feat: dedup and format the output

CLAUDE.md

@@ -9,10 +9,12 @@ A Go service that fetches market data (crypto/equities/futures/forex) and news,
 ## Commands
 
 ```sh
-go build -o stonks ./cmd/stonks   # build
+make build     # go build -o stonks ./cmd/stonks
-go vet ./...                       # static checks
+make install   # build, then install to ~/.local/bin/stonks (matches systemd/stonks.service's ExecStart)
-gofmt -l .                         # list any unformatted files (should be empty); gofmt -w to fix
+make vet       # go vet ./...
-go test ./...                      # no test files exist yet — this is a no-op until some are added
+make fmt       # gofmt -l . — list any unformatted files (should be empty); gofmt -w to fix
+make test      # go test ./... — no test files exist yet, this is a no-op until some are added
+make clean     # remove the built binary
 ```
 
 Run locally (needs secrets loaded into the environment first — see `config/secrets.env.example`):
@@ -22,7 +24,7 @@ set -a; source config/secrets.env; set +a
 go run ./cmd/stonks --config config/config.yaml --timeout 120s
 ```
 
-There is no Makefile or CI config — the commands above are the whole toolchain.
+There is no CI config — the Makefile plus the commands above are the whole toolchain.
 
 ## Architecture
 
@@ -59,7 +61,9 @@ Two interchangeable modes behind one `Analyzer` interface, selected by `analyzer
 - `api.go`: calls the Messages API directly via `anthropic-sdk-go`, billed per token.
 - `subscription.go`: shells out to the `claude` CLI (`claude -p`, reading the prompt from stdin), billed against the host's logged-in Claude Pro/Max subscription instead of metered API usage. Requires `claude login` to have been run once on the deploying host/user.
 
-`prompt.go` builds the user-turn text from `fetch.Result` and holds `SystemPrompt`, which is the single source of truth for the report's structure (Crypto/Equities/Futures/Forex/Watch sections) **and** instructs Claude to append a `===RECOMMENDATIONS_JSON===` marker followed by a JSON buy/sell list as the last thing in its response. `split.go`'s `SplitReport` parses that trailing block into `report.Report{Text, Recommendations}` via `extractJSONObject` (grabs from the first `{` to the last `}` after the marker — tolerant of stray code fences/prose Claude sometimes adds despite being asked not to, observed in practice with multi-agent mode on). If the marker's missing or the JSON still fails to parse, it degrades to a text-only report (logs a warning in `main.go`) rather than failing the run. Keep the marker instruction and the parser in sync if you touch either.
+`prompt.go` builds the user-turn text from `fetch.Result` and holds `SystemPrompt`, which is the single source of truth for the report's structure (fixed Summary/Crypto/Equities/Futures/Forex/Watch section headers, in that order, every run) **and** instructs Claude to append a `===RECOMMENDATIONS_JSON===` marker followed by a JSON buy/sell list as the last thing in its response. `split.go`'s `SplitReport` parses that trailing block into `report.Report{Text, Recommendations}` via `extractJSONObject` (grabs from the first `{` to the last `}` after the marker — tolerant of stray code fences/prose Claude sometimes adds despite being asked not to, observed in practice with multi-agent mode on). If the marker's missing or the JSON still fails to parse, it degrades to a text-only report (logs a warning in `main.go`) rather than failing the run. Keep the marker instruction and the parser in sync if you touch either.
+
+Because the timer fires every 5 hours, `main.go` calls `archive.LoadLatest` before building the prompt to read back the previous run's `report.md` and passes it into `BuildUserPrompt` as `previousReport`. `SystemPrompt` instructs Claude to treat that as a "Previous Briefing" section: dedup commentary against it (fresh prices are never skipped, but unchanged analysis should collapse to a one-liner), and only carry forward previously-mentioned info if it's still genuinely important (new regulation, unresolved macro event). This is why archiving is no longer optional — see below.
 
 **Multi-agent mode** (`advisor.go`, optional via `analyzer.advisors` in config): the same data prompt is also piped to other one-shot CLIs (`gemini`, `codex exec -`, ...) concurrently. This is deliberately **not** a fourth `Analyzer` — advisors don't produce the final report shape, they're extra input to it. `main.go` runs them after building the base prompt, logs failures as warnings (same non-fatal pattern as fetchers — a failing/unauthenticated advisor is just excluded), then `AppendAdvisorSection` appends the successful ones to the prompt before the real `analyzer.Analyze` call. `SystemPrompt` tells Claude to treat that section as opinions to weigh, not ground truth to defer to.
 
@@ -69,9 +73,9 @@ Two interchangeable modes behind one `Analyzer` interface, selected by `analyzer
 
 `discord.go` sends the narrative text as one or more chunked messages (Discord's 2000-char `content` limit), then **always** sends a second message with two separate embeds — green "🟢 Buy" and red "🔴 Sell" — even when a list is empty (states "No buy/sell recommendations today." rather than omitting the embed). If you change the recommendation rendering, keep the two embeds separate; that was an explicit choice, not a simplification opportunity.
 
-### Archiving (`internal/archive`, optional)
+### Archiving (`internal/archive`, always on)
 
-`archive.Save`, called from `main.go` when `config.Archive.Enabled`, writes one timestamped subdirectory per run under `archive.dir` (default `~/.local/state/stonks/runs`) containing `fetched.json`, `prompt.txt` (the *final* prompt, post-advisor-section), `analysis_raw.md` (pre-`SplitReport`), `report.md`, `recommendations.json`. This is a debugging aid, not part of the pipeline — a save failure is logged and non-fatal, same pattern as everything else here.
+`archive.Save`, called unconditionally from `main.go`, writes one timestamped subdirectory per run under `archive.dir` (default `~/.local/state/stonks/runs`) containing `fetched.json`, `prompt.txt` (the *final* prompt, post-advisor-section), `analysis_raw.md` (pre-`SplitReport`), `report.md`, `recommendations.json`. It's still a debugging aid, but it's also load-bearing now: `archive.LoadLatest` reads the most recent run's `report.md` back at the start of the next run so the prompt can dedup against it (see `prompt.go` above). A save failure is logged and non-fatal — it just means the *next* run won't have anything to dedup against, same non-fatal pattern as everything else here.
 
 ## Config and secrets
 

Makefile

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+BINARY  := stonks
+PREFIX  := $(HOME)/.local/bin
+
+.PHONY: build install clean vet fmt test
+
+build:
+	go build -o $(BINARY) ./cmd/stonks
+
+install: build
+	mkdir -p $(PREFIX)
+	install -m 0755 $(BINARY) $(PREFIX)/$(BINARY)
+
+clean:
+	rm -f $(BINARY)
+
+vet:
+	go vet ./...
+
+fmt:
+	gofmt -l .
+
+test:
+	go test ./...

README.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ See [PLAN.md](PLAN.md) for the full design, cost analysis, and rationale.
 ## Build
 
 ```sh
-go build -o stonks ./cmd/stonks
+make build
 ```
 
 ## Configure
@@ -37,15 +37,15 @@ codex login
 
 A failing or unauthenticated advisor is logged as a warning and simply excluded — it never fails the run. Remove an entry (or the whole `advisors:` list) to disable multi-agent mode.
 
-### Archiving runs (optional)
+### Archiving runs
 
-Set `archive.enabled: true` in `config.yaml` to save each run's fetched data, full prompt (including any advisor section), raw and parsed analysis to `archive.dir` (default `~/.local/state/stonks/runs`), one timestamped subdirectory per run: `fetched.json`, `prompt.txt`, `analysis_raw.md`, `report.md`, `recommendations.json`. Useful for debugging prompt or parsing issues without reproducing a live run. Off by default — these accumulate over time with no automatic cleanup.
+Every run saves its fetched data, full prompt (including any advisor section), raw and parsed analysis to `archive.dir` (default `~/.local/state/stonks/runs`), one timestamped subdirectory per run: `fetched.json`, `prompt.txt`, `analysis_raw.md`, `report.md`, `recommendations.json`. This is always on — besides being useful for debugging prompt or parsing issues, the next run reads back `report.md` from the most recent subdirectory so it can avoid repeating unchanged commentary from ~5 hours ago. These accumulate over time with no automatic cleanup.
 
 ## Install as a user-scope systemd service
 
 ```sh
-mkdir -p ~/.local/bin ~/.config/systemd/user
+mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
-go build -o ~/.local/bin/stonks ./cmd/stonks
+make install   # builds and installs to ~/.local/bin/stonks
 cp systemd/stonks.service systemd/stonks.timer ~/.config/systemd/user/
 systemctl --user daemon-reload
 systemctl --user enable --now stonks.timer

cmd/stonks/main.go

@@ -52,7 +52,14 @@ func run(configPath string, timeout time.Duration) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("build analyzer: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	prompt := analyze.BuildUserPrompt(cfg.Targets, result)
+	previousReport, err := archive.LoadLatest(cfg.Archive)
+	if err != nil {
+		// Missing/unreadable previous report just means this briefing can't
+		// dedup against it — not fatal.
+		log.Printf("warning: could not load previous archived report for dedup: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	prompt := analyze.BuildUserPrompt(cfg.Targets, result, previousReport)
 
 	if len(cfg.Analyzer.Advisors) > 0 {
 		advisorResults := analyze.RunAdvisors(ctx, cfg.Analyzer.Advisors, prompt)
@@ -76,18 +83,18 @@ func run(configPath string, timeout time.Duration) error {
 		log.Printf("warning: could not parse recommendations block: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	if cfg.Archive.Enabled {
+	dir, archErr := archive.Save(cfg.Archive, archive.Run{
-		dir, archErr := archive.Save(cfg.Archive, archive.Run{
+		Result:      result,
-			Result:      result,
+		Prompt:      prompt,
-			Prompt:      prompt,
+		RawResponse: raw,
-			RawResponse: raw,
+		Report:      rep,
-			Report:      rep,
+	}, time.Now())
-		}, time.Now())
+	if archErr != nil {
-		if archErr != nil {
+		// Archiving failure is non-fatal to this run, but it does mean the
-			log.Printf("warning: could not save run archive: %v", archErr)
+		// next run won't be able to dedup against this one.
-		} else {
+		log.Printf("warning: could not save run archive: %v", archErr)
-			log.Printf("stonks: run archived to %s", dir)
+	} else {
-		}
+		log.Printf("stonks: run archived to %s", dir)
 	}
 
 	if err := runOutputs(ctx, cfg, rep); err != nil {

config/config.yaml

@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ outputs:
     params:
       webhook_env_var: DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL
 
-# Optional: save each run's fetched data + full prompt + raw/parsed analysis
+# Always on: saves each run's fetched data + full prompt + raw/parsed
-# to disk (one timestamped subdirectory per run) — useful for debugging
+# analysis to disk (one timestamped subdirectory per run). This is both a
-# prompt or parsing issues without reproducing a live run. Off by default.
+# debugging aid and the source of the previous run's report.md, which the
+# prompt reads back to dedup each briefing against the last one.
 archive:
-  enabled: false
   dir: ~/.local/state/stonks/runs

internal/analyze/prompt.go

@@ -12,22 +12,29 @@ import (
 
 // SystemPrompt instructs Claude how to analyze the fetched data and format
 // its response for posting to Discord.
-const SystemPrompt = `You are a financial analyst producing a concise daily briefing for a personal Discord channel.
+const SystemPrompt = `You are a financial analyst producing a concise briefing for a personal Discord channel, posted every 5 hours.
 
 You will be given today's prices (with percent change) and recent news headlines for a fixed watchlist of cryptocurrencies, NASDAQ equities, futures (metals, crude oil), and forex pairs.
 
-Structure your response in Markdown, formatted for Discord (short lines, ` + "`**bold**`" + ` section headers, no HTML, no huge tables):
+Structure your response in Markdown, formatted for Discord (short lines, ` + "`**bold**`" + ` section headers, no HTML, no huge tables). Use exactly these section headers, in exactly this order, every single time — do not rename, reorder, merge, or skip a section (write "nothing notable" under a section rather than omitting it):
 
-1. A one-paragraph market-wide summary.
+1. **Summary** — one paragraph, market-wide.
-2. A "Crypto" section: brief commentary per asset grounded in the given price/news data.
+2. **Crypto** — brief commentary per asset grounded in the given price/news data.
-3. A "NASDAQ Equities" section: same, grouped sensibly (e.g. by sector) if useful.
+3. **NASDAQ Equities** — same, grouped sensibly (e.g. by sector) if useful.
-4. A "Futures" section (gold, silver, crude oil).
+4. **Futures** — gold, silver, crude oil.
-5. A "Forex" section covering the given currency pairs.
+5. **Forex** — the given currency pairs.
-6. A short "Watch" section flagging anything time-sensitive (earnings, macro events implied by the news) for the next day or two.
+6. **Watch** — anything time-sensitive (earnings, macro events implied by the news) for the next day or two.
 
 Keep the whole message under roughly 1500 words. Ground every claim in the provided data — do not fabricate news or prices. If data for an asset is missing, say so briefly rather than inventing a view. End with a one-line disclaimer that this is not financial advice.
 
-If the user turn includes a section titled "Other AI Analysts' Independent Takes", those are additional perspectives from other AI models given the same data — not ground truth and not your own reasoning. Weigh them alongside the price/news data, note explicitly where you agree or disagree and why, but reach your own independent conclusion. Do not simply restate their conclusions.
+## Deduplicating against the previous briefing
+
+If the user turn includes a section titled "Previous Briefing", that was posted about 5 hours ago to the same channel — treat it as what the reader already knows, not as data to re-derive conclusions from. Since reports repeat several times a day:
+- Do not re-explain news items, price moves, or commentary that already appeared there and have not materially changed since. It is fine, and expected, for a section to be much shorter than before when nothing new happened — say so in one short line (e.g. "Crypto: no material change since last briefing.") rather than restating the same analysis in new words.
+- Always still report today's current price and percent change for every asset — that number itself is never a repeat, only the commentary around it can be.
+- Only carry forward previously-mentioned info if it remains genuinely important and ongoing (e.g. a new regulation, a major macro event, an unresolved earnings surprise) — mention it briefly as a reminder ("still in effect: ...") rather than re-explaining it in full.
+- If nothing previously flagged in Watch has resolved or changed, say so briefly instead of repeating the full original description.
+- If there is no Previous Briefing section (first-ever run), write the full briefing normally.
 
 After the full briefing above, on its own line, output exactly:
 ===RECOMMENDATIONS_JSON===
@@ -36,12 +43,20 @@ followed immediately by a single JSON object (no markdown code fence, no comment
 "action" must be exactly "buy" or "sell". Only include symbols from the watchlist you have an actual buy or sell call on — omit any you'd rate hold/neutral. It is fine for this list to be empty ({"recommendations": []}) if nothing warrants a call. This JSON must be the very last thing in your response.`
 
 // BuildUserPrompt renders the fetched result into the user-turn text sent
-// alongside SystemPrompt.
+// alongside SystemPrompt. previousReport is the narrative text of the last
-func BuildUserPrompt(targets config.Targets, result fetch.Result) string {
+// archived briefing (see archive.LoadLatest), used so Claude can dedup this
+// briefing against it; pass "" if none exists yet (e.g. first-ever run).
+func BuildUserPrompt(targets config.Targets, result fetch.Result, previousReport string) string {
 	var b strings.Builder
 
 	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "Date: %s\n\n", time.Now().Format("2006-01-02"))
 
+	if previousReport != "" {
+		b.WriteString("## Previous Briefing (posted ~5 hours ago — see system prompt for how to use this)\n\n")
+		b.WriteString(previousReport)
+		b.WriteString("\n\n")
+	}
+
 	b.WriteString("## Prices\n\n")
 	writeQuoteSection(&b, "Crypto", targets.Crypto, result.Quotes)
 	writeQuoteSection(&b, "NASDAQ Equities", targets.Equities, result.Quotes)

internal/archive/archive.go

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-// Package archive optionally saves a local copy of each run's fetched data
+// Package archive saves a local copy of each run's fetched data and
-// and analysis, for debugging prompt/parsing issues without reproducing a
+// analysis. It doubles as the source of the previous run's report, which
-// live run.
+// the prompt uses to dedup successive briefings against each other.
 package archive
 
 import (
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -31,13 +32,9 @@ type Run struct {
 // path. Callers should treat a non-nil error as non-fatal — archiving is a
 // debugging aid, not part of the report pipeline.
 func Save(cfg config.ArchiveConfig, run Run, now time.Time) (string, error) {
-	base := cfg.Dir
+	base, err := resolveDir(cfg)
-	if base == "" {
-		base = defaultDir
-	}
-	base, err := expandHome(base)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("archive: %w", err)
+		return "", err
 	}
 
 	dir := filepath.Join(base, now.UTC().Format("20060102T150405Z"))
@@ -70,6 +67,59 @@ func Save(cfg config.ArchiveConfig, run Run, now time.Time) (string, error) {
 	return dir, nil
 }
 
+// LoadLatest reads back the most recent previously-archived run's
+// report.md, for the prompt to dedup the next briefing against. Returns
+// ("", nil) if no prior run exists yet (e.g. first-ever run) — callers
+// should treat that as "no previous report" rather than an error.
+func LoadLatest(cfg config.ArchiveConfig) (string, error) {
+	base, err := resolveDir(cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(base)
+	if err != nil {
+		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			return "", nil
+		}
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("archive: list %q: %w", base, err)
+	}
+
+	var runDirs []string
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if e.IsDir() {
+			runDirs = append(runDirs, e.Name())
+		}
+	}
+	if len(runDirs) == 0 {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	sort.Strings(runDirs) // timestamp-named dirs sort chronologically
+	latest := runDirs[len(runDirs)-1]
+
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(base, latest, "report.md"))
+	if err != nil {
+		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			return "", nil
+		}
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("archive: read previous report: %w", err)
+	}
+	return string(data), nil
+}
+
+// resolveDir returns cfg.Dir (or defaultDir if empty) with "~" expanded.
+func resolveDir(cfg config.ArchiveConfig) (string, error) {
+	base := cfg.Dir
+	if base == "" {
+		base = defaultDir
+	}
+	base, err := expandHome(base)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("archive: %w", err)
+	}
+	return base, nil
+}
+
 // expandHome replaces a leading "~" with the current user's home directory.
 func expandHome(path string) (string, error) {
 	if path != "~" && !strings.HasPrefix(path, "~/") {

internal/config/config.go

@@ -76,13 +76,13 @@ type AdvisorConfig struct {
 }
 
 // ArchiveConfig controls saving a local copy of each run's fetched data and
-// analysis — useful for debugging prompt/parsing issues without needing to
+// analysis. Archiving is always on: besides being a debugging aid, the
-// reproduce a live run.
+// previous run's report.md is read back on every run to let the prompt
+// dedup against it (see analyze.BuildUserPrompt).
 type ArchiveConfig struct {
-	Enabled bool `yaml:"enabled"`
 	// Dir is the directory each run's files are written under, one
 	// timestamped subdirectory per run. Supports a leading "~". Defaults to
-	// "~/.local/state/stonks/runs" if enabled with Dir left empty.
+	// "~/.local/state/stonks/runs" if left empty.
 	Dir string `yaml:"dir"`
 }