Update Existing Blog Post

You are helping the user update an existing blog post on their Quartz site. Find the post, understand what they want to change, and apply the updates carefully.

Steps

1. Load Configuration

Read .claude/mark-my-words.local.md to get the user's settings. If the file doesn't exist, tell the user:

No configuration found. Please run /mark-my-words:setup first to configure your blog settings.

Then stop.

Load Voice Profile

If the config has a default_voice set (not null), read the voice profile from .claude/voices/<default_voice>.md. If the file doesn't exist, warn the user and continue without a voice.

Also check if any voice profiles exist in .claude/voices/ using Glob. Store this for use in full rewrites.

Resolve Media Directory

If the config has media_dir set (not null), resolve the full media path as <content_root>/<media_dir> and ensure the directory exists (mkdir -p). Store this path for use in the "Add visuals" mode.

2. Resolve Content Location

• •If source_type: remote: Look for the working directory at .mark-my-words-workdir/. If not cloned, clone it. If cloned, pull latest.
• •If source_type: local: Use <local_path>/<content_dir>/.

3. Find the Post

• •If $ARGUMENTS was provided: Search for matching posts by:
  • •Filename match (glob for *<argument>*.md)
  • •Title match (grep for the argument in frontmatter title: fields)
  • •Content match if no filename/title hits
• •If no arguments: List the 10 most recently modified .md files in the content directory with their titles and dates.

If multiple posts match, use AskUserQuestion to let the user select which one. Show title, date, and filename for each option.

If no posts match, tell the user and suggest they check the filename or try a different search term.

4. Read the Post

Read the full content of the selected post. Display a summary to the user:

• •Title
• •Date
• •Tags
• •Draft status
• •Word count
• •First few lines of content (or section headings)

5. Interview for Changes

Use AskUserQuestion to determine what the user wants to change. Consult references/update-strategies.md for guidance on each approach.

Update mode:

• •"Edit specific sections" — modify particular parts while keeping the rest intact
• •"Append new content" — add a new section or content to the end
• •"Full rewrite" — rewrite the entire post with new content
• •"Frontmatter only" — just update metadata (tags, title, date, draft status)
• •"Add visuals" — add diagrams, images, and media (only shown if media_dir is configured)

Based on the mode chosen:

For edit specific sections: Ask which section(s) to modify and what the changes should be. List the current headings so the user can reference them.

For append new content: Ask what new section/content to add and where it should go (end of post, before conclusion, after a specific section).

For full rewrite: Ask for the new direction/focus. Confirm that they want to replace all existing content.

If voice profiles exist in .claude/voices/, ask which voice to use for the rewrite:

• •If a default voice is set, offer it as the default choice
• •List other available voices
• •Offer "No voice — write naturally" as an option

For frontmatter only: Use AskUserQuestion to ask what to update:

• •Title
• •Tags (add/remove)
• •Draft status (publish/unpublish)
• •Description
• •Date

For add visuals: Analyze the post for visual opportunities using the detection patterns from ../add-media/references/media-guide.md:

1. •

   Scan the post for diagram candidates (processes → flowcharts, architectures → subgraph diagrams, request flows → sequence diagrams, state changes → state diagrams), image candidates (UI references, visual concepts, results), and table candidates (comparisons, structured data)

2. •

   Present findings organized by section name and line number, with a suggested visual type for each

3. •

   Use AskUserQuestion to let the user:

   • •Accept all suggestions
   • •Pick and choose which ones to add
   • •Add their own images instead
   • •Search for images on the web
4. •

   For each accepted item:

   • •Mermaid diagrams: Generate the diagram code, show it for approval, then use Edit to insert it after the text that introduces the concept
   • •User-provided images: Get the path/URL and description, copy/download to media dir, insert wikilink reference with alt text
   • •Web-searched images: Use WebSearch to find relevant images, present options, download selected image to media dir, insert reference
   • •Video embeds: Get the URL, generate iframe embed, insert with a context sentence

Frontmatter date handling: Ask if they want to:

• •Keep the original date
• •Update to today's date
• •Add a lastmod field with today's date (recommended for edits)

6. Apply Changes

• •Use the Edit tool for targeted changes to preserve the rest of the file
• •Use Write only for full rewrites. If a voice profile was selected for the rewrite, follow its guidance for tone, sentence patterns, vocabulary, rhetorical habits, structure, and things to avoid.
• •Preserve any frontmatter fields the user didn't ask to change
• •If adding lastmod, keep the original date field intact
• •Maintain the post's existing voice and style unless the user asked for a tone change

7. Show the Result

After making changes, read the updated file and show the user:

• •Updated frontmatter
• •A brief summary of what changed
• •The file path

8. Handle Git Workflow

Based on the git_workflow config setting:

• •ask: Use AskUserQuestion — "Would you like to commit and push this update?" with options: Yes (commit + push), Commit only, No
• •auto: Automatically git add, git commit -m "Update post: <title>", and git push
• •manual: Tell the user the file has been updated and they can commit when ready