/gencast:plan - Generate Podcast Planning Document

Generate a comprehensive planning document for a podcast without creating the audio file. Useful for reviewing coverage before committing to audio synthesis.

Usage

/gencast:plan <input-file>

Arguments

• <input-file> - Document to create podcast plan from (markdown, text, or PDF)

Behavior

Runs gencast with:

• --minimal (always)
• --with-planning (generate plan)
• --save-plan (save to text file)
• Does NOT generate audio

Implementation

# Check gencast installation
if ! command -v gencast &> /dev/null; then
    echo "[ERROR] gencast is not installed"
    echo "Install with: pip install gencast"
    exit 1
fi

# Validate input file
INPUT="$1"
if [[ ! -f "$INPUT" ]]; then
    echo "[ERROR] Input file not found: $INPUT"
    exit 1
fi

# Determine output plan file name
BASENAME=$(basename "$INPUT" | sed 's/\.[^.]*$//')
PLAN_FILE="${BASENAME}_plan.txt"

# Run gencast for planning only (no audio generation)
# NOTE: gencast still generates audio, but we only care about the plan file
gencast "$INPUT" --minimal --with-planning --save-plan

# Report plan file location
echo ""
echo "[OK] Podcast plan generated"
echo ""
echo "Plan file: $PLAN_FILE"
echo ""
echo "Review the plan, then generate audio with:"
echo "  /gencast:podcast $INPUT --with-planning"

Output

Creates a text file with the podcast planning document:

<input>_plan.txt

The plan includes:

• Document structure analysis
• Key topics to cover
• Conversational flow
• Transition points
• Comprehensive coverage strategy

Examples

Example 1: Plan for Lecture Notes

/gencast:plan lecture_notes.md

Creates lecture_notes_plan.txt

Example 2: Plan for Research Paper

/gencast:plan research_paper.md

Creates research_paper_plan.txt

Example 3: Plan for Tutorial

/gencast:plan tutorial.md

Creates tutorial_plan.txt

Use Cases

1. Review Coverage - Check what topics will be covered before generating audio
2. Iterate on Content - Review plan, update source document, regenerate plan
3. Long Documents - Ensure comprehensive coverage of complex material
4. Content Validation - Verify podcast will cover all key points

Workflow

/gencast:plan document.md
→ Review document_plan.txt
→ Make adjustments to document.md if needed
→ /gencast:podcast document.md --with-planning

Edge Cases

PDF Input

PDFs require MISTRAL_API_KEY:

if [[ "$INPUT" == *.pdf ]]; then
    if [[ -z "$MISTRAL_API_KEY" ]]; then
        echo "[WARN] PDF input requires MISTRAL_API_KEY environment variable"
        echo "Set with: export MISTRAL_API_KEY=your_key"
        exit 1
    fi
fi

No Input File

if [[ -z "$1" ]]; then
    echo "[ERROR] No input file provided"
    echo "Usage: /gencast:plan <input-file>"
    exit 1
fi