blog-post-formatter — Categories.community

Format blog content into properly structured markdown files for the Next.js portfolio website. All blog posts are stored in _posts/ directory and automatically processed by the site's MDX system.

Quick Reference

• File location: _posts/{slug}.md (slug is kebab-case of title)
• Frontmatter format: See references/post-structure.md
• Template: See assets/template.md

Workflow

1. Format Existing Content

When user provides raw blog content:

1. Extract or generate title:

   • If first line is a heading (H1), use it as title
   • If content starts with text, extract first sentence or generate from content
   • Ensure title is clear and descriptive

2. Generate excerpt:

   • Extract first meaningful paragraph (150-200 characters)
   • Remove markdown formatting from excerpt
   • If no suitable paragraph, generate summary from first few sentences
   • Keep excerpt concise and engaging

3. Set metadata:

   • Date: Use current date in YYYY-MM-DD format if not provided
   • Author: Default to 'Santosh Rai' (wrapped in single quotes)
   • Title: Wrap in single quotes in frontmatter

4. Format content:

   • Do NOT include an H1 heading in the content (the page component already displays the title from frontmatter)
   • Start content directly with paragraphs or H2 headings
   • Preserve user's original markdown formatting
   • Validate markdown syntax (code blocks, lists, links)

5. Generate filename:

   • Convert title to kebab-case (lowercase, hyphens for spaces)
   • Remove special characters, keep only alphanumeric and hyphens
   • Example: "Understanding JavaScript" → understanding-javascript.md

6. Save file: Write to _posts/{slug}.md

2. Create New Post

When user provides topic/title:

1. Generate frontmatter:

   • Use provided title or generate from topic
   • Create excerpt placeholder or generate from topic description
   • Set date to current date
   • Set author to 'Santosh Rai'

2. Create structure:

   • Do NOT add an H1 heading (the page component already displays the title from frontmatter)
   • Start content directly with paragraphs or H2 headings
   • Add placeholder sections or basic outline
   • Use template from assets/template.md as starting point

3. Save file: Write to _posts/{slug}.md

3. Auto-Generation Rules

Excerpt generation:

• Extract first paragraph (up to 200 characters)
• Remove markdown syntax (links, bold, code)
• If paragraph is too short, include next sentence
• Ensure excerpt is complete and grammatically correct

Title to slug conversion:

• Convert to lowercase
• Replace spaces with hyphens
• Remove special characters (keep only alphanumeric and hyphens)
• Remove leading/trailing hyphens
• Examples:
  • "What is JavaScript?" → what-is-javascript
  • "Design Patterns With VBA" → design-patterns-with-vba
  • "Simple calculator in javascript using MVC pattern" → simple-calculator-in-javascript-using-mvc-pattern

Date format: Always use YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., '2024-01-20')

Frontmatter Format

All posts must include this exact frontmatter structure:

yaml
1---
2title: 'Post Title'
3excerpt: 'Brief description'
4date: 'YYYY-MM-DD'
5author: 'Santosh Rai'
6---

Important: All values must be wrapped in single quotes.

Validation

Before saving, verify:

• Frontmatter has all required fields (title, excerpt, date, author)
• Date is in YYYY-MM-DD format
• All frontmatter values are wrapped in single quotes
• Content does NOT start with an H1 heading (title is displayed from frontmatter)
• Filename is valid kebab-case slug
• File will be saved in _posts/ directory

Examples

Example 1: Format existing content

User: "Here's my blog post about JavaScript closures..."

Output: Creates _posts/javascript-closures.md with:
- Title extracted/generated from content
- Excerpt from first paragraph
- Current date
- Properly formatted markdown

Example 2: Create new post

User: "Create a blog post about React hooks"

Output: Creates _posts/react-hooks.md with:
- Title: "React Hooks"
- Generated excerpt about React hooks
- Current date
- Basic structure starting with content (no H1 heading)

Reference Files

• Post structure details: See references/post-structure.md for complete format specification and examples
• Template: See assets/template.md for reusable blog post template

Integration

The formatted files integrate automatically with the existing blog system:

• lib/mdx.ts reads all .md files from _posts/
• Posts are sorted by date (newest first)
• Individual posts accessible at /blog/[slug]
• Blog listing at /blog displays all posts