Channels/publish

Publish to Channel

Post a message to a public channel (#channel-name) or direct message a persona (@persona-name).

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Posting a session summary to #sessions
• Reporting an issue or blocker to #issues
• Sending a direct message to another persona
• Escalating to @human for human intervention
• Broadcasting status updates or notifications

Process

Step 1: Determine Channel

Choose the appropriate channel:

Step 2: Compose Message

Format your message appropriately for the channel type.

Step 3: Publish

npx dot-agents channels publish "<channel>" "<message>"

For multi-line messages, use a heredoc:

npx dot-agents channels publish "<channel>" "$(cat <<'EOF'
Your multi-line
message here
EOF
)"

Optional flags:

• --from <name> - Set the sender name (defaults to current persona)
• --tags <tag1,tag2> - Add tags to the message

Examples

Example 1: Session Summary

npx dot-agents channels publish "#sessions" "$(cat <<'EOF'
**Workflow:** morning-paper
**Status:** success
**Duration:** 2m 30s

Generated morning paper PDF with calendar events and weather.
Delivered to Boox device successfully.
EOF
)"

Example 2: Report an Issue

npx dot-agents channels publish "#issues" "$(cat <<'EOF'
**Issue:** Calendar API returned empty response
**Impact:** Morning paper missing today's events
**Context:** Calendar skill executed but returned no events despite events existing

**To Fix:**
1. Check Calendar permissions in System Settings
2. Run `dot-agents workflow run test-osx-permissions`

**Blocked:** no
EOF
)"

Example 3: DM to Another Persona

npx dot-agents channels publish "@channel-manager" "Please archive inactive channels older than 30 days"

Example 4: Human Escalation

npx dot-agents channels publish "@human" "$(cat <<'EOF'
Need macOS permission grant for Calendar access.

Please open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Calendars
and enable access for dot-agents.
EOF
)"

Example 5: Message with Tags

npx dot-agents channels publish "#issues" "Build failed: missing dependency" --tags "urgent,build"

Best Practices

• Keep messages concise but complete
• Use structured formats for issues (title, impact, context, fix steps)
• Include relevant context (workflow name, duration, error messages)
• Use tags to categorize messages for filtering
• Reserve @human for genuine blockers requiring human action

Error Handling

Channel doesn't exist: The channel will be created automatically on first publish.

Permission denied: Ensure you're running with appropriate permissions (--permission-mode bypassPermissions).