Matt Van Horn
1d18bee1a2
Remove double quotes around $ARGUMENTS in SKILL.md so bash word-splits the expansion, and change argparse topic from nargs="?" to nargs="*" so multi-word topics still work. Also document --store, --include-web, --diagnose, and --timeout flags in the Options section. Closes #36 Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
112 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
112 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Fix SKILL.md Argument Flag Forwarding
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type: fix
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status: completed
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date: 2026-03-03
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---
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# Fix SKILL.md Argument Flag Forwarding
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## Overview
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`"$ARGUMENTS"` in SKILL.md wraps the entire user input in double quotes, making argparse treat flags like `--store` as part of the topic string instead of CLI flags.
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## Problem
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SKILL.md line 168:
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```bash
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python3 "${SKILL_ROOT}/scripts/last30days.py" "$ARGUMENTS" --emit=compact --no-native-web
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```
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`$ARGUMENTS` is a Claude Code template variable replaced via string substitution before bash runs. The double quotes cause word-joining:
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- User types: `/last30days AI video tools --store`
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- Claude Code expands to: `python3 script.py "AI video tools --store" --emit=compact`
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- argparse sees: `topic="AI video tools --store"`, `--store` never parsed
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## Proposed Solution
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Two coordinated changes:
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### 1. Remove quotes around `$ARGUMENTS` in SKILL.md
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**File:** `SKILL.md:168`
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```bash
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# Before:
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python3 "${SKILL_ROOT}/scripts/last30days.py" "$ARGUMENTS" --emit=compact --no-native-web
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# After:
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python3 "${SKILL_ROOT}/scripts/last30days.py" $ARGUMENTS --emit=compact --no-native-web
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```
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Now bash word-splits the expansion: `python3 script.py AI video tools --store --emit=compact`
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### 2. Change argparse `topic` from `nargs="?"` to `nargs="*"`
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**File:** `scripts/last30days.py:1040`
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```python
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# Before:
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parser.add_argument("topic", nargs="?", help="Topic to research")
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# args.topic = "AI video tools" (single string) or None
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# After:
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parser.add_argument("topic", nargs="*", help="Topic to research")
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# args.topic = ["AI", "video", "tools"] (list) or []
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```
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Then immediately after `parser.parse_args()` (line 1124), join the list back to a string:
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```python
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args = parser.parse_args()
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args.topic = " ".join(args.topic) if args.topic else None
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```
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**Why this works for both invocation styles:**
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| Invocation | argparse receives | topic result |
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|---|---|---|
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| `script.py AI video tools --store` (Claude Code) | `["AI", "video", "tools"]` + `--store` | `"AI video tools"` |
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| `script.py "AI video tools" --store` (direct CLI) | `["AI video tools"]` + `--store` | `"AI video tools"` |
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| `script.py --store` (no topic) | `[]` + `--store` | `None` |
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### 3. Document missing flags in SKILL.md Options section
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**File:** `SKILL.md:223-227`
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Add after the existing `--deep` line:
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```
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- `--store` -> Persist findings to SQLite database for later querying
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- `--search=SOURCES` -> Comma-separated source filter (e.g., `--search=reddit,hn`)
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- `--include-web` -> Include general web search alongside primary sources
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- `--diagnose` -> Show source availability diagnostics and exit
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- `--timeout=SECS` -> Global timeout in seconds (default: 180, quick: 90, deep: 300)
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```
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Note: `--sort-x` was listed in the issue but does not exist in the Python argparse. Skip it.
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## Acceptance Criteria
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- [x] `/last30days AI video tools --store` correctly passes `--store` to Python script
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- [x] `/last30days AI video tools` still works (multi-word topic without flags)
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- [x] Direct CLI: `python3 last30days.py "AI video tools" --store` still works
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- [x] `--diagnose`, `--search=reddit,hn`, `--timeout=120` all forward correctly
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- [x] All 5 missing flags documented in SKILL.md Options section
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- [x] Existing tests pass (`python3 -m pytest tests/`)
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## Files Changed
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| File | Change |
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|---|---|
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| `SKILL.md:168` | Remove quotes around `$ARGUMENTS` |
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| `scripts/last30days.py:1040` | `nargs="?"` -> `nargs="*"` |
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| `scripts/last30days.py:1124` | Add `args.topic = " ".join(args.topic) if args.topic else None` |
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| `SKILL.md:223-227` | Add 5 missing flags to Options section |
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## Sources
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- GitHub issue: https://github.com/mvanhorn/last30days-skill/issues/36
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- Reporter: @nicolefinateri
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