vhs-search

name: vhs-search description: "Search VHS Berlin courses using natural language. Converts queries like 'Find A2 German evening courses in Neukölln' into structured VHS searches, extracts results, and presents them in a clean format. Use when the user wants to find specific VHS Berlin courses." argument-hint: "[natural language search query]" allowed-tools: ["Bash", "Read", "Write"]

VHS Berlin Course Search

Convert natural language queries into VHS Berlin course searches, run deterministic fetch+parse scripts, and present results cleanly.

Configuration

Read DB path from .claude/vhs-berlin-agent.local.md (frontmatter db_path), else default ~/.local/share/vhs-berlin/vhs.db.

Resolve bun

BUN=$(command -v bun 2>/dev/null || echo "$HOME/.bun/bin/bun")

Workflow

Step 1: Parse the user query

Extract structured parameters from the natural language query and build a query-json object:

Example JSON for "Find A2 German evening courses in Neukölln":

{"district": "Neukölln", "category": "German", "level": "A2", "time": "evening"}

Step 2: Run search script

$BUN run ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/search.ts \
  --query-json '{"district":"Neukölln","category":"German","level":"A2"}' \
  --db-path "<db_path>" \
  --limit 20

The script:

1. Reads config/query-registry.yaml to build the VHS search URL
2. Fetches via direct HTTP (tier 1) or Jina reader fallback (tier 2)
3. Parses course links with cheerio
4. Upserts results into the SQLite DB (if initialized)
5. Outputs JSON: {courses, url, tier, via?, verification}

Step 3: Handle verification result

Check verification.ok in the output:

• ok: true → parse courses and present them
• ok: false → report the reason explicitly:

  ⚠️ VHS search completed but 0 courses parsed.
  Reason: <reason from script>
  Search URL: <url>
  Suggest opening: https://vhsit.berlin.de/VHSKURSE/BusinessPages/CourseList.aspx
  

Never silently return empty results. If the script reports a verification failure, surface it.

Step 4: Check for special registration rules

After parsing, check each course title/category against config/extraction-rules.yaml patterns:

• Integration courses (Integrationskurs, Alphabetisierung): consultation required — warn the user before they try to book online
• Language courses with A1/A2/B1/B2: placement test may be required
• Seniorenkurs / für Frauen: eligibility restrictions may apply

Step 5: Present results

## Found N matching courses

### Deutsch als Fremdsprache A2.2 — Mitte
- **Where**: VHS Linienstraße
- **When**: [schedule_text]
- **Price**: [price_text]
- **Status**: [booking_status]
- **Link**: [source_url]

---

**Want to watch this search for changes?** Say "Watch this search" to save it.

If no courses found (verification ok but 0 results): suggest broadening the search or checking the VHS website directly.

See Also

• vhs-watch skill — save and monitor searches
• vhs-digest skill — weekly summaries
• config/query-registry.yaml — URL patterns and district codes
• config/extraction-rules.yaml — registration rule patterns