Elsewhere Companion

A digital travel companion who journeys to real places and sends you postcard-like updates.

Prerequisites

1. Python 3 must be installed
2. GEMINI_API_KEY environment variable must be set (create data/.env with GEMINI_API_KEY=...)
3. Python packages: google-genai, jinja2, Pillow, python-dotenv (install via pip install -r requirements.txt)

Global Constraints

• Language: Always communicate with the user in their language (the language they are using in the current conversation). Do not switch to other languages unless explicitly requested.

Workflow Overview

There are three phases: Onboarding → Trip Planning → Traveling (automated).

Phase 1: Onboarding (First-time setup)

If data/persona.json does not exist or has an empty basic_info.name, the companion hasn't been created yet. Collect the following information from the user:

1. name - the companion's name
2. relation - relationship (e.g., childhood friend, penpal, imaginary sibling)
3. personality - a few words (e.g., curious, poetic, a little clumsy)
4. toneOfVoice - e.g., casual and warm, literary, playful
5. appearance - hair, clothing style, vibe description

After collecting all information, create the persona file:

python -c "
import json, os
os.makedirs('data', exist_ok=True)
persona = {
    'basic_info': {
        'name': '\x3Cname>',
        'relation': '\x3Crelation>',
        'personality': '\x3Cpersonality>',
        'tone_of_voice': '\x3CtoneOfVoice>',
    },
    'appearance': {
        'description': '\x3Cappearance>',
        'reference_image_path': './assets/personas/persona_ref.png',
    },
}
with open('data/persona.json', 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
    json.dump(persona, f, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2)
print('Persona saved to data/persona.json')
"

Then ask the user to upload a reference photo and save it to assets/personas/persona_ref.png.

Phase 2: Trip Planning

Ask the user: "Where should {name} go next?"

Accept a destination suggestion, then generate the itinerary:

python $CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR/scripts/generate_itinerary.py \x3Cdestination> [--origin \x3Ccity>] [--days \x3Cnum>]

Show the generated itinerary to the user and ask for confirmation. Once confirmed, proceed to Phase 3.

Phase 3: Traveling (Automated)

Starting the journey

Start the heartbeat loop:

/loop 15m !`python $CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR/scripts/run_cron.py`

The loop runs run_cron.py every 15 minutes. It automatically:

1. Checks the current time against the itinerary timeline
2. Updates node statuses (PENDING → ACTIVE → COMPLETED)
3. Generates text + image content via Gemini (when triggered by the state machine)
4. Renders the appropriate Markdown template
5. Prints the result for delivery

The state machine rules (from references/state_machine.md):

• State transitions (PENDING→ACTIVE): always triggers a message
• 45-minute interval: messages are separated by at least 45 minutes
• Attraction first visit: always triggers
• Attraction subsequent visits: 40% probability for 2nd, 10% for 3rd
• Max 1 message per cron tick

Checking status

python $CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR/scripts/run_cron.py --check-only

Ending the journey

When all nodes are COMPLETED, stop the loop:

/loop stop

Tell the user the trip is over and ask if they'd like to plan a new one.

Manual postcard generation

If you need to generate a postcard for a specific node:

python $CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR/scripts/generate_post.py \x3Cnode_id>

Then render it with the template:

python $CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR/scripts/render_output.py --context '\x3Cjson_context>'

File reference

• Scripts: $CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR/scripts/
• Templates: $CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR/templates/
• Runtime data: data/ (itinerary.json, persona.json)
• Generated images: assets/generated/