Building custom automation tools that transform how developers document and share their work. Today’s project: creating intelligent slash commands that analyze project context and generate technical content automatically.

The Challenge

Professional developers face a consistent challenge: maintaining quality documentation while staying productive. Technical blog posts that showcase expertise often get deprioritized because writing them requires:

• Reconstructing context after the work is complete
• Manually reviewing git histories and code changes
• Finding relevant cross-references to existing content
• Managing the entire publishing workflow

The friction between development work and documentation creates a gap where valuable insights go unshared.

The Approach

Rather than treating documentation as a separate task, I designed a system that makes publishing as simple as running a command. The key insight: the work itself contains all the information needed for documentation - it just needs to be extracted and structured.

Problem-Solving Process

Initial Discovery Started by analyzing two Hugo blog sites that weren’t updating as expected. Turned out they were functioning correctly - this revealed the real need: streamlining the publishing workflow itself.

Design Decisions

• Slash commands over scripts: Integration with Claude Code CLI for natural workflow
• Git history as documentation: Real commits provide factual basis
• Conversation context inclusion: Capture problem-solving process, not just solutions
• Review step before publish: Maintain quality while automating mechanics

Technical Implementation Created custom command files in ~/.claude/commands/ that:

1. Analyze complete working session context
2. Review git commits since last publication
3. Generate appropriate content for different audiences
4. Handle full publishing pipeline automatically

Challenges Overcome

Command Discovery Initial implementations weren’t recognized by Claude Code. Systematic troubleshooting revealed:

• File extension requirements (.md)
• Command format preferences (plain text instructions vs YAML frontmatter)
• Dynamic discovery during active sessions

Context Capture Early versions only analyzed git commits, missing valuable problem-solving context from working sessions. Refined to capture:

• Complete conversation history
• Failed attempts and troubleshooting steps
• Iterative refinements
• Lessons learned during development

The Work

Built two distinct command systems:

Technical Blog Command (/blog-startaitools)

• Analyzes project work for technical showcase content
• Generates developer-focused articles with implementation details
• Cross-links to related existing content automatically
• Publishes to Hugo static site with proper SEO optimization

Portfolio Blog Command (/blog-jeremylongshore)

• Same analysis but portfolio/CV perspective
• Focuses on professional growth and capability demonstration
• Emphasizes problem-solving approach over technical details
• Professional tone appropriate for employer/client audience

Both commands handle complete workflow: content generation, Hugo builds, git commits, and deployment triggering.

Professional Growth

Skills Demonstrated

System Design

• Identified friction points in existing workflows
• Designed automation that enhances rather than replaces judgment
• Balanced automation with quality control

Problem-Solving

• Systematic troubleshooting of command discovery issues
• Iterative refinement based on testing
• Adapted approach when initial implementations failed

Tool Integration

• Leveraged Claude Code’s command system effectively
• Integrated with existing Hugo/Netlify publishing pipeline
• Maintained compatibility with git-based workflows

Lessons Learned

1. Context is More Valuable Than Code The conversation about how we solved problems is more instructive than the final solution. Documentation should capture the journey, not just the destination.

2. Automation Should Reduce Friction, Not Eliminate Judgment The review step before publishing maintains quality while the automation handles mechanics. Best of both worlds.

3. Different Audiences Need Different Narratives Technical readers want implementation details. Portfolio readers want to see problem-solving capabilities. Same work, different presentation.

Impact & Results

Immediate Benefits

• Zero-friction blog publishing from any project directory
• Automatic context capture from working sessions
• Cross-linking to related content
• Complete deployment automation

Repository Cleanup Achievement Applied the system to document today’s work, which included:

• Cleaned up two blog repositories (27 files removed from jeremylongshore)
• Improved .gitignore configurations
• Verified Hugo builds and deployments
• All changes committed and pushed successfully

Process Improvement Documentation is now part of the development workflow rather than a separate task. The investment in automation pays dividends every time the command runs.

Looking Forward

This automation framework opens possibilities for:

• Additional specialized commands for different content types
• Integration with other publishing platforms
• Automated cross-promotion between sites
• Analytics integration for content performance tracking

The principle extends beyond blogging: any repetitive workflow with clear structure becomes a candidate for intelligent automation.

Professional developers solve problems systematically. This project demonstrates capability in workflow automation, tool integration, and practical application of AI systems to real development challenges.