Build an 8-Week Hype Filter with Claude Code

The Problem

Every week there's a new AI tool that's going to "change everything." You bookmark it, maybe sign up for the waitlist, tell yourself you'll try it this weekend. You don't. By the time you remember, three more "game-changers" have appeared. Your bookmarks folder is a graveyard of hype.

What You're Building

An automated hype filter. Log a tool launch with one message, wait 8 weeks (automatically), and get a researched verdict on whether it's still alive. Signal from noise, zero effort.

Milestone 1: Build a Launch Tracker

First, your agent needs a database of tools to track.

Create a tool tracker for my OpenClaw agent. Set up a JSON file at ~/.openclaw/workspace/hype-tracker.json that stores tool entries with: name, category (AI/dev/productivity/other), launch date, source URL, initial hype level (1-5), and status (tracking/alive/dead/undecided). Add a skill that lets me log new tools by messaging my agent something like "Track: ToolName - category - URL". Start with an empty tracker.

What Claude Code does: It creates a structured JSON database and an OpenClaw skill that parses natural language into entries. The skill converts casual messages into structured data — you tell your agent about a tool in plain English and it logs it with all the fields.

Try it: Message your agent: "Track: Cursor AI - dev tool - cursor.com - hype level 4." Check hype-tracker.json — the entry should be there with today's date.

Milestone 2: Set Up 8-Week Reminders

Entries are logged. Now the waiting game.

Add automated 8-week reminders to my hype tracker. When a new tool is logged, the agent should create an OpenClaw cron job that fires exactly 56 days later. The cron job should trigger a research check on that specific tool. Use OpenClaw's built-in cron system — one-shot "at" type jobs with the ISO 8601 timestamp set to 56 days from the log date.

What Claude Code does: It uses OpenClaw's built-in cron scheduler to create timed jobs. OpenClaw has three cron types: "at" (one-shot), "every" (interval), and "cron" (recurring). The "at" type fires once at a specific time, then auto-deletes. Each tracked tool gets its own job.

Try it: Check the cron jobs: cat ~/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json. You should see a job scheduled for 56 days out.

Milestone 3: Build the Auto-Research Check

When the timer fires, the agent investigates.

Create a research skill for my hype tracker. When an 8-week cron job fires, the agent should: 1) Search the web for the tool name + recent news/updates, 2) Check if the tool's website is still active, 3) Look for GitHub activity if it's open source (recent commits, stars trend), 4) Check social media mentions (Twitter/X, Reddit) for the past month. Compile the findings into a summary.

What Claude Code does: It creates a multi-step research workflow triggered by the cron job. The agent chains multiple research actions — web search, site check, GitHub stats, social sentiment. This would take you 30 minutes per tool. The agent does it in 30 seconds.

Try it: Manually trigger: "Research status of [tool name]." You should get a detailed report within a minute.

Milestone 4: Generate Verdict Reports

Raw research is useful. A clear verdict is actionable.

Add verdict generation to my hype tracker. After the research check completes, the agent should: 1) Update the tool's status in hype-tracker.json to "alive", "dead", or "undecided", 2) Generate a one-paragraph verdict explaining why, 3) Send me the verdict on Telegram with the format: "🔍 8-Week Check: [Tool Name] — [ALIVE/DEAD/UNDECIDED]" followed by the summary, 4) Save the full report to ~/.openclaw/workspace/hype-reports/[tool-name].md.

What Claude Code does: It creates the final pipeline stage: a clear, actionable verdict delivered to your messaging channel. The agent updates the tracker, writes a report, and sends a concise Telegram summary.

Try it: Trigger a verdict. You should get a Telegram message with the emoji-tagged result and a saved report file.

Milestone 5: Test the Full Cycle

Let's prove the system works end-to-end.

Log three real AI tools into my hype tracker — pick three that launched in the last few months. Then manually trigger the 8-week research check on all three (don't wait 56 days). Show me the verdicts side by side. I want to see the full pipeline: log → research → verdict → notification.

What Claude Code does: It runs the complete pipeline for three real tools. You'll see the full cycle compressed into one session — entries created, research executed, verdicts generated, notifications sent.

Try it: Check Telegram — three verdicts. Check hype-tracker.json — three updated statuses. Check the reports folder — three markdown files.

What You Built

Remember that bookmarks folder full of tools you never tried? You now have a system that:

• Logs tool launches with one message to your agent
• Sets an automatic 8-week timer
• Researches the tool's status when the timer fires
• Generates a clear ALIVE/DEAD verdict with evidence
• Sends you the result on Telegram

You never have to chase hype again. The system tells you what survived.

Take It Further

• Add a weekly digest — every Monday, a summary of tracked tools and upcoming check dates
• Shorten the cycle — 4-week checks for categories you care most about
• Build a leaderboard — track which categories have the highest survival rate