Substack Daily Newspaper Automation

This project automates the creation of a newspaper-style PDF from your favorite Substack writer's latest post and emails it to you. It leverages substackprint.com for the layout and blastula for email delivery.

Project Structure

├── helpers/
│   ├── pdf_generator.R    # Automates substackprint.com using chromote
│   └── email_sender.R     # Sends PDF via blastula
├── output/                # (Created automatically) Stores generated PDFs
├── scripts/
│   └── daily_digest.R     # Main automation script
├── config.yml             # Your settings
├── setup.R                # Dependency installer
└── README.md

Setup Instructions

1. Install Dependencies Run the setup script to install necessary R packages:

   source("setup.R")

2. Configuration Edit config.yml with your favorite Substack URL and your email details.

3. SMTP Credentials The script uses SMTP_PASSWORD environment variable for your Gmail App Password. You can set it in your .Renviron file:

   SMTP_PASSWORD="your-app-password"
   

4. Test the Workflow Run the main script manually:

   source("daily_digest.R")

Cron Task Deployment

To run this daily at 8:00 AM, add a line to your crontab (crontab -e):

0 8 * * * /usr/local/bin/Rscript /path/to/dailydigest/daily_digest.R >> /path/to/dailydigest/cron.log 2>&1

(Note: Adjust the path to Rscript and your project directory accordingly.)

Docker Deployment (Recommended)

This project is containerized to run daily at 6:30 AM automatically.

1. Build the Image

docker build . -t daily-digest

2. Run the Container

Run the container in the background. You need to provide your SMTP password and mount the output directory.

docker run -d \
  --name my-daily-digest \
  -e SMTP_PASSWORD="your_google_app_password" \
  -v $(pwd)/output:/app/output \
  daily-digest

Note for Apple Silicon Users: You may see a warning about platform mismatch (linux/amd64). This is expected and necessary for Google Chrome compatibility.

3. Verify

Check if it's running:

docker ps

(Status should be Up ...)

Trigger a manual run to test immediately:

docker exec my-daily-digest Rscript /app/daily_digest.R

4. Requirements for Daily Run

• Your computer must be awake at 6:30 AM.
• Docker Desktop must be running.

Credits

• Layout tool: substackprint.com by raw & feral.
• Automation: Built with R, chromote, and blastula.