# Ads Update > Refresh per-platform references (meta, google, tiktok) with the last 30 days of platform changes — features, deprecations, policy updates. COSTLY; gates on confirmation. - Skill: `hainrixz/ads-update` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add hainrixz/ads-update` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/hainrixz/ads-update/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: Hainrixz (https://skillmd.com/u/hainrixz) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/hainrixz/ads-update --- # `/ads update ` — Self-Refreshing Platform References This skill regenerates per-platform reference files with what has actually changed in the last 30 days across each ad platform. Sources include Reddit, Hacker News, official platform changelogs, and the open web. **Powered by an adapted version of [last30days-skill](https://github.com/mvanhorn/last30days-skill) (MIT, by Matt Van Horn). See `scripts/lib/THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md` for full attribution.** --- ## Step 0 — MANDATORY: Cost confirmation gate **Before doing anything else**, you MUST: 1. Read the contents of `ads/references/update-cost-warning.md` and print it verbatim to the user. 2. Compute the estimated token cost for the requested platform(s): - Single platform: **~50,000–150,000 tokens** at default depth - `all`: **~500,000+ tokens** at default depth 3. Call `AskUserQuestion` with this exact question and options: - Question: `"Run /ads update ? Estimated cost: ~k tokens. Proceed?"` (substitute `` and `` with actuals) - Options: - `Proceed` (default depth) — run the requested mode at full cost - `Switch to quick depth` — same coverage, ~40% of the cost - `Cancel` — abort with no fetches 4. If the user picks `Cancel` or any answer other than `Proceed` / `Switch to quick depth`, **abort immediately** with a one-line message: "Cancelled. No sources fetched, no files written." **Do not skip this step.** It exists to protect users on low-credit plans from accidentally burning their balance. --- ## Step 1 — Argument parsing Accept exactly one argument from this enum: `meta | google | tiktok | all` If the user invokes `/ads update` with no argument, ask them which platform via `AskUserQuestion` (don't default to `all`). If they pass an unknown value, list valid options and exit. For `all`, loop the three platforms **sequentially in this order**: `meta, google, tiktok`. Sequential matters — parallel hits rate limits on the public APIs and makes cost unpredictable. --- ## Step 2 — Load source set for the platform Run this Bash command to fetch the source configuration: ```bash python3 scripts/ads_sources.py --list ``` Parse the JSON output. You'll get: - `display_name` — human-readable platform name for the digest header - `subreddits` — list of Reddit subs to query - `changelog_urls` — official vendor release-note pages (use `WebFetch`) - `search_queries` — phrased to surface industry-press coverage (use `WebSearch`) - `hn_keywords` — terms to query against Hacker News - `x_handles` — optional, skip if no X/Twitter API key --- ## Step 3 — Fetch sources For each enabled source, fetch the last-30-days items. Depth-mode caps how many items per source: | Source type | Quick | Default | Deep | |---|---|---|---| | Reddit (per sub) | 6 | 12 | 20 | | Hacker News (per keyword) | 3 | 6 | 10 | | WebFetch changelog URLs | all | all | all | | WebSearch queries (per query) | 1 | 2 | 4 | ### Reddit (free, no key) For each subreddit, run: ```bash curl -s "https://www.reddit.com/r//new.json?limit=25" -H "User-Agent: claude-ads/2.0" ``` Parse the JSON, keep only posts with `created_utc` within the last 30 days. Compute `published_at` from `created_utc` (Unix timestamp → YYYY-MM-DD). Capture `title`, `permalink`, `score`, `num_comments`, `upvote_ratio`, `selftext` (first 500 chars). ### Hacker News (free, no key) For each keyword in `hn_keywords`, run: ```bash curl -s "https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search_by_date?query=&numericFilters=created_at_i>$(date -u -v-30d +%s)&hitsPerPage=10" ``` Capture `title`, `url`, `points`, `num_comments`, `created_at`. ### Official changelogs For each URL in `changelog_urls`, use the `WebFetch` tool with this prompt: *"Extract any release notes, changelog entries, or feature announcements from the last 30 days. Return as a list of items with: title, date (YYYY-MM-DD), one-line summary, URL anchor if available."* ### Web search (industry press) For each query in `search_queries` (capped per depth setting), use the `WebSearch` tool. Filter results client-side: prefer hits from `searchengineland.com`, `searchenginejournal.com`, `marketingland.com`, `martech.org`, `adweek.com`, vendor blogs. --- ## Step 4 — Score and dedupe (optional but recommended) If you fetched 30+ items, run them through the vendored scoring lib for ranking. Otherwise, skip and order by `published_at` descending. ```bash python3 -c " import sys, json sys.path.insert(0, 'scripts') from lib import signals, dedupe from lib.story import Story raw = json.load(sys.stdin) items = [Story(**r) for r in raw] items = signals.annotate_stream(items) items = dedupe.dedupe_items(items, threshold=0.7) print(json.dumps([{'source': i.source, 'title': i.title, 'url': i.url, 'published_at': i.published_at, 'rank_score': i.rank_score} for i in items], indent=2)) " ``` --- ## Step 5 — Render the digest Write the output to `ads/references/-changelog-30d.md` (overwrite if it exists). Use this exact structure: ```markdown # — Last 30 Days _Generated by `/ads update ` (depth: )_ > **What this is:** the last 30 days of changes to ads — features, deprecations, policy updates — pulled from official changelogs, practitioner discussion, and industry press. ## Official Changelog Entries - [](<url>) — <YYYY-MM-DD> — <1-line summary> - ... ## Industry Press - [<title>](<url>) — <YYYY-MM-DD> — <publisher> — <1-line summary> - ... ## Community Discussion (Reddit / Hacker News) - [<title>](<url>) — <YYYY-MM-DD> — r/<sub> or HN — <1-line summary> - ... --- _Sources fetched: <N> Reddit, <M> HN, <P> official changelog URLs, <Q> web searches. Deduped via hybrid Jaccard at threshold 0.7._ ``` If a section has no items, print: `_No items found in the last 30 days from this source class._` --- ## Step 6 — Append to existing platform audit After writing the changelog file, **append** (do not overwrite) a "Recent Updates" appendix to `ads/references/<platform>-audit.md`. Keep it short — top 5 most-impactful items only: ```markdown --- ## Recent Updates (Last 30 Days) _Auto-appended by `/ads update <platform>` on <YYYY-MM-DD>. See `ads/references/<platform>-changelog-30d.md` for the full digest._ 1. <impact> — [<title>](<url>) — <YYYY-MM-DD> 2. ... ``` If the audit file already has a "Recent Updates" appendix from a prior run, **replace it** rather than stacking duplicates. Match by the marker line `## Recent Updates (Last 30 Days)`. --- ## Step 7 — Confirm to the user Print a one-line summary: ``` ✓ /ads update <platform> complete — wrote ads/references/<platform>-changelog-30d.md (<N> items) and appended top 5 to ads/references/<platform>-audit.md. ``` For `all` mode, print this once per platform as you complete it, and a final summary line: ``` ✓ /ads update all complete — refreshed 7 platforms. ``` --- ## Failure modes - **Reddit blocked / 429**: skip that subreddit, note in output. Don't retry — public Reddit JSON is best-effort. - **WebFetch URL 404**: skip that changelog URL, note in output. - **WebSearch returns nothing**: skip that query. - **All sources empty for a platform**: still write the file with "No items found in the last 30 days" sections — gives the user explicit confirmation that the run completed. - **User cancels mid-`all`**: stop the loop. Don't roll back already-written files (those are still valid, just partial coverage). Never silently fail. Always print which sources succeeded and which were skipped.