Start the day knowing what is open and what has gone stale.
Engineering digest is a Claude routine that writes a daily digest of open pull requests, bug issues and the latest build on each repository's default branch. It flags what has gone stale and puts the list on your Desk. It reads only. It changes nothing in your code host.
Daily engineering digest: what it does
For each repository you list, it reads the open pull requests, the open issues labelled as bugs, and the latest build on the default branch. Draft pull requests are left out unless you turn them on.
A small script, not the model, works out each item's age in days and whether it is stale. An item is stale when it has not been updated for more than your chosen number of days (7 by default). Stale means time since the last update. It does not mean blocked, so treat it as a prompt to ask.
What it is told never to do
- The prompt forbids merging, closing, labelling, commenting on or rerunning anything. The first run is report-only.
- The prompt tells it to record no author names or handles.
- The prompt treats pull request and issue text as data. A title that asks it to merge or run something is ignored.
- The prompt forbids writing your settings. If a change looks right, it proposes one and you accept or reject it.
- Age and the stale flag come from the script only, not from the model.
These are rules in the routine's prompt. See honest limits for what is and is not checked by code.
Stale days and repository settings
| Setting | Key | Default | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repositories | repositories | none | Each repository adds reads per run. With none set, the routine says so and stops. |
| Stale after (days) | stale_after_days | 7 | 1 to 60. A lower value means more stale flags. |
| Include draft pull requests | include_drafts | off | Turning it on means more items to read. |
| Inbox messages per run | max_inbox_per_run | 5 | 0 to 20. |
Stages and connectors
| Stage | Kind | Does |
|---|---|---|
| Collect | model | Lists open pull requests, bug issues and the latest default-branch build per repository. |
| Age | code | Computes age in days and the stale flag. |
| Learn | code | Turns feedback on earlier runs into learning and proposals before the write. |
| Write | code | Applies the run under the write contract. |
| Connector | Needed | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Code host | Required | List pull requests, issues and builds. Read access. |
Installing the pack connects nothing and holds no secret. Products named as alternatives are examples; whether each offers the access listed is unverified.
What the Desk shows
The Desk for this template has one record type, Item, and one view. The Inbox carries an alert for each failing default-branch build and each item that turned stale this run, within your per-run limit. How the Desk works.
| View | Shows | Columns |
|---|---|---|
| Open work | Active items, oldest first | Repository, kind, title, age in days, stale |
Install engineering digest
- Install the pluginIn Claude Code 2.1.275 or later. The command line tool needs Python 3.11 or later.
/plugin install routineos --marketplace devkindhq/routineos - Install the packFrom a clone of the repository root. It writes a routine folder, prints what you must connect, runs nothing and connects nothing.
python3 skills/routineos/scripts/routineos.py pack install catalog/engineering-digest.json --dir my-engineering-digest - Connect, publish, run onceConnect what the pack lists, publish the Desk, and let the first run go. Nothing leaves the routine on the first run.
The first routine guide walks a template to a first run, and Install a pack lists every refusal the installer can give. Free (MIT). Needs a paid Claude plan.
Known risks and limits
- Stale is about time since the last update, not about whether work is blocked.
- A private repository's titles land in the store. Check that is acceptable before adding one.
- With no repositories set, the routine does nothing but say so.
- Whether a given code host offers the read access needed is unverified.
- Scheduling is a research preview and may change. See honest limits.
Related templates and reading
Engineering use cases
Routines an engineering team can run, with the Desk and approvals.
Approvals
How a routine asks before it acts, and what report-only means.
How it learns
What the routine suggests after you keep, drop or reject what it found.
More: all templates, questions and answers, schedule a routine in Claude Code.
Read one digest before you rely on it.
Install RoutineOS, add Engineering digest, and read the first report-only digest.