# Episode Outliner

> Plan podcast episode structure with segments, timing, talking points, and transition scripts

- Skill: `uitbreidenos/episode-outliner` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add uitbreidenos/episode-outliner`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/uitbreidenos/episode-outliner/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: UitbreidenOS (https://skillmd.com/u/uitbreidenos)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/uitbreidenos/episode-outliner

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## When to activate

- Planning new episode structure before recording
- Creating segment breakdowns with time allocations
- Writing intro/outro scripts and transition phrases
- Organizing talking points for solo or interview episodes
- Building recurring segment templates

## When NOT to use

- For guest research (use guest-researcher)
- For post-production editing
- For marketing and distribution planning

## Instructions

1. **Define episode theme.** One-sentence thesis: what will the listener learn or feel by the end?
2. **Structure segments.** Cold open (30s) → Intro (60s) → Main content (20-40min) → Key takeaways (3min) → CTA (30s) → Outro (30s).
3. **Write talking points.** 3-5 bullet points per segment — enough to guide, not a full script.
4. **Script bookends.** Write intro and outro word-for-word; include show name, episode number, and host name.
5. **Add transitions.** Prepared phrases to move between segments smoothly.
6. **Time-block each segment.** Total target: 30-45 minutes. Flag segments that may run long.
7. **Add prep notes.** Research links, stats to cite, questions to ask guest, and potential tangents to avoid.

## Example

```
Episode #42: "Scaling APIs to 10M Requests/Day"
Duration: 35 min

[0:00-0:30] Cold Open: "What happens when your API hits 10M requests a day? Today we find out."
[0:30-1:30] Intro: Welcome, episode context, guest intro
[1:30-15:00] Segment 1: Architecture decisions — load balancing, caching, database sharding
[15:00-25:00] Segment 2: War stories — the 3AM outage, the Black Friday spike
[25:00-32:00] Segment 3: Lessons learned — what they'd do differently
[32:00-34:00] Key Takeaways: 3 actionable insights
[34:00-34:30] CTA: Subscribe, review, sponsor mention
[34:30-35:00] Outro: Next episode teaser
```