← back to the Playbook

build recipe

Automate a weekly report

Set up a repeatable report once, then have Claude regenerate it on demand — or on a schedule — so you stop rebuilding it by hand.

medium ~20 min

you'll end up with A report Claude can re-run any time from fresh data, and optionally on a weekly schedule.

The steps

01
Make the report once, the way you like it

Walk Claude through building the report you want from this week's data. Get the format right before you automate it.
paste this to Claude
```
Using this week's data file, build a weekly report with: the headline number, a short 'what changed' paragraph, and a table of the top 5 items. Save it as report.md.
```
02
Capture the steps as a command

Once the format is right, save the instructions so you don't re-explain them. This becomes your reusable recipe.
paste this to Claude
```
Save these exact steps as a slash command called /weekly-report so I can run the whole thing again with one word.
```
03
Run it next week

Drop in the new data and trigger your saved command. Same format, new numbers, zero re-explaining.
paste this to Claude
```
/weekly-report
```
04
Optional — put it on a schedule

If you want it waiting for you without lifting a finger, have Claude run it automatically on a cadence.
paste this to Claude
```
Every Monday at 8am, run /weekly-report on the latest data and save the output with the date in the filename.
```

tips & best practices

Nail the format by hand once — automating a report you haven't proofread just scales the mistakes.
Save it as a slash command the moment the format is right, so you never re-explain it.
Have the scheduled run stamp the date into the filename so old reports don't overwrite each other.
Only let it run unattended after you trust the manual version — start supervised, then let go.