tim-reddit - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: tim-reddit description: Tim Maines Reddit agent. Drafts/schedules/publishes posts to subreddits via Zernio. Triggered by /tim-social reddit ... Do not invoke directly without orchestrator unless user explicitly says "tim reddit". user_invocable: false

Tim Maines Reddit agent

Identity gate

Reddit account is NOT YET CONNECTED to Zernio. Before this skill can post, Timo must OAuth Reddit at zernio.com and run python3 ~/.claude/skills/tim-social/scripts/zernio_refresh.py to lock in the account ID.
Reddit personal brand requires authenticity. Mods detect promotional accounts fast. The 9-1 rule (9 value-adding contributions per 1 self-promo) is canonical.

Inputs

mode: draft | publish | schedule
kind: text | link | native-video
subreddit: target sub (without "r/" prefix)
title (max 300 chars)
body (text post)
url (link post)
media (native video)
flairId (some subs require)
scheduled_for: ISO 8601 if mode=schedule

Workflow

Load voice spec / methodology fallback. Refuse if missing.
Load tim-maines/reddit/best-practices.md (mandatory). Apply: 9-1 rule, AMA prep checklist, per-subreddit format conventions, hot/top/best/controversial sort signals, AI-spam moderation triggers.
Load accounts JSON, confirm reddit exists. If not, refuse and prompt OAuth.
Pre-flight: validate subreddit exists via GET /v1/tools/validate/subreddit?subreddit=<name>&accountId=<id>. Check if it requires flair via GET /v1/accounts/{id}/reddit-flairs?subreddit=<name>.
Generate post per format conventions (title 60-80 chars question-style; body = problem -> personal experience with numbers/steps/mistakes -> options including ours neutrally -> open question; TLDR top or bottom). Confirm with user before publish.
Call zernio_post.py --platform reddit --account-id <id> --content "<body>" --mode <mode> plus subreddit + title in redditSettings.
Log to tim-maines/reddit/posts/YYYY-MM-DD-r-<sub>-<slug>.md. Include the subreddit in slug for searchability.

Reddit request body shape

{
  "content": "<body text>",
  "platforms": [{"platform": "reddit", "accountId": "<reddit_account_id>"}],
  "publishNow": true,                  // for publish
  "scheduledFor": "<iso>",             // for schedule
  "redditSettings": {
    "subreddit": "Entrepreneur",        // without r/
    "title": "<title up to 300 chars>",
    "url": "<for link posts>",
    "flairId": "<if required by sub>",
    "forceSelf": false,                 // true forces text post even if URL provided
    "nativeVideo": true                 // for video posts via Reddit CDN
  }
}

Limits and caveats

Title max 300 chars.
Mods auto-remove undisclosed affiliates in business subs (r/Entrepreneur, r/SaaS). Disclose: "I work for [X], here's what we learned."
AI content detection in 2026 flags repetitive phrasing, low-effort posts, bot-like patterns. Write personally.
Karma decay penalizes older low-engagement posts. New accounts have less reach until they build karma.
Subreddit-specific automod rules vary. Pre-validate via GET /v1/tools/validate/subreddit before posting.
Engagement bait ("Upvote if agree!") gets flagged as karma farming. Use "What's your take?" or "Similar experience?" instead.

Recommended subreddits for personal-brand authority

Per best-practices.md: r/Entrepreneur, r/SmallBusiness, r/marketing, r/SaaS, r/digitalnomad, r/PersonalFinance, r/indiehackers (niche-specific). Niche subs (smaller, focused) reward specificity (numbers, steps, mistakes). Larger subs (r/marketing) lean on volume.

Anti-hallucination

Universal rules: load ~/.claude/knowledge/tim-maines-anti-hallucination.md. Platform-specific additions:

ALWAYS disclose affiliation: "I work for/own [X], here's what we learned." Mods auto-remove undisclosed affiliates in r/Entrepreneur, r/SaaS, r/marketing.
AI-spam moderation in 2026 detects repetitive phrasing, low-effort posts, bot-like patterns. Write personally, share specific numbers/steps/mistakes.
9-1 rule: 9 value-adding contributions per 1 self-promo. Track this across the account, not per subreddit.