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Basic Configuration

Get your automation working exactly how you want with these simple configuration changes. Most users only need these essential settings.

🚀 Quick Setup

1. Find Your Configuration File

# Open configuration file
nano ~/.config/neuron-automation/config.py

# Or use your preferred editor
code ~/.config/neuron-automation/config.py

# Open configuration file
notepad %USERPROFILE%\.config\neuron-automation\config.py

# Or use your preferred editor
code %USERPROFILE%\.config\neuron-automation\config.py

2. Essential Settings

Copy and paste these common configurations:

⏰ Morning Person Setup

# Runs early for early risers
AUTOMATION_TIMES = ["05:00", "05:30", "06:00"]
ENABLED_DAYS = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]  # Weekdays only

🌅 Standard Setup (Default)

# Balanced timing for most users
AUTOMATION_TIMES = ["05:30", "06:00", "06:30", "07:00"] 
ENABLED_DAYS = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]  # Weekdays only

🌤️ Late Riser Setup

# Later start times
AUTOMATION_TIMES = ["07:00", "07:30", "08:00"]
ENABLED_DAYS = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]  # Weekdays only

📅 Every Day Setup

# Runs 7 days a week
AUTOMATION_TIMES = ["06:00", "06:30", "07:00"]
ENABLED_DAYS = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]  # Every day

🎯 Weekend Only Setup

# Only runs on weekends
AUTOMATION_TIMES = ["08:00", "08:30"]
ENABLED_DAYS = [5, 6]  # Saturday & Sunday

🔧 Common Customizations

# How many days to wait before showing links again
RECENT_LINK_DAYS = 1  # 1 day (recommended)
# RECENT_LINK_DAYS = 3  # 3 days (less frequent)
# RECENT_LINK_DAYS = 0  # No filtering (see everything)

# Automatically blacklist opened links
AUTO_BLACKLIST_AFTER_OPENING = True  # Recommended
# AUTO_BLACKLIST_AFTER_OPENING = False  # Keep showing same links

Browser Behavior

# Keep browser tabs open after automation
BROWSER_PERSISTENCE = True  # Recommended for reading
# BROWSER_PERSISTENCE = False  # Close browser when done

# Run without showing browser window (background only)
HEADLESS_MODE = False  # Show browser (recommended)
# HEADLESS_MODE = True  # Run in background

Content Filtering

# Skip links containing these words
SKIP_LINK_PATTERNS = [
    "advertisement",
    "promo", 
    "sponsor",
    "affiliate"
]

# Maximum links to open per run (prevents overwhelming)
MAX_LINKS_PER_RUN = 50  # Reasonable limit
# MAX_LINKS_PER_RUN = 20  # Conservative limit
# MAX_LINKS_PER_RUN = 100  # High limit

🎛️ Settings Explained

Days of Week

# Day numbers:
# 0 = Monday, 1 = Tuesday, 2 = Wednesday, 3 = Thursday
# 4 = Friday, 5 = Saturday, 6 = Sunday

ENABLED_DAYS = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]      # Weekdays
ENABLED_DAYS = [5, 6]               # Weekends  
ENABLED_DAYS = [0, 2, 4]            # Mon, Wed, Fri
ENABLED_DAYS = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] # Every day

Time Format

# Use 24-hour format (HH:MM)
AUTOMATION_TIMES = [
    "05:30",  # 5:30 AM
    "06:00",  # 6:00 AM
    "18:30",  # 6:30 PM
    "23:00"   # 11:00 PM
]

Logging Levels

LOG_LEVEL = "DEBUG"    # Everything (for troubleshooting)
LOG_LEVEL = "INFO"     # Normal operations (recommended)
LOG_LEVEL = "WARNING"  # Only warnings and errors
LOG_LEVEL = "ERROR"    # Only errors

💡 Configuration Tips

For New Users

# Start with these safe settings
AUTOMATION_TIMES = ["06:30"]  # Single time to test
ENABLED_DAYS = [1]            # Tuesday only
RECENT_LINK_DAYS = 1          # Filter duplicates
AUTO_BLACKLIST_AFTER_OPENING = True
BROWSER_PERSISTENCE = True
HEADLESS_MODE = False         # See what's happening
LOG_LEVEL = "INFO"

For Power Users

# Advanced setup
AUTOMATION_TIMES = ["05:30", "06:00", "06:30", "07:00", "08:00"]
ENABLED_DAYS = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
RECENT_LINK_DAYS = 0          # No filtering
MAX_LINKS_PER_RUN = 100       # High limit
LOG_LEVEL = "DEBUG"           # Detailed logging

For Servers (Headless)

# No GUI server setup
HEADLESS_MODE = True
BROWSER_PERSISTENCE = False   # Don't keep browser open
CHROME_OPTIONS = [
    "--no-sandbox",
    "--disable-dev-shm-usage",
    "--headless",
    "--disable-gpu"
]
LOG_LEVEL = "WARNING"         # Minimal logging

✅ Apply Configuration Changes

After making changes:

1. Save the File

  • Linux/macOS: Ctrl + X (nano), Ctrl + S (most editors)
  • Windows: Ctrl + S

2. Restart the Service

# Restart automation service
systemctl --user restart neuron-automation.service

# Check status
systemctl --user status neuron-automation.timer

# Restart launch agent
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.neuron-automation.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.neuron-automation.plist

# Restart scheduled task
Unregister-ScheduledTask -TaskName "NeuronAutomation" -Confirm:$false
Register-ScheduledTask -Xml (Get-Content "task-definition.xml" | Out-String) -TaskName "NeuronAutomation"

3. Test Your Changes

# Test with current configuration
neuron-automation --dry-run

# Run once to test
neuron-automation

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Configuration Not Working?

# Check configuration syntax
python -c "import sys; sys.path.append('~/.config/neuron-automation'); import config"

# View current configuration
neuron-automation --show-config

# Reset to defaults
neuron-automation --reset-config

Service Not Running?

# Check if timer is active (Linux)
systemctl --user is-active neuron-automation.timer

# View service logs
journalctl --user -u neuron-automation.service -f

Browser Not Opening?

# Test browser
neuron-automation --test-browser

# Check Chrome installation
google-chrome --version

Ready for more advanced configuration? Check out Advanced Settings or jump to Usage to start using your configured system!

Neuron Daily Newsletter Automation

Why This Exists: Reading the Neuron Daily newsletter is a great way to start the day, but manually clicking through all the article links takes time. This automation opens everything at once, so you can spend your morning reading instead of clicking. Built collaboratively with Claude AI to solve a real daily workflow need.

If this saves you time too, give it a ⭐ and let us know how it works for you!

Cross-platform automation system that automatically opens the latest Neuron Daily newsletter with all article links in separate tabs every weekday morning.

Supported Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows