Reddit Fetch Skill

# Reddit Fetch

Method 1: Gemini CLI (Try First)

Use Gemini CLI via tmux. It can browse, summarize, and answer complex questions about Reddit content.

Pick a unique session name (e.g., `gemini_abc123`) and use it consistently throughout.

Setup

```bash tmux new-session -d -s <session_name> -x 200 -y 50 tmux send-keys -t <session_name> 'gemini -m gemini-3-pro-preview' Enter sleep 3 # wait for Gemini CLI to load ```

Send query and capture output

```bash tmux send-keys -t <session_name> 'Your Reddit query here' Enter sleep 30 # wait for response (adjust as needed, up to 90s for complex searches) tmux capture-pane -t <session_name> -p -S -500 # capture output ```

If the captured output shows an API error (e.g., quota exceeded, model unavailable), kill the session and retry without the `-m` flag (just `gemini` with no model argument). This falls back to the default model.

How to tell if Enter was sent

Look for YOUR QUERY TEXT specifically. Is it inside or outside the bordered box?

Enter NOT sent - your query is INSIDE the box: ``` ╭─────────────────────────────────────╮ │ > Your actual query text here │ ╰─────────────────────────────────────╯ ```

Enter WAS sent - your query is OUTSIDE the box, followed by activity: ``` > Your actual query text here

⠋ Our hamsters are working... (processing)

╭────────────────────────────────────────────╮ │ > Type your message or @path/to/file │ ╰────────────────────────────────────────────╯ ```

Note: The empty prompt `Type your message or @path/to/file` always appears in the box - that's normal. What matters is whether YOUR query text is inside or outside the box.

If your query is inside the box, run `tmux send-keys -t <session_name> Enter` to submit.

Cleanup when done

```bash tmux kill-session -t <session_name> ```

If Gemini fails completely

If retrying without `-m` also fails, fall back to Method 2 below.

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Method 2: curl with Reddit JSON API (Fallback)

Reddit's public JSON API works by appending `.json` to any Reddit URL. Use this when Gemini is unavailable (quota exhausted, API errors, etc.).

Listing hot/new/top posts

```bash curl -s -H "User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; bot)" \ "https://www.reddit.com/r/SUBREDDIT/hot.json?limit=15" ```

Replace `hot` with `new`, `top`, or `rising` as needed. For `top`, add `&t=day` (or `week`, `month`, `year`, `all`).

Fetching a specific post + comments

```bash curl -s -H "User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; bot)" \ "https://www.reddit.com/r/SUBREDDIT/comments/POST_ID.json?limit=20" ```

The response is a JSON array: `[0]` is the post, `[1]` is the comment tree.

Searching within a subreddit

```bash curl -s -H "User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; bot)" \ "https://www.reddit.com/r/SUBREDDIT/search.json?q=QUERY&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&limit=15" ```

Parsing the JSON

Use python3 inline to extract what you need:

```bash curl -s -H "User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; bot)" \ "https://www.reddit.com/r/SUBREDDIT/hot.json?limit=15" | python3 -c " import json, sys data = json.loads(sys.stdin.read()) for i, post in enumerate(data['data']['children'], 1): p = post['data'] flair = p.get('link_flair_text', '') or '' print(f'{i}. [{flair}] {p[\"title\"]}') print(f' {p[\"score\"]} pts | {p[\"num_comments\"]} comments | u/{p[\"author\"]}') print() " ```

If curl returns empty or blocked

If the JSON API returns empty responses or HTTP 429, you may be rate-limited. Wait a moment and retry, or try with a different User-Agent string.