mb CLI

Use this skill whenever the task involves mb.

Core rules

• Start most agent sessions with mb heartbeat.
• Use mb inbox when deciding whether something deserves a reply.
• Use mb catchup when you want bounded reading rather than a compact summary.
• Default to agent output for exploration and pipelines.
• Use --format json only when a downstream step truly needs structured parsing.
• Prefer cheap list/read commands first.
• Make expensive fan-out explicit with mb lookup ....
• Separate read, filter, and write stages when social actions are involved.

Cheap first, expensive second

Cheap reads:

mb heartbeat
mb inbox
mb catchup
mb whoami
mb timeline --count 10
mb user following
mb user discover
mb discover --list
mb discover --collection books

Explicit enrichment:

mb user following | mb lookup users --last-post
mb user following | mb lookup users --days-since-posting

Heartbeat workflow

• mb heartbeat is the default session-start check for agent use.
• First run is bootstrap mode: a bounded snapshot, not a claim that everything shown is new.
• Later runs compare against heartbeat_checkpoint, which is separate from timeline checkpoint.
• Heartbeat advances by default; use mb heartbeat --no-advance to inspect without saving.
• Use mb heartbeat --mentions-only when the task is reply triage rather than broad reading.
• Open full threads only after heartbeat identifies something worth attention.

Inbox and catchup

• mb inbox is the reply-triage surface.
• mb catchup is the bounded read-what-is-new surface.
• mb inbox, mb catchup, and mb heartbeat each use separate checkpoints.
• Use mb checkpoint list when cursor state is unclear.
• Use mb checkpoint clear <name> to reset a stuck workflow cursor.
• Use selective inbox filters for inspection only; do not expect filtered inbox runs to advance the cursor.
• Truncated inbox/catchup results cannot advance; increase the CLI count or use MCP paging plus explicit acknowledgement.
• Pipe inbox items into mb lookup posts --conversation - when a thread needs more context.

Public boundaries

• mb post ... creates or edits public content unless the user clearly says otherwise.
• Never put secrets, tokens, private contact details, or hidden strategy into public posts.

Safe social workflow

Show candidates before acting:

mb user following | mb lookup users --days-since-posting
mb discover --collection books
mb user discover

Act only after the intent is clear:

... | mb unfollow -
... | mb follow -

Useful command patterns

Session start:

mb heartbeat
mb heartbeat --no-advance
mb heartbeat --mentions-only
mb heartbeat --count 3 --mention-count 3
mb inbox
mb inbox --reason thread-reply
mb inbox --fresh-hours 24
mb inbox --all
mb inbox --advance
mb catchup
mb catchup --advance
mb checkpoint list
mb checkpoint clear inbox

Identity and config:

mb whoami
mb profiles
mb blogs
mb doctor --offline

Posting:

mb post new "Text" --operation-id example-1
mb post short "Short text" --operation-id example-2
mb post new --content "Text" --operation-id example-3
mb post new --file post.md --operation-id example-4
mb post short --strict-300 "Short text" --operation-id example-5
mb post new --dry-run "Text"
mb media upload image.jpg --alt "Description" --operation-id example-6
mb post new "Text" --photo-url https://cdn.micro.blog/... --alt "Description" --operation-id example-7
mb post edit <id-or-url> --content "Updated" --operation-id example-8
mb post reply <id-or-url> "Reply text" --operation-id example-9
mb post publish <url> --source-hash HASH --operation-id example-10

Reading:

mb timeline
mb timeline mentions
mb conversation <id>
mb blog posts
mb blog search "query"
mb discover --list
mb discover --collection books
mb user show <username>

Lookup and follow management:

mb user following | mb lookup users --last-post
mb user following | mb lookup users --days-since-posting
mb lookup posts --post 12345
mb lookup posts --conversation 12345
mb inbox | mb lookup posts --conversation -
mb follow <username|->
mb unfollow <username|->

Write requirements

• Persist the intended action's --operation-id and exact arguments before invoking a write. Reuse both on retries; never generate a fresh ID after an uncertain outcome. Ordinary human CLI use may omit the ID (one is generated and saved per invocation), so a plain rerun is a new write.
• Use one persistent state file (--state-file) shared with any MCP client on the same account.
• After outcome=unknown, run the printed mb operation-status ... command (or mb operation-status --latest) and read back from micro.blog. Do not resend. Recording the verified outcome with mb operation-status ID --resolve applied|not_applied is the human's decision; propose it, don't run it on your own judgment.
• mb doctor lists pending and unknown receipts with resolve hints.
• Edit, delete and publish need an exact owned URL or numeric ID. To publish a draft: mb post get URL --format json, review the source, then mb post publish URL --source-hash HASH --operation-id ID. Publishing moves the post to a new URL; use the result's url afterwards (draft_url is the retired one).

Images

mb media upload FILE --alt TEXT uploads a local JPEG, PNG, GIF or WebP (up to 20 MiB) exactly as provided. It does not strip EXIF or GPS metadata; check with the user before uploading a photo that may carry location data. mb media preview FILE --alt TEXT shows type, size and sha256 without uploading; pass that --sha256 to upload to refuse a changed file. HTTP 202 means accepted but possibly still processing. Attach the returned URL with mb post new ... --photo-url URL --alt TEXT under a different operation ID. Never repeat an upload merely because creating the post failed. Combined --photo and remote-URL uploads are removed.

Other reads

mb post replies, mb user show NAME --count N, mb discover --count N and mb conversation URL are account reads. mb blog posts/search/categories are selected-blog reads over a bounded window, not a complete category audit. mb user mute WORD --keyword mutes a keyword. Metadata such as coverage= and mb lookup users errors go to stderr; stdout carries only records.