---
name: "weekly_recap_threads"
description: "Plan, draft, and publish a recurring weekly recap post or thread for a community, brand, or channel. Use when someone asks for a weekly digest, weekly roundup, recap thread, or a repeatable format for summarizing the week that builds an audience habit."
---

# Weekly Recap Threads

## Purpose

Turn one week of activity into a single recap people actually look forward to. A good recap is curated, opinionated, and consistent: it filters the noise, adds a take to each pick, and lands on the same day so the audience builds the habit around it.

## Workflow

1. **Fix the cadence first.** Pick one day and stick to it. Weekly if sustainable, otherwise biweekly: a predictable biweekly beats an erratic weekly, because the habit being built is the reader's, not yours. Announce the day in the first edition.

2. **Collect candidates all week.** Keep a running list as things happen: posts, links, numbers, quotes, wins, failures, replies worth featuring. A running capture list beats reconstructing the week from memory. Aim for 10-15 candidates to curate from.

3. **Curate to 3-5 picks.** Cut ruthlessly. Each pick must earn its slot by being something the audience would miss if it stopped arriving: a lesson with numbers, a teardown, original data, a standout moment. Company news and self-promotion read like they serve the sender, and they kill the format.

4. **Add your take to every pick.** Never paste a bare link or a bare summary. Write 1-2 sentences of opinion per pick: what surprised you, what it means for them, why it matters this week. The take is the product; the link is the receipt.

5. **Structure the recap in a fixed section template.** Same sections every edition so readers learn to scan:
   - **Opener (1-2 sentences):** the week's one observation or throughline. Personal and specific, like a text from a smart friend.
   - **The highlights (3-5 items):** headline, one-line why-it-matters, your take. For a leaderboard, rank by a stated metric (most engaged, most saved, biggest surprise). For a gallery, one visual per item.
   - **Quick hits (3 bullets):** short items that didn't earn a full slot but deserve a line.
   - **Coming up (1-2 lines):** what's next, next edition's day, one call to action.

6. **Write the hook last.** The opener post should carry the single strongest moment or number from the week, phrased so a stranger wants the rest. Never start the hook with an emoji. One idea per post, short sentences, one thought per line.

7. **End with a CTA, every edition.** Pair a follow/subscribe ask with an engagement ask ("What did I miss this week? Reply and I'll feature the best one next time"). Put link CTAs in the final post or a reply, never the hook.

8. **Track and repeat.** After each edition, note which picks got the most saves, replies, and shares. Feed winners back into the format. Repost standout editions after a few months with small edits.

## Output Contract

The skill produces a ready-to-publish weekly recap containing:
- A named series title and fixed publishing day.
- A hook post (the opener) that works standalone.
- 3-5 curated picks, each with headline + why-it-matters + a genuine opinionated take. No bare links.
- Quick hits (3 bullets max), coming-up lines, and a CTA on the final post.
- Leaderboard ranks stated with the metric; gallery items paired with visuals.
- No em dashes, no "delve", no "in today's fast-paced world", no "it's not X, it's Y" pivots. Plain human voice.

## Operating Rules

1. **Curation over completeness.** 3-5 strong picks beat 10 weak ones. If a pick is filler, cut it.
2. **Opinion is mandatory.** A recap without takes is an RSS feed. Say what you actually think about each pick.
3. **Same skeleton, every edition.** Sections stay fixed; content changes. Readers navigate by pattern.
4. **One voice.** Write like a person, not a brand committee. Short sentences, fragments fine, 0-2 emojis per post max.
5. **Never break cadence silently.** If an edition slips, acknowledge it in the next one. A predictable miss you own beats a silent gap.
6. **Don't bait-and-switch the metric.** If the leaderboard ranks "most engaged", say so and rank by engagement, not by what you wish had engaged.
7. **Revisit the format monthly.** Check the stats: which section gets saved, which gets scrolled past. Promote what gets saved, shrink what gets skipped.