I Built A Reddit Bot To Find Good Posts Then Deleted The Auto-Posting

I wanted users for my open source projects.

People told me to go where users live. That means Reddit. I decided to automate the process.

I built a small Node script to help me.

Here is how it works:

  • It pulls RSS feeds from 14 subreddits.
  • It scores posts based on my interests like AI agents and OSS.
  • It removes duplicate posts.
  • It ranks the best posts and suggests a reply angle.

The first run taught me a lesson about rate limits. Reddit blocks non-browser RSS quickly. I added a retry system to fix this. My script pulled 175 posts. It found 49 relevant ones.

But 49 was not a good number.

Most high scorers were people launching new products. These posts use all my keywords. They are the worst posts to reply to. If you comment on a launch, you look like a competitor.

The real value is in question posts. People ask things like: "Why is this tool acting slow?" or "What am I doing wrong?"

I can answer these from my own experience. I updated my script to penalize launch language and boost question signals. Out of 49 posts, only 3 were genuine fits.

That was my real lesson. The problem was not finding posts. The problem was finding posts worth my time.

I planned to let the bot post the replies too. I deleted that part immediately.

I did this for two reasons:

  • Reddit bans automated accounts fast. My account is my main asset. I will not risk it.
  • People can smell AI writing. A bot lacks the personal details that make a reply good.

Now, the tool stops one step early. It finds the 3 posts and drafts a reply. Then it hands them to me. I read the thread, add my own voice, and post it myself. It takes 90 seconds.

The machine does the boring 90% of the work. I do the 10% that matters.

This only works if you have real knowledge to share. I use my experience with specific open source tools to give real answers. You cannot automate or fake that. That is how you build trust.

Build a tool to find good questions. Do not build a tool to spam answers.

Aim your automation at your attention. Do not aim it at the submit button.

Source: https://dev.to/greymothjp/i-built-a-reddit-reply-bot-to-find-posts-worth-answering-then-i-deleted-the-part-that-posts-oma

Optional learning community: https://t.me/GyaanSetuAi