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hfnews

v1.0.0

Fetch and filter IT and Cybersecurity news from multiple sources, excluding politics, sports, and other unwanted topics based on a configurable blacklist.

0· 677·2 current·2 all-time
MIT-0
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LicenseMIT-0 · Free to use, modify, and redistribute. No attribution required.
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Purpose & Capability
The skill claims a simple news fetcher and lists no required binaries or env vars, but the bundle contains Node code (puppeteer) that expects a Chromium binary at /usr/bin/chromium and a Python RSS script — the registry metadata does not declare Node, Chromium, or Python as requirements. A legitimate news fetcher would either be instruction-only (call a known CLI) or declare these dependencies; the omission is incoherent.
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Instruction Scope
SKILL.md shows a single 'news' command and example categories but does not tell which file to run or how to install dependencies. The included fetcher.js performs full headless-browser scraping (expected for some scrapers) and the Python script fetches RSS feeds. Neither the SKILL.md nor the metadata instructs the agent to install node modules, provide a Chromium binary, or which script is the canonical runtime — this ambiguity grants the agent broad discretion and could lead to unexpected actions.
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Install Mechanism
There is no install spec despite package.json/package-lock and a heavy puppeteer dependency. Puppeteer typically requires downloading/using a browser binary (or a system Chromium); fetcher.js hardcodes '/usr/bin/chromium' and uses --no-sandbox flags. The lack of an explicit, safe install procedure and the large transitive dependency tree in package-lock increases operational risk (unexpected heavy installs, privileged flags).
Credentials
The skill requests no environment variables, credentials, or config paths. The code does not try to read secrets or external tokens. Network access is used only to fetch news sources listed in SKILL.md, which is consistent with the stated purpose.
Persistence & Privilege
Registry flags are default (always:false, agent invocation allowed). The skill does not request elevated persistent presence or modify other skills/configs. No 'always: true' or other high-privilege behavior is present.
What to consider before installing
This package contains runnable code but is inconsistent with its metadata and README. Things to consider before installing or running it: - Dependencies: fetcher.js requires Node and the 'puppeteer' package plus a Chromium binary at /usr/bin/chromium; scripts/news.py requires Python 3. The skill metadata declares no required binaries — verify you are prepared to install these and that you trust the author. - Installation ambiguity: there is no install or run instruction. You will likely need to run 'npm install' (which downloads many packages) and provide a Chromium binary or let puppeteer download one. Running headless Chromium with '--no-sandbox' can be risky in untrusted environments; run in an isolated container or VM. - Malformed feeds: the Python RSS script contains several malformed/odd feed URLs (e.g., '.../list/panorama feed', '.../layer/feed mp3') — this looks like sloppy packaging and could indicate the code wasn't tested. - Network behaviour: both scripts fetch many external news sites (expected) — if you need to limit network exposure, run offline or in a sandbox. - Clarify expected command: SKILL.md shows a 'news' command but does not map it to fetcher.js or scripts/news.py. Ask the author which script to run and for an installation guide, or inspect/modify the code locally before executing. Recommendation: treat this as untrusted code until the author provides proper install/run instructions and fixes the feed URLs. If you must test it, execute in an isolated environment (container or VM), review package-lock and the code, and avoid running with elevated privileges.

Like a lobster shell, security has layers — review code before you run it.

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License

MIT-0
Free to use, modify, and redistribute. No attribution required.

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