How do I install the Blog To Kindle skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/blog-to-kindle in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Blog To Kindle safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Blog To Kindle?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Blog To Kindle free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Blog To Kindle?

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Blog To Kindle by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Blog To Kindle
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: modbender

Blog To Kindle

Scrape blogs/essay sites and compile into Kindle-friendly EPUB with AI-generated cover. Use for requests to download blogs for Kindle, compile essays into ebook, or send blog archives to Kindle. Supports Paul Graham, Kevin Kelly, Derek Sivers, Wait But Why, Astral Codex Ten, and custom sites.

modbender Updated Sep 9, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

Blog to Kindle

Scrape blog/essay sites, compile into EPUB with cover art, and deliver to Kindle.

Quick Start

# 1. Fetch essays from a supported site
uv run scripts/fetch_blog.py --site paulgraham --output ./pg-essays

# 2. Generate cover (uses Nano Banana Pro)
# See nano-banana-pro skill for cover generation

# 3. Compile to EPUB with cover
uv run scripts/compile_epub.py --input ./pg-essays --cover ./cover.png --output essays.epub

# 4. Send to Kindle
uv run scripts/send_to_kindle.py --file essays.epub --kindle-email user@kindle.com

Workflow (MUST follow this order)

Fetch - Download all essays/posts from the blog
Generate Cover - Create cover art via Nano Banana Pro skill (DO NOT SKIP)
Compile - Combine into EPUB with cover embedded
Send - Email to Kindle address

⚠️ Always generate and include cover before sending. Never send without cover.

Supported Sites

Site	Key	URL Pattern
Paul Graham	`paulgraham`	paulgraham.com/articles.html
Kevin Kelly	`kevinkelly`	kk.org/thetechnium
Derek Sivers	`sivers`	sive.rs/blog
Wait But Why	`waitbutwhy`	waitbutwhy.com/archive
Astral Codex Ten	`acx`	astralcodexten.com

For unlisted sites, use --site custom --url <archive-url>.

Cover Generation

Use the nano-banana-pro skill to generate covers. Prompt template:

Book cover for '[Author Name]: [Subtitle]'. 
Minimalist design with elegant typography. 
[Brand color] accent. Clean white/cream background. 
Simple geometric or abstract motif related to [topic].
Professional literary feel. No photos, no faces.
Portrait orientation book cover dimensions.

Generate at 2K resolution for good quality without huge file size.

Kindle Delivery

Default Kindle address (Simon): simonpilkington74_8oVjpj@kindle.com

Uses Mail.app via AppleScript to send. Ensure:

Sender email is on Kindle approved list
File under 50MB (EPUB compresses well)

State Tracking

State files stored in ~/.clawdbot/state/blog-kindle/:

{site}-last-fetch.json - Last fetch timestamp, article count
{site}-sent.json - List of sent article IDs

Use for incremental updates (only fetch new posts).

Manual Workflow (no scripts)

If scripts unavailable, follow this pattern:

Fetch: curl archive page → parse article links → fetch each → convert to markdown
Combine: Concatenate markdown with YAML frontmatter (title, author)
Cover: Generate via Nano Banana Pro
Convert: pandoc combined.md -o output.epub --epub-cover-image=cover.png --toc
Send: AppleScript Mail.app with attachment

See references/manual-workflow.md for detailed steps.

---name: blog-to-kindledescription: Scrape blogs/essay sites and compile into Kindle-friendly EPUB with AI-generated cover. Use for requests to download blogs for Kindle, compile essays into ebook, or send blog archives to Kindle. Supports Paul Graham, Kevin Kelly, Derek Sivers, Wait But Why, Astral Codex Ten, and custom sites.--- # Blog to Kindle Scrape blog/essay sites, compile into EPUB with cover art, and deliver to Kindle. ## Quick Start ```bash # 1. Fetch essays from a supported site uv run scripts/fetch_blog.py --site paulgraham --output ./pg-essays # 2. Generate cover (uses Nano Banana Pro) # See nano-banana-pro skill for cover generation # 3. Compile to EPUB with cover uv run scripts/compile_epub.py --input ./pg-essays --cover ./cover.png --output essays.epub # 4. Send to Kindle uv run scripts/send_to_kindle.py --file essays.epub --kindle-email user@kindle.com ``` ## Workflow (MUST follow this order) 1. **Fetch** - Download all essays/posts from the blog 2. **Generate Cover** - Create cover art via Nano Banana Pro skill (DO NOT SKIP) 3. **Compile** - Combine into EPUB with cover embedded 4. **Send** - Email to Kindle address ⚠️ **Always generate and include cover before sending.** Never send without cover. ## Supported Sites | Site | Key | URL Pattern | |------|-----|-------------| | Paul Graham | `paulgraham` | paulgraham.com/articles.html | | Kevin Kelly | `kevinkelly` | kk.org/thetechnium | | Derek Sivers | `sivers` | sive.rs/blog | | Wait But Why | `waitbutwhy` | waitbutwhy.com/archive | | Astral Codex Ten | `acx` | astralcodexten.com | For unlisted sites, use `--site custom --url <archive-url>`. ## Cover Generation Use the `nano-banana-pro` skill to generate covers. Prompt template: ``` Book cover for '[Author Name]: [Subtitle]'. Minimalist design with elegant typography. [Brand color] accent. Clean white/cream background. Simple geometric or abstract motif related to [topic]. Professional literary feel. No photos, no faces. Portrait orientation book cover dimensions. ``` Generate at 2K resolution for good quality without huge file size. ## Kindle Delivery Default Kindle address (Simon): `simonpilkington74_8oVjpj@kindle.com` Uses Mail.app via AppleScript to send. Ensure: - Sender email is on Kindle approved list - File under 50MB (EPUB compresses well) ## State Tracking State files stored in `~/.clawdbot/state/blog-kindle/`: - `{site}-last-fetch.json` - Last fetch timestamp, article count - `{site}-sent.json` - List of sent article IDs Use for incremental updates (only fetch new posts). ## Manual Workflow (no scripts) If scripts unavailable, follow this pattern: 1. **Fetch**: curl archive page → parse article links → fetch each → convert to markdown 2. **Combine**: Concatenate markdown with YAML frontmatter (title, author) 3. **Cover**: Generate via Nano Banana Pro 4. **Convert**: `pandoc combined.md -o output.epub --epub-cover-image=cover.png --toc` 5. **Send**: AppleScript Mail.app with attachment See `references/manual-workflow.md` for detailed steps.

Frequently asked questions