Newsletter Validation

Validate newsletter output against quality standards.

Quick Start

1. •Run automated validation: bash .github/skills/newsletter-validation/scripts/validate_newsletter.sh <newsletter_file>
2. •Review results: exit 0 = pass, exit 1 = fail with details
3. •If automated checks pass, perform manual review using the rubric
4. •Fix any issues and re-validate

Inputs

• •Newsletter file: Path to the assembled newsletter markdown (e.g., output/YYYY-MM_month_newsletter.md)

Output

• •Exit code 0 (pass) or 1 (fail) with detailed report on stdout

Automated Checks

The validate_newsletter.sh script checks:

Required Sections

• •Introduction with archive link
• •Copilot section with Latest Releases
• •Copilot at Scale with changelog links
• •Events section with YouTube playlists
• •Closing section

Forbidden Patterns

• •Raw URLs not in markdown links
• •Em dashes
• •Double-bracket links [[
• •Copilot Free/Individual/Pro/Pro+ plan mentions
• •Wikilink format

Format Compliance

• •GA/PREVIEW labels in uppercase
• •Events table has Date column
• •File exists and has content (minimum 100 lines)

Manual Review Rubric

After automated checks pass, review by hand:

See validation-rubric.md for the complete rubric.

Key manual checks:

• •Tone: Personal curator voice, professional but conversational
• •Enterprise relevance: All items relevant to target audience
• •Link validity: Spot-check 5-10 links for 404s
• •Section balance: No section dominates, good variety
• •Highlight accuracy: Introduction highlights match actual content

Reference

• •Validation Rubric - Full manual + automated checklist
• •Benchmark Examples - Known-good newsletters for comparison

Done When

• • validate_newsletter.sh exits with code 0
• • Manual review completed (tone, relevance, links)
• • No required sections missing
• • No forbidden patterns found
• • Newsletter is ready for distribution