NFL News Alert Bot - Documentation

Overview

The NFL News Alert Bot is a real-time news monitoring system that watches dozens of RSS feeds, websites, and Discord Twitter relay channels for NFL news. It uses Claude AI to classify and summarize articles, then posts them immediately to designated forum threads — organized by category with source credibility tags so you always know how reliable the information is.

💡

Real-Time Alerts

Polls all sources every 3 minutes and posts breaking news immediately to Discord

🤖

Claude AI Classification

AI reads each article and classifies it into the right category automatically

🗣

Forum Thread Posts

Each category posts to its own dedicated forum thread — no channel clutter

✅

Source Credibility Tags

Every post shows Official, Twitter Relay, Admin-added, Bot-discovered, or Unverified

🔍

Auto-Discovery

Weekly automatic search for new NFL news sources using DuckDuckGo — admin approves before use

🌧

Weather Alerts

Fetches game-day weather for all outdoor stadiums via Open-Meteo with fantasy impact ratings

News Categories

The bot monitors 5 categories, each mapped to its own forum thread:

🩹 Injuries Player injuries, practice reports, and return timelines

🔄 Transactions Trades, signings, cuts, waivers, and free agency

💰 Cap Salary cap moves, contract extensions, and restructures

🌧 Weather Game-day weather at outdoor stadiums with fantasy impact ratings

🏆 Playoff Playoff standings, seeding scenarios, and clinching situations

Source Credibility Tags

Every post includes a tag showing how reliable the source is:

✅ Official

Direct from NFL.com, team websites, or established beat reporters (ESPN, NFL Network, etc.)

🐦 Twitter Relay

Posted via the server's existing Twitter relay bot — high-speed insider tweets

🛠 Admin-Added

Source manually added by a server admin — trusted and pre-vetted

🤖 Bot-Discovered

Found by the weekly auto-discovery scan — admin-approved before use

❓ Unverified (Rumor)

Submitted by a server member via !rumor — treat with caution

Commands

Setup Commands Admin Only

Command	Description
!setcategory <category> #forum <"Thread Name">	Map a news category to a forum thread. Creates the thread if it doesn't exist. Categories: injuries, transactions, cap, weather, playoff
!status	Show all configured categories and their forum threads — see what's set up and what's missing

Source Management Admin Only

Command	Description
!addsource <url> [category]	Add an RSS feed or website to monitor. Auto-detects RSS vs web. Category is optional — AI will classify if omitted
!addtwitter #channel [category]	Monitor a Discord channel where a Twitter relay bot posts tweets. Reads messages automatically every 3 min
!sources [category]	List all active sources with their IDs, types, and status
!removesource <id>	Deactivate a source by ID (from !sources list)
!approvesource <id>	Approve a bot-discovered source so it becomes active

User Commands Everyone

Command	Description
!rumor <text> [source_url]	Submit an unverified rumor. AI classifies it to the right category. Posted with an Unverified tag. Optional trailing URL is used as the source link

Setup Guide

Step 1 — Create a Discord Application

Go to the Discord Developer Portal, create a new application named "NFL News Alert Bot", go to the Bot tab, enable Message Content Intent under Privileged Gateway Intents, copy the token, and invite the bot to your server.

Step 2 — Configure .env

DISCORD_TOKEN=your_bot_token_here
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key_here
COMMAND_PREFIX=!

Step 3 — Install and Start

cd nfl-news-bot
py -3.10 -m venv venv310
.\venv310\Scripts\pip install -r requirements.txt
.\venv310\Scripts\python -u bot.py

Step 4 — Configure Categories in Discord

!setcategory injuries #nfl-news "Injury Reports"
!setcategory transactions #nfl-news "Transactions"
!setcategory cap #nfl-news "Cap Moves"
!setcategory weather #nfl-news "Weather Alerts"
!setcategory playoff #nfl-news "Playoff Picture"

# Add your Twitter relay channel
!addtwitter #twitter-feed

Required Bot Permissions

Send Messages
Read Message History
Create Public Threads
Send Messages in Threads
Embed Links
Manage Threads
Message Content Intent (Privileged — must be enabled in Developer Portal)

Weather System

The weather module fetches game-day conditions for all 32 NFL teams via Open-Meteo (free, no API key required). Dome stadiums are automatically excluded — only outdoor games get weather alerts.

High Impact — Wind ≥ 25 mph, snow, or thunderstorm
Medium Impact — Wind ≥ 15 mph, temp ≤ 20°F, or any rain/drizzle
Low Impact — Clear conditions with light wind

Weather alerts are posted to the configured Weather forum thread the day before a game with the fantasy impact rating included.

Command Summary

Total Commands: 8

Admin Commands: 7 — setcategory, status, addsource, addtwitter, sources, removesource, approvesource

User Commands: 1 — rumor

Automated: News polling every 3 minutes, weather checks, weekly source auto-discovery