Blog Writer

Write or Review a Blog Post

Help author a new VS Code blog post or review an existing one in the blogs/ folder. The skill has two modes:

• Write mode works in two phases: it first researches the topic and proposes an outline, then drafts the post only after you approve.
• Review mode evaluates an existing draft for clarity, conciseness, and style, and reports concrete suggestions without editing unless asked.

All work must follow the blog-writing style guide, which in turn builds on the docs-writing style guide.

When to Use

Use this skill whenever the request maps to any of these:

• The user says "write a blog post", "draft a blog", "add a blog post for…", or "announce this on the blog".
• The user pastes a GitHub issue or PR link and asks you to turn it into a blog post.
• The user asks you to "review this blog post", check a draft, or improve an existing post in blogs/.
• Announcing or explaining a new or changed VS Code or GitHub Copilot feature in a narrative, conversational format.

For new posts, run the plan-first workflow rather than jumping straight to a draft, even when the topic seems small.

Do not use this skill for reference documentation, release notes, or API docs. Those are handled by other skills (doc-writer, release-note-writer) or direct edits. If the user wants reference docs rather than a narrative post, switch to doc-writer.

Guardrails

• Blogs only. Limit changes to the blogs/ folder. Do not update reference docs, release notes, or API docs as part of this skill.
• Public functionality only. Announce functionality only when it is publicly available in the named channel by the post's publication date. Do not announce internal dogfood or source-only functionality.
• Folder structure. A new post MUST live in blogs/<year>/<month>/<day>/ with each date level as its own subfolder. Store images and the social image alongside the post.
• Frontmatter is required. Every post needs the YAML frontmatter fields from the style guide (Order, TOCTitle, PageTitle, MetaDescription, MetaSocialImage, Date, Author). Order must be unique and higher than the most recent post, so check existing posts before assigning it.
• Images and screenshots are human work. When a hero image or screenshot is needed, insert a TODO comment for a human to capture and add it later. Do not fabricate image references or invent file names beyond the placeholder.
• Style compliance. Follow the blog-writing style guide: engaging, conversational tone, active voice, first-person plural ("we"), contractions, and a closing call to action ending with Happy coding! 💙.

Phase 1 — Research & Propose an Outline (no edits)

Do not modify any files in this phase.

1. Understand the topic. Read the feature description, issue, or PR provided. If it is ambiguous or lacks detail, ask clarifying questions before continuing.

2. Establish the content framing. Identify the primary persona, reader intent, and narrative purpose by following the blog content-framing guidance. Infer them from the topic, source material, existing coverage, and writer's request. If any part of the framing remains ambiguous and different interpretations would change the angle, ask the writer to confirm before proposing the outline.

3. Check the source if needed. To understand the feature, inspect the source code in the microsoft/vscode and microsoft/vscode-copilot-chat repos. Use the gh CLI for all GitHub interactions (issues, PRs, code). See user memory gh-cli-powershell.md for PowerShell-specific gh patterns.

   Area being written about	Primary source repo
   Core editor, workbench, debug, terminal, tasks, settings, commands, keybindings	microsoft/vscode
   Copilot Chat, inline chat, agent mode, chat tools, chat participants, MCP in chat	microsoft/vscode-copilot-chat

4. Verify public availability. Confirm that each announced capability is available to users in the named public channel by the publication date. Public Preview, Experimental, and Insiders functionality qualifies when labeled clearly. Source-code existence or manual configurability is not enough. Exclude planned, hidden, internal dogfood, and source-only functionality.

5. Determine placement and metadata. Decide the target folder (blogs/<year>/<month>/<day>/) and the next available Order value by checking recent posts. Confirm the author name and social media profile link with the user if unknown.

6. Present the outline. Summarize:

   • The primary persona, reader intent, and narrative purpose.
   • The proposed title, target folder path, and draft frontmatter values.
   • A section-by-section outline (H2 headings) with a one-line description of each.
   • Any TODO image placeholders that will be needed (hero/social image, inline screenshots).
   • Open questions or assumptions.

7. Stop and wait for approval. Do not proceed to Phase 2 until the user explicitly approves the outline (or adjusts it).

Phase 2 — Draft the Post (after approval)

Once the user approves the outline:

1. Create the post at blogs/<year>/<month>/<day>/<slug>.md with complete YAML frontmatter.
2. Write the body following the approved content framing and the content structure from the style guide:
   • An H1 title, followed by a byline <Month> <day>, <year> by [<author>](<social link>) and a blank line.
   • A brief introduction that summarizes the main points.
   • H2 sections as outlined, in an engaging, conversational tone using active voice, "we", and contractions.
   • Images via relative paths with descriptive alt text. Use absolute URLs for links to documentation articles.
   • A closing call to action, ending with Happy coding! 💙.
3. Add TODO comments where images or screenshots need to be captured by a human.
4. Verify that the opening, examples, terminology, key takeaways, and call to action serve the approved primary persona and reader intent.
5. Summarize the post you created and call out any remaining TODOs for the user.

Review Mode

When the user asks you to review an existing blog post instead of writing one:

1. Read the draft and check it against the blog-writing style guide:
   • Content framing (a clear primary persona, reader intent, and narrative purpose reflected consistently throughout the post).
   • Frontmatter completeness and correctness (all required fields, unique Order, MetaDescription under 160 chars, TOCTitle under 30 chars).
   • Folder structure (blogs/<year>/<month>/<day>/).
   • Content structure (H1 title, byline, intro, H2 sections, alt text on images, absolute URLs for doc links, closing call to action ending with Happy coding! 💙).
   • Writing style (engaging and conversational, active voice, first-person plural, contractions, clear language for a developer audience).
2. Verify technical claims against the source where practical (setting names, command IDs, version availability), using the gh CLI.
3. Verify that announced functionality is public in the named channel by the post's publication date. Flag content that presents planned, hidden, internal dogfood, or source-only functionality as available.
4. Report concrete, practical suggestions grouped by theme. Do not edit the file unless the user asks you to apply the changes.