Byline documentation
Byline turns the newsletters and publications you already read into a personal edition inside your AI assistant. Every story links back to the publisher's own page. This page covers setup, everyday use, your settings and privacy controls, and every tool Byline provides.
Connect Byline
Byline is a remote MCP server. Its address is:
https://byline.world/mcp
Claude
- Open Settings → Connectors (on claude.ai or the Claude apps).
- Find Byline in the directory and select Connect, or choose Add custom connector and paste the address above.
- Sign in when Byline's sign-in page opens (see below).
- In a chat, make sure Byline is turned on in the tools menu, then say "Byline, find my newsletters."
ChatGPT
- Find Byline in ChatGPT's app directory and select Connect. Where your plan allows custom apps (developer mode), you can also add it with the address above.
- Sign in when Byline's sign-in page opens.
- Start a chat with Byline selected and say "Byline, find my newsletters."
Your library is the same in every assistant: follow a publication in Claude and it's in your ChatGPT edition too.
Sign in
- Byline signs you in with a one-time code sent to your email. There's no password to create or remember.
- The code comes from signin@byline.world. Type it on the sign-in page and keep that tab open until it finishes.
- Your browser is remembered for 90 days, so reconnecting is one tap ("Continue as …"). Choose "Use a different email" to sign in as someone else.
- Under the hood: OAuth 2.1 with PKCE and dynamic client registration. Byline stores only hashes of the tokens it issues, and deleting your Byline account removes them.
First steps
- Add what you read. Say "Byline, find my newsletters." You can paste a list of sites or newsletter names, paste your Substack subscriptions, or pick from suggestions by interest. If Gmail or Outlook is connected to your assistant, you can also ask it to look through your email for newsletters. Byline has no access to your mailbox. Your mail is searched only when you ask your assistant to, and then your assistant sends Byline only each newsletter's name, sender address, and web link, which Byline stores to follow it.
- Tell Byline what you care about. "My interests are cities, music, and AI policy, most important first." Editions group stories under these.
- Get your edition. "Deliver my Byline edition."
- Optional: name your edition, set a schedule, or add a job search.
What to ask
- "Deliver my Byline edition." or "Give me a fresh edition."
- "Anything on AI policy from the publications I follow?"
- "More like the transit story." "Less crypto." "Save that one."
- "Follow https://www.404media.co" or "Suggest some publications about cities."
- "Call my edition The Morning Desk." "Send my edition every weekday at 8am."
- "I'm looking for product design jobs in New York or remote."
- "Show my Byline settings." "What do I follow on Byline?"
- "Share this edition." "Stop sharing my edition."
- "Turn off click tracking." "Export my Byline data." "Delete my Byline account."
- "What can Byline do?"
How editions work
- Each edition draws on the last 30 days of everything you follow, grouped under your interests in your order. An interest with nothing new that day is left out rather than padded.
- Byline supplies the stories; your assistant writes a short teaser for each one, three to five sentences in its own words rather than a full summary, and links it to the original. Byline doesn't reproduce articles.
- How an edition looks: a magazine layout grouped under your interests, with "You might have missed" last. Each story shows its own photo from the publisher (or none, never a substitute), its title linked to the original, the publication's name, the teaser, and a like, dislike, and save line (👍 · 👎 · 🔖). Tapping one records your reaction.
- Stories you open, mark read, or turn down don't come back. A story you passed over can return once in a closing "You might have missed" section, and never more than three times.
- Your reactions ("more like this," "less like this," saves) steer what comes first.
- When your newsletters list things to do (ticket and RSVP links, dated listings), editions add a short events section of what's coming up in the next six weeks. "Anything happening this weekend from my newsletters?" asks for them directly.
- Editions can end with music, videos, podcasts, and links your publications shared, and with relevant job postings if you set a job search.
Settings and privacy
- "Show my Byline settings" lists everything you can change and how.
- Click tracking is on by default: edition links pass through Byline, which records that you opened a story. Turn it off and links go straight to the publisher.
- Publisher insights are off unless you opt in, and publishers only ever see anonymous totals for groups of at least 50 readers.
- "Export my Byline data" gives you a copy of everything stored. "Delete my Byline account" removes it.
- Byline has no ads or sponsored content and never sells your information. It doesn't receive your conversations or your email. See the privacy policy for what's stored, who processes it, and how long it's kept, and the terms.
Tools
Your assistant calls these for you; you never need to name them. Every tool acts only on your own Byline account. Tools that only read are marked as read-only to your assistant; tools that remove or replace something you set are marked as destructive, and your assistant confirms account deletion before running it.
Getting started
| Tool | What it does | Changes |
|---|---|---|
get_started | Starts or resumes setup: finding your newsletters, choosing interests, your first edition. | Nothing (reads) |
byline_help | A short reference of what you can ask Byline to do. | Nothing (reads) |
resolve_publications | Turns newsletter names (from your mail or a pasted list) into publications on the web, without following them. | Nothing (reads) |
suggest_publications | Suggests publications from Byline's curated catalog that fit your interests. | Nothing (reads) |
follow_publications | Follows publications you picked from suggestions or lookups. | Your Byline account |
add_sources | Follows publications by link: a website, a post, a domain, or a Substack sender address. | Your Byline account |
add_email_publication | Follows a newsletter Byline can't read on the web, so its issues come from your mail when you ask. | Your Byline account |
add_issues | Adds issues of an email-only newsletter when you ask your assistant to check your mail for them: your assistant sends each issue's title, link, date, and a short excerpt, and Byline stores them as that newsletter's stories. | Your Byline account |
Editions and reading
| Tool | What it does | Changes |
|---|---|---|
generate_edition | Builds your edition: the newest stories from what you follow, grouped by your interests, each linked to the original. | Nothing (reads) |
search_content | Answers specific questions from your publications ("anything on AI policy this week?"). | Nothing (reads) |
get_original | Gets a story's original link, publication, and author. | Nothing (reads) |
find_connections | Finds links that two or more of your publications shared. | Nothing (reads) |
save_item | Saves a story (the bookmark in editions). | Your Byline account |
unsave_item | Removes a saved story. | Your Byline account |
list_saved_items | Lists your saved stories. | Nothing (reads) |
mark_item_read | Marks a story read or unread. Read stories don't come back in editions. | Your Byline account |
share_edition | Publishes an edition as a public page anyone with the link can read. It doesn't show who shared it. | Your Byline account |
unshare_edition | Takes a shared edition's page down. | Your Byline account |
Tuning your edition
| Tool | What it does | Changes |
|---|---|---|
more_like_this | Records that you want more of a story's kind, a publication, or a topic. | Your Byline account |
less_like_this | Records that you want less of something. A story you turn down never comes back. | Your Byline account |
forget_reaction | Removes a reaction you gave a story. | Your Byline account |
infer_interests | Suggests interests from everything you follow. | Nothing (reads) |
set_interests | Saves your interests, most important first, and whether editions cover them evenly or by rank. | Your Byline account |
set_preferences | Sets the content formats you prefer: essays, jobs, culture picks, events, advice, discussions, or a mix. | Your Byline account |
get_preferences | Shows your content formats. | Nothing (reads) |
set_job_search | Saves what you're looking for in a job, so editions add matching postings from your newsletters. | Your Byline account |
set_media_finds | Turns the closing section of music, videos, podcasts, and links on or off. | Your Byline account |
set_edition_name | Names your edition. Every edition uses it as the masthead. | Your Byline account |
set_edition_schedule | Saves when your edition should arrive, for assistants that run scheduled tasks. | Your Byline account |
Your library, settings, and privacy
| Tool | What it does | Changes |
|---|---|---|
list_sources | Lists the publications you follow. | Nothing (reads) |
remove_source | Unfollows a publication. | Your Byline account |
get_settings | Shows all your settings and how to change each one. | Nothing (reads) |
set_link_tracking | Turns click tracking on or off. Off, links go straight to the publisher. | Your Byline account |
set_insights_consent | Opts in or out of anonymous, combined insights for publishers (off unless you say yes). | Your Byline account |
dismiss_reminder | Turns off a reminder Byline adds to editions. | Your Byline account |
restore_reminder | Turns a reminder back on. | Your Byline account |
export_my_data | Gives you a copy of everything Byline stores about you. | Nothing (reads) |
delete_my_account | Permanently deletes your Byline data, after you confirm. | Your Byline account |
Troubleshooting
The sign-in code didn't arrive
Check spam and promotions for a message from signin@byline.world. Codes expire, so request a new one with "Use a different email or send a new code."
My assistant isn't using Byline
Make sure the Byline connector or app is turned on for the chat, then mention Byline by name: "Deliver my Byline edition."
Sign-in fails after reconnecting
Remove Byline from your assistant and add it again with https://byline.world/mcp. Your library is kept.
A publication won't follow
Some newsletters have no web feed. Say "follow it by email" and Byline will take new issues from your mail when you ask your assistant to check.
My edition feels repetitive
React to stories ("less like this," "more like this") and adjust your interests. Read and turned-down stories never return.
Support
Email nia@howtofindaparty.xyz. Byline is published by HOW TO FIND A PARTY LLC.