

Output Format

Save to /tmp/wp_article.json:

{
  "title": "...",
  "content": "...",
  "excerpt": "...",
  "tags": ["..."],
  "meta_desc": "...",
  "keyword": "...",
  "topic": "..."
}

Phase 5: Cover Image

1. Determine Visual Keyword: Derive from article topic (e.g., "server room technology")

2. Download from Unsplash (local machine):

   python3 {baseDir}/scripts/download_cover.py '[keyword]' /tmp/cover.jpg
   

3. Optimize Locally:

   bash {baseDir}/scripts/optimize_image.sh /tmp/cover.jpg /tmp/cover_opt.jpg
   

4. Transfer and Import:

   bash {baseDir}/scripts/upload_media_remote.sh /tmp/cover_opt.jpg
   

   → Media ID saved to /tmp/wp_media_id.txt

Phase 6: Publishing to Remote WordPress

1. Create Draft Post:

   bash {baseDir}/scripts/publish_wp_remote.sh
   

2. Verify Status: Wait 30 seconds, check via SSH

3. Publish:

   ssh -i "$WP_SSH_KEY" -p "${WP_SSH_PORT:-22}" "$WP_SSH_USER@$WP_SSH_HOST" \
     "wp post update $(cat /tmp/wp_post_id.txt) \
      --post_status=publish --path=$WP_REMOTE_PATH"
   

4. Retrieve Published URL:

   ssh -i "$WP_SSH_KEY" -p "${WP_SSH_PORT:-22}" "$WP_SSH_USER@$WP_SSH_HOST" \
     "wp post get $(cat /tmp/wp_post_id.txt) --field=url --path=$WP_REMOTE_PATH"
   

5. Send Telegram Confirmation: Title, URL, word count, keyword

Phase 7: Update Registry

Update config.json with the current timestamp for the published topic to ensure proper rotation.

SSH Key Setup (One-Time)

Before using this skill, configure public key authentication:

# 1. Generate a dedicated key pair (ed25519 recommended)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_wp \
    -C "openclaw-wp-publisher" -N ""

# 2. Copy public key to remote server
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_wp.pub -p 22 deploy@203.0.113.10

# 3. Verify passwordless connection
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_wp -o BatchMode=yes \
    deploy@203.0.113.10 "wp --info"

# 4. (Optional) Restrict key in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
command="wp --allow-root",no-port-forwarding,no-X11-forwarding \
    ssh-ed25519 AAAA... openclaw-wp-publisher

Security Tip: Use a dedicated SSH user (deploy or wpcli) with minimal server permissions. Never use root. If WP-CLI needs write access to /var/www, add the user to the www-data group.

Remote Server Requirements

Local Machine Requirements (OpenClaw)

Configuration Example

OpenClaw Configuration

Add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "skills": {
    "entries": {
      "wordpress-remote-news-publisher": {
        "env": {
          "WP_SSH_HOST": "203.0.113.10",
          "WP_SSH_USER": "deploy",
          "WP_SSH_KEY": "/home/user/.ssh/id_ed25519_wp",
          "WP_SSH_PORT": "22",
          "WP_REMOTE_PATH": "/var/www/html/wordpress",
          "WP_REMOTE_TMP": "/tmp",
          "WP_AUTHOR_ID": "1",
          "UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY": "your-unsplash-access-key"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "id": "wp-morning-news",
        "schedule": "0 10 * * 1-5",
        "prompt": "Execute wordpress-remote-news-publisher. Select topic from rotation.",
        "channel": "telegram"
      },
      {
        "id": "wp-afternoon-news",
        "schedule": "0 16 * * 1-5",
        "prompt": "Execute wordpress-remote-news-publisher for afternoon edition.",
        "channel": "telegram"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Summary

This skill enables fully automated WordPress publishing without requiring WP-CLI on the local machine. All WordPress operations execute remotely via SSH, images process locally and transfer via SCP, and the connection uses public key authentication for security and automation.