businessenger

A small CLI toolkit that pipes developer context into Claude for daily writing tasks.

Installation

bash install.sh

Symlinks ai-assistant into ~/.local/bin. If that directory isn't in your PATH, the script will tell you what to add to your shell config. Also creates all required context/ directories and empty placeholder files so commands work out of the box.

Configuration

Create config.json

cp config.json.example config.json

Then edit config.json:

{
  "channels": ["slack", "email"],
  "languages": ["english", "polish"],
  "slack": {
    "workspaces": [
      { "name": "My Team", "token": "xoxp-..." }
    ]
  }
}

Field	Description
channels	Options shown when selecting a channel (for polish, diplomat)
languages	Options shown when selecting a language
slack.workspaces	Workspaces available in tldr Slack mode — add one entry per workspace

The slack.workspaces section is only required if you want the tldr Slack mode. See Slack mode for tldr for how to get a token.

Usage

ai-assistant <command> [args]
ai-assistant --help

Commands

standup

Generates a standup update from today's git commits.

ai-assistant standup

Runs git log with diffs since midnight (excluding lock files), then passes the output to Claude to produce a concise, professional bulleted summary.

polish <type:language> "<draft>"

Polishes a rough draft to match your personal writing style.

ai-assistant polish slack:english "quick update - shipped the auth fix, waiting on review"
ai-assistant polish slack:english --file draft.txt

Loads style examples from context/polish/<type>_<language>_examples.txt (optional) and asks Claude to correct grammar/spelling while mirroring your tone.

wtf "<error>"

Explains a cryptic error or stack trace in plain English with the top two likely causes and fixes.

ai-assistant wtf "TypeError: cannot read properties of undefined"
ai-assistant wtf --file error.log
cat error.log | ai-assistant wtf

tasks "<notes>"

Extracts actionable tasks from messy meeting notes.

ai-assistant tasks "alice to fix login bug, bob needs to review PR, blocked on design approval"
ai-assistant tasks --file meeting_notes.txt

Outputs a structured task list. Flags blockers and assigns ownership where names appear in the notes.

tldr "<thread>"

Summarises a long Slack thread or email chain in three sentences.

ai-assistant tldr "long thread text..."
ai-assistant tldr --file thread.txt
cat thread.txt | ai-assistant tldr

Tells you the context, the core disagreement or hold-up, and what (if anything) you need to do.

Slack mode — fetch and summarise directly from a Slack channel via the TUI (see below). No copy-paste required; the Slack MCP retrieves the messages for you.

diplomat <type:language> "<draft>"

Rewrites an angry or blunt draft as a professional, diplomatic message.

ai-assistant diplomat email:english "this is completely broken and i'm frustrated"
ai-assistant diplomat slack:english --file draft.txt

Loads style examples from context/diplomat/<type>_<language>_examples.txt (optional) and asks Claude to de-escalate while still defending your position.

docgen "<code>"

Generates a Markdown README for source code.

ai-assistant docgen "$(cat src/script.py)"
ai-assistant docgen --file src/script.py
cat src/script.py | ai-assistant docgen > README.md

Context files

Personal style examples live under context/ (gitignored — create your own). All commands work without context files; adding examples improves output quality by matching your tone.

context/
  polish/<type>_<language>_examples.txt    # optional, improves style matching
  diplomat/<type>_<language>_examples.txt  # optional
  standup/default_examples.txt             # optional
  tasks/default_examples.txt               # optional
  tldr/default_examples.txt                # optional
  docgen/default_examples.txt              # optional

TUI

ai-assistant          # launches the interactive TUI

A terminal UI for all commands. Navigate with ↑/↓, confirm with enter, go back with ctrl+b.

Most tools offer two input modes — write (type/paste) and file (browse the filesystem). tldr also offers a slack mode when Slack workspaces are configured (see below).

Slack mode for tldr

1. Create a Slack app and get a token

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps → Create New App → From scratch.
2. Name it (e.g. "businessenger"), select your workspace, click Create App.
3. In the left sidebar go to OAuth & Permissions → scroll to Scopes → User Token Scopes and add:
   • channels:read — list public channels
   • groups:read — list private channels you're a member of
4. Scroll back to the top of OAuth & Permissions and click Install to Workspace → Allow.
5. Copy the User OAuth Token (xoxp-...).

2. Add the token to config.json

Add the token to the slack.workspaces array in your config.json (see Configuration). Add one entry per workspace — the token is only used locally to fetch channel names.

3. Use it

1. Launch the TUI (ai-assistant), select tldr, choose slack as the input mode.
2. Pick a workspace → channels are fetched live from the Slack API.
3. Pick a channel and a "since" date (relative options or custom text).
4. The Slack MCP retrieves the messages and Claude produces the summary.

If your claude install doesn't auto-discover the Slack MCP, add --mcp-config <path-to-slack-mcp.json> to the claude call in skill-tools/tldr.sh.

Prerequisites

• claude CLI available in your PATH
• Go — required at install time to compile the TUI; not needed afterwards
• Slack MCP configured (only required for tldr Slack mode)

Project Structure

install.sh              # Installs the CLI to ~/.local/bin (compiles TUI binary)
ai-assistant            # Entry point (runs TUI when called with no arguments)
ai-assistant-tui        # Compiled TUI binary — built by install.sh (gitignored)
config.json.example     # Config template — copy to config.json and fill in credentials
config.json             # Your config (gitignored — never committed)
tui/
  main.go               # Interactive terminal UI (Go)
  slack.go              # Slack workspace/channel picker and API client
skill-tools/
  standup.sh            # Standup generation
  polish.sh             # Message polishing
  wtf.sh                # Error explanation
  tasks.sh              # Task extraction from meeting notes
  tldr.sh               # Thread summarisation (+ Slack MCP mode)
  diplomat.sh           # Diplomatic rewrite
  docgen.sh             # README generation
context/                # Your personal style examples (gitignored)

License

MIT