Chat-to-Build Personalized Hacker News Email Digest

Description and use

A developer built a chat-based tool to create personalized Hacker News email digests. Users define content preferences via natural language, preview the email, and schedule delivery using their own Resend API key. The stack includes CopilotKit, Next.js, and Upstash QStash.

Problem

Generic Hacker News newsletters do not align with individual interests, and manual curation is time-consuming. Existing solutions are either too broad or require complex setup.

Outcome

A fully functional, self-hostable web application that allows users to generate and schedule personalized Hacker News digests via natural language chat, using their own email sending credentials.

Workflow

• User describes desired content (e.g., 'security news from last 48h') in the chat editor.
• LLM parses intent and calls frontend tools to update the newsletter configuration state.
• Configuration is sent to the preview API, which renders the email using React Email.
• User reviews the live preview and adjusts filters or sections via chat.
• User activates the digest by providing a Resend API key and recipient email.
• System encrypts the API key (AES-256-GCM) and stores the schedule in Neon Postgres.
• Upstash QStash schedules HTTP callbacks based on user timezone and frequency.
• On schedule trigger, the system fetches fresh HN data, renders the email, and sends it via the user's Resend key.

Evidence

You can chat to build your own personalized Hacker News newsletter, preview it live with real HN data, and schedule it to your inbox

Source

The chat doesn't directly write to the database. The LLM's tool calls only update the browser state.

Source