RequestDesk Blog - Create Blog Posts from Terminal

Skill Description: Create and publish blog posts to requestdesk.ai/blog directly from the terminal using Claude.

Quick Reference

Usage

Basic Usage

/rd-blog <title>

Claude will prompt for content interactively.

With Arguments

/rd-blog "My Blog Post Title" --tags ai,automation --status draft

Respond to Pitch Mode

/rd-blog --pitch <paste the pitch text here>

Use this when someone pitches you a service and you want to write a blog post positioning RequestDesk as already doing this (and doing it better).

Technology Update Mode

/rd-blog --tech-update <brief description of the feature>

Use this to announce new technical features, capabilities, or improvements we've built. Great for:

• •New integrations or platform capabilities
• •Technical achievements worth sharing
• •Architecture improvements that benefit users
• •Features that demonstrate our technical depth

Tone: Excited but practical. Show what we built, why it matters, and how it helps users. Avoid hype, focus on real benefits.

With Social Promotion

/rd-blog "My Blog Post Title" --social
/rd-blog --pitch <pitch text> --social

When --social is included, Claude will:

1. •Create the blog post (Obsidian draft)
2. •Generate platform-specific social posts for:
   • •LinkedIn (22469)
   • •X/Twitter (23232)
   • •Bluesky (457112)
   • •Threads (399179)
   • •Skip Instagram (not ideal for blog promotion)
3. •Include social posts in the Obsidian draft for review
4. •After user approval, schedule via Vista Social API

Social posts are tailored per platform:

• •LinkedIn: Professional, longer format, thought leadership angle
• •X: Punchy, under 280 chars, hook-focused
• •Bluesky: Conversational, similar to X but slightly longer
• •Threads: List-style or quick takes work well

Respond to Pitch Workflow

Purpose: Turn competitor/market pitches into blog content that positions RequestDesk.

IMPORTANT: The pitch is just a trigger. We DO NOT copy their content. We:

1. •Identify the pain point/opportunity they're addressing
2. •Write our OWN content in Brent's voice addressing the same opportunity
3. •Load /brand-brent guidelines before writing
4. •Run terms checker before publishing

When to Use

• •Someone pitches you a service on LinkedIn
• •You see a competitor offering something you also do
• •A prospect asks "do you do X?" and you want content around it

Step 1: Analyze the Pitch

Claude should identify:

1. •Core service being pitched - What are they actually offering?
2. •Pain point they're addressing - What problem does this solve?
3. •Target audience - Who is this for?

Step 2: Categorize Against Our Services

Check if this maps to existing RequestDesk/sister company capabilities:

Step 3: Determine Action

Ask user to confirm one of these paths:

Option A: We Do This

• •Create blog post using the pitch's pain points as the hook
• •Position our three-company solution as more complete
• •Use "Obsidian Draft" workflow for review

Option B: We Do This, But No Landing Page

• •Create blog post (same as Option A)
• •Add backlog item for service landing page
• •Tags: landing-page, service, relevant category

Option C: We Don't Do This (Yet)

• •Discuss whether we should
• •If yes: add to backlog as potential new service
• •If no: skip or write a "why we don't do X" post

Option D: We Don't Do This (And Shouldn't)

• •No action needed
• •Optionally explain why this isn't in our wheelhouse

Step 4: Create Content

CRITICAL: DO NOT COPY THE PITCH

The pitch is only a trigger to identify the market opportunity. We write our own content in Brent's voice.

Before writing, load Brent's brand persona:

curl -s -X POST "https://app.requestdesk.ai/api/agent/content" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer MNRcaklW3XF7UpKX4VrxPV7wo2L7xsWg" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

What to extract from the pitch (concepts only):

• •The pain point they're addressing
• •The target audience
• •The general solution category

What to write fresh in Brent's voice:

• •Our own hook addressing the same pain point
• •Our perspective on why this matters
• •How our solution is different/better
• •Real talk, not marketing speak

Content structure:

1. •Open with the pain point - Same problem, YOUR words
2. •Acknowledge the market shift - This is real, it's happening
3. •Pivot to our differentiator - "The problem isn't outsourcing. It's outsourcing to the wrong people."
4. •Show the full stack - Content Cucumber (content) + RequestDesk (platform) + ContentBasis (development)
5. •Soft CTA - "Outsource to people who understand content. That's us."

CRITICAL: Never suggest "build in-house" or "don't outsource" Our entire business model is people outsourcing to us:

• •Content Cucumber = outsourced content/editing
• •ContentBasis = outsourced AI/dev work
• •RequestDesk = platform they use (also outsourcing their workflow tooling)

Voice checklist (Brent's style):

• •No em dashes (use periods or commas)
• •No emojis
• •Direct, practical tone
• •Honest about limitations
• •Light self-deprecating humor where appropriate
• •Avoid AI buzzwords: "leverage", "game-changer", "deep dive", "actually"

Before publishing, run terms checker:

curl -X POST "https://app.requestdesk.ai/api/typingmind/proxy/terms-checker" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer MNRcaklW3XF7UpKX4VrxPV7wo2L7xsWg" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "[DRAFT CONTENT]", "include_global": true}'

Step 5: Add Backlog Item (If Needed)

If a landing page is missing, add to backlog:

curl -s -X POST "https://app.requestdesk.ai/api/backlog" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer MNRcaklW3XF7UpKX4VrxPV7wo2L7xsWg" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Create landing page: [SERVICE NAME]",
    "priority": 3,
    "category": "Content",
    "subcategory": "Landing Pages",
    "source": "claude",
    "tags": ["landing-page", "service", "astro-sites"],
    "notes": "Triggered by pitch response. Blog post created: [URL]",
    "reference_url": "[BLOG POST URL]"
  }'

Example Conversation Flow

User: /rd-blog --pitch "We help agencies add AI automation using n8n and Zapier..."

Claude: I see this pitch is about AI automation for agencies. Let me categorize:

**Pain point identified:** Agencies need to add AI automation to stay competitive
**Target audience:** Digital agencies
**Service category:** AI Automation & Workflows

**We do this:** Yes
**Landing page exists:** Yes (/workflow-automations)

This maps to what we already offer through RequestDesk + ContentBasis.

How would you like to proceed?
1. Create blog post on this topic (Obsidian draft first)
2. Skip - we already have content on this
3. Just add a backlog item for follow-up

User: 1

Claude: Loading Brent's brand persona...
[Fetches brand guidelines]

Now I'll write a fresh post in your voice addressing this same opportunity.
I'll use the pain point (agencies feeling the AI shift) but write our own
take on it - not copy their pitch.

[Creates Obsidian draft in Brent's voice]

Technology Update Workflow

Purpose: Announce new technical features and capabilities we've built.

When to Use

• •We shipped a new feature worth talking about
• •We improved our architecture in a meaningful way
• •We integrated something new (platform, API, technology)
• •We solved a technical problem in an interesting way

Content Structure

1. •Open with the problem/opportunity - What challenge did we face or what opportunity did we see?
2. •Show what we built - Explain the solution in practical terms
3. •Demonstrate the benefit - How does this help users? Real examples.
4. •Technical depth (optional) - For readers who want to understand the how
5. •What's next - Brief mention of related improvements coming

Tone Guidelines

• •Excited but not hypey
• •Technical but accessible
• •Show, don't just tell
• •Include real examples or screenshots if possible
• •Honest about limitations or trade-offs

Example Topics

• •"We added JSON-LD structured data to all blog posts"
• •"Our new Shopify sync pulls products in real-time"
• •"How we built our SSR blog architecture"
• •"New AI-powered content suggestions"

Obsidian Draft Review Workflow

Preferred workflow: Create drafts in Obsidian for review before publishing to RequestDesk.

Obsidian Draft Location

/Users/brent/scripts/CB-Workspace/brent-workspace/ob-notes/Brent Notes/Company Websites/RequestDesk/Blog Draft Review/

Draft File Template

Create markdown files with this structure:

# Post Title Here

**Status:** Draft
**Created:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Tags:** tag1, tag2, tag3
**Categories:** category1, category2
**Focus Keyphrase:** main keyword phrase

---

## Excerpt

Short summary for previews (1-2 sentences).

---

## Content

Main post content in markdown format...

---

## SEO

**SEO Title:** Title for search engines (under 60 chars)
**SEO Description:** Meta description (under 160 chars)

---

## Review Notes

- [ ] Review checklist item 1
- [ ] Review checklist item 2

## Social Posts (if --social flag used)

### LinkedIn (22469)
[LinkedIn version of the post - professional, longer]

### X/Twitter (23232)
[X version - punchy, under 280 chars]

### Bluesky (457112)
[Bluesky version - conversational]

### Threads (399179)
[Threads version - lists work well]

Workflow Steps

1. •Create Obsidian Draft - Save markdown file to Blog Draft Review folder
2. •User Reviews in Obsidian - Make edits, check formatting, approve content
3. •Push to RequestDesk - Convert markdown to HTML and publish via API
4. •Archive or Delete - Move Obsidian file to completed folder or delete

Direct Publish Workflow

When this skill is invoked, Claude should:

Step 1: Gather Post Information

Ask the user for (if not provided):

1. •Title (required) - The blog post title
2. •Content (required) - The HTML content of the post
3. •Excerpt (optional) - Short summary for previews
4. •Tags (optional) - Comma-separated list
5. •Categories (optional) - Comma-separated list
6. •Status (optional) - publish (default), draft, or pending

Step 2: Format Content

• •If user provides markdown, convert to HTML
• •Wrap paragraphs in <p> tags
• •Use proper HTML headings (<h2>, <h3>, etc.)
• •Format lists as <ul>/<ol> with <li> items

Step 3: Create the Post (ALWAYS as draft)

Execute curl command with "status": "draft":

curl -X POST "https://app.requestdesk.ai/api/astro-proxy/blog-posts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ZNgUN47QKeykN8voMmRbuyRT1G3edDxo" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Post Title",
    "content": "<p>HTML content here</p>",
    "excerpt": "Short summary",
    "tags": ["tag1", "tag2"],
    "categories": ["category1"],
    "status": "draft"
  }'

IMPORTANT: Always use "status": "draft". Never use "status": "publish".

Step 4: Confirm Success

Display:

• •Draft URL: https://app.requestdesk.ai/blog-posts/{id}/edit (for editing)
• •Post ID for reference
• •Word count
• •Remind user: "Draft created. Visit RequestDesk admin to review and publish when ready."

API Reference

POST /api/astro-proxy/blog-posts

Headers:

Authorization: Bearer ZNgUN47QKeykN8voMmRbuyRT1G3edDxo
Content-Type: application/json

Request Body:

{
  "title": "string (required)",
  "content": "string (required) - HTML content",
  "excerpt": "string (optional)",
  "slug": "string (optional) - auto-generated from title if not provided",
  "status": "string (optional) - publish|draft|pending, default: publish",
  "tags": ["array", "of", "strings"],
  "categories": ["array", "of", "strings"],
  "featured_image": "string (optional) - URL to image",
  "seo_title": "string (optional)",
  "seo_description": "string (optional)",
  "focus_keyphrase": "string (optional)"
}

Response (201 Created):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Blog post created successfully",
  "data": {
    "post": {
      "id": "mongodb_id",
      "postId": "post-abc123-1234567890",
      "title": "Post Title",
      "slug": "post-title",
      "status": "publish",
      "excerpt": "",
      "word_count": 150,
      "created_at": "2026-01-20T12:00:00",
      "url": "https://requestdesk.ai/blog/post-title"
    }
  }
}

Image Upload

Upload images to use as featured images in blog posts.

POST /api/astro-proxy/upload-image

Headers:

Authorization: Bearer ZNgUN47QKeykN8voMmRbuyRT1G3edDxo
Content-Type: multipart/form-data

Request:

• •image: File upload (jpg, jpeg, png, gif, webp)
• •Max size: 10MB

Example:

curl -X POST "https://app.requestdesk.ai/api/astro-proxy/upload-image" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ZNgUN47QKeykN8voMmRbuyRT1G3edDxo" \
  -F "image=@/path/to/image.png"

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "url": "https://cb-content-storage.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/blog-images/.../image.png",
  "s3_key": "blog-images/agent-id/uuid.png",
  "filename": "image.png",
  "content_type": "image/png",
  "file_size": 123456
}

Workflow with Image

1. •

   Upload image first:

   bash

   IMAGE_URL=$(curl -s -X POST "https://app.requestdesk.ai/api/astro-proxy/upload-image" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer ZNgUN47QKeykN8voMmRbuyRT1G3edDxo" \
     -F "image=@/path/to/image.png" | jq -r '.url')
   

2. •

   Create post with image:

   bash

   curl -X POST "https://app.requestdesk.ai/api/astro-proxy/blog-posts" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer ZNgUN47QKeykN8voMmRbuyRT1G3edDxo" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d "{
       \"title\": \"Post with Image\",
       \"content\": \"<p>Content here</p>\",
       \"featured_image\": \"$IMAGE_URL\"
     }"
   

Content Guidelines

HTML Formatting

Posts should use proper HTML:

<h2>Section Heading</h2>
<p>Paragraph content goes here. Keep paragraphs focused.</p>

<h3>Subsection</h3>
<p>More content with <strong>bold</strong> and <em>italic</em> text.</p>

<ul>
  <li>Bullet point one</li>
  <li>Bullet point two</li>
</ul>

<ol>
  <li>Numbered item one</li>
  <li>Numbered item two</li>
</ol>

<blockquote>
  <p>A quote or callout.</p>
</blockquote>

<pre><code>Code block content</code></pre>

Writing Style (Brent's Voice)

When writing for Brent's blog:

• •No em dashes. Use periods or commas instead.
• •No emojis unless explicitly requested.
• •Include "AI would object" elements (snarky asides, bold opinions).
• •Avoid overused AI phrases: "actually", "leverage", "game-changer", "deep dive".

Examples

Create a Draft Post (Standard Workflow)

curl -X POST "https://app.requestdesk.ai/api/astro-proxy/blog-posts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ZNgUN47QKeykN8voMmRbuyRT1G3edDxo" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Why AI Content Still Needs Human Editors",
    "content": "<h2>The Problem</h2><p>AI can write. But can it think?</p>",
    "excerpt": "A look at why human oversight matters in AI content.",
    "tags": ["ai", "content", "editing"],
    "status": "draft"
  }'

Note: Claude should ALWAYS use "status": "draft". Human editor publishes from RequestDesk admin.

Troubleshooting

403 Forbidden

• •Agent doesn't have requestdesk_blog_enabled flag set
• •Solution: Enable in agent settings at https://app.requestdesk.ai/agents/68dc1d940b0b937958668ed0/show

401 Unauthorized

• •Invalid or missing API key
• •Solution: Check the Authorization header

Post Not Appearing on Blog

• •Check post status is publish (not draft)
• •Verify agent has requestdesk_blog_enabled=True
• •Check post has publish_to_requestdesk_blog=True (automatic via this API)

When Claude Should Apply This Skill

Apply this skill automatically when user:

• •Says /rd-blog or mentions creating a blog post
• •Asks to publish content to the RequestDesk blog
• •Wants to add a post to requestdesk.ai/blog
• •Mentions writing for the company blog
• •Uses --pitch argument - Triggers "Respond to Pitch" workflow
• •Shares a pitch/offer they received - Ask if they want to use the pitch workflow
• •Uses --tech-update argument - Triggers "Technology Update" workflow for announcing new features
• •Uses --social argument - Includes social media posts in Obsidian draft for review, then schedules via Vista Social after approval

Default Behavior

Always create Obsidian draft first, then push to RequestDesk as DRAFT (never publish).

Claude should NEVER publish directly. The workflow is:

1. •Create Obsidian draft for initial review
2. •After user approval, push to RequestDesk with "status": "draft"
3. •Human editor does final review in RequestDesk admin
4. •Human editor clicks publish when ready

Claude's role ends at draft. Final publish is always done by a human.

Options to present:

1. •Obsidian Draft Only - Create markdown in Blog Draft Review folder
2. •Obsidian + RequestDesk Draft (Recommended) - Create Obsidian draft, then push to RequestDesk as draft for final editing

Pitch Response Behavior

When user provides a pitch (via --pitch or by sharing pitch text):

1. •Analyze and categorize the pitch
2. •Check against existing services/landing pages
3. •Ask user which action path to take
4. •Create content and/or backlog items as needed

Social Promotion Workflow (--social flag)

When --social is used, the Obsidian draft includes a Social Posts section with platform-specific copy.

Platforms (skip Instagram for blog posts)

Why Skip Instagram?

• •Blog posts don't perform well on Instagram
• •Requires image/video content
• •Better suited for visual content, not article promotion

Workflow After Approval

Once user approves the draft in Obsidian:

1. •Push to RequestDesk as draft via /rd-blog API (status: draft)
2. •Human editor reviews and publishes in RequestDesk admin
3. •After human publishes, schedule social posts via Vista Social with blog URL in first comment:

IMPORTANT: Social posts should only go out AFTER the blog post is live. Claude creates the social copy in the Obsidian draft, but scheduling happens after human publishes the blog.

eval $(grep VISTA_SOCIAL_API_KEY /Users/brent/scripts/CB-Workspace/.claude/local/workspace.env)

curl -s -X POST "https://vistasocial.com/api/integration/posts?api_key=$VISTA_SOCIAL_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "profile_id": [22469, 23232, 457112, 399179],
    "message": "Social post text here",
    "publish_at": "now",
    "comments": ["https://requestdesk.ai/blog/post-slug"]
  }'

Social Post Best Practices

• •Put blog link in first comment (avoids algorithm suppression)
• •Stagger posting if preferred (use publish_at with different times)
• •Run terms checker on social copy too
• •Customize per platform rather than cross-posting identical text

Related

• •rd-astro-blog skill - SSR architecture documentation for displaying posts
• •Vista Social skill - /Users/brent/scripts/CB-Workspace/.claude/skills/brent-workspace/vista-social.md
• •Agent Settings - https://app.requestdesk.ai/agents/68dc1d940b0b937958668ed0/show
• •Blog Index - https://requestdesk.ai/blog/
• •Backlog API - /Users/brent/scripts/CB-Workspace/.claude/local/backlog-api-access.md
• •Add Backlog Command - /add-backlog for quick backlog items

Company Positioning (CRITICAL for blog content)

Our mission is to have people OUTSOURCE to us, not build in-house.

Never write content that suggests people should build their own systems. We want them to use ours.

Correct Messaging

• •"Don't build your own content team. Use Content Cucumber."
• •"Don't hire developers to build AI automations. ContentBasis does that."
• •"Don't cobble together Zapier workflows. RequestDesk has it built in."

Incorrect Messaging (NEVER USE)

• •"Build your content supply chain in-house"
• •"You should think twice before outsourcing"
• •"No one else can understand your content well enough"
• •Anything that implies DIY is better than using our services

The Real Distinction

The problem isn't outsourcing. It's outsourcing to the WRONG people:

Service Landing Pages Reference