Inkling

Inkling is a tiny toolkit to write, send and (web) publish a personal newsletter using only Google tools.

Write your content in a single Google Doc, keep your contacts in a Google Sheet, send personalized emails via Gmail, and provide a "View in browser" web page (with an archive of past editions). Also supports deploying the web site to Netlify.

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How it works

Once Inkling is set up, this is your simple, day-to-day process for publishing an edition.

Step	Action	Description
Write	Go to your Google Doc.	Add a new Heading 1 with your edition title, then write your content and add images below it.
Review	Inkling → Send test to me.	Always run a test send to yourself first to make sure everything looks right!
Publish	Inkling → Deploy site to Netlify.	(If you are using Netlify) Run this before sending the emails to update your public web-site, to make sure web links in the email work correctly.
Send	Inkling → Send to ALL CONTACTS!	This sends a personalized email to everyone on your Google Sheet. IMPORTANT: Gmail send limits apply (typically ~500/day for personal accounts, ~2,000/day for Workspace).

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Initial Setup

This is a one-time process to connect your Google files and install the Inkling code. Follow these steps, and you'll be ready to write!

A. Create Your Inkling Files

You need two files to start: one for your writing, and one for your contacts.

1. Create Your Content Doc (for Writing):

   • This document holds all your newsletter content.
   • Each edition starts with a Heading 1.
   • You can start by creating a copy of this sample document.

2. Create Your Contacts Sheet (For Emails):

   • This spreadsheet holds your contact list.
   • Fill Column A = Name, and Column B = Email.
   • You can start by copying this sample spreadsheet.

B. Add the Inkling Code

The code lives inside your Google Sheet using Google Apps Script.

1. In your Google Sheet: Go to Extensions → Apps Script.

2. In the editor that opens, delete any starter code you see.

3. Copy-paste all the code from the src/ folder of this repo into the editor. You can copy each of the files with the same names into the editor.

4. Click the Save icon.

If you are comfortable using git and command line tools, see the Development setup section below to avoid the manual copying.

C. Make the 'Inkling' Menu Appear & Setup Properties

You should see the Inkling menu in the Google Sheet automatically, in a few seconds, after reloading it. If it doesn’t, show up, you may need to manually set it up:

1. In the Apps Script editor, open the Triggers (clock icon on the left).

2. Click Add Trigger (bottom right).

3. Set the three dropdowns to: onOpen • From spreadsheet • On open

4. Reload the Google Sheet to see the Inkling menu. Click Inkling → Setup Properties to set empty/default values of properties that you can quickly edit.

D. Connect Your Doc and Sheet

You need to tell the script where your content is located.

1. In the Apps Script editor, go to Project Settings (gear icon on the left) → Script Properties.

2. Click Add Script Property.

3. Edit the property DOC_ID.

4. The value is the long string of letters/numbers in your Google Doc's URL (e.g., the part between /d/ and /edit).

E. Create Your "View in Browser" Link

This creates a public, stable link for your Newsletter editions

1. In the Apps Script editor: Click Deploy → New deployment → Web app

2. Set Execute as: Me (User deploying)

3. Set Who has access: Anyone (any Google account) or Anyone anonymous (public).

4. Deploy. Copy the resulting /exec URL.

5. Go back to Project Settings → Script Properties and set the property: WEBAPP_BASE_URL with the copied /exec URL as its value.

Bonus Features

These steps are optional and intended for users who want to add extra flair (like a custom footer) or who want to publish a public archive website using Netlify.

Optional Content Customization (Intro and Footer)

You can add two special sections to your Google Doc that appear in every email and webpage. Place them before the first Heading 1 edition title:

• Intro: Add a Heading 2 with the text Intro. Content below this will be included after the "Hello " greeting in the email.

• Footer: Add a Heading 2 with the text Footer. Content below this will be included at the bottom of all emails and web pages.

Deploy the website to Netlify

Inkling can publish a full, static website (an archive + each edition with its own page) to Netlify using the Inkling → Deploy site to Netlify menu item.

1. Create a Netlify account

2. Create a new Netlify site (empty is okay — Inkling will populate it!)

3. Add Script Properties: In your Google Apps Script Properties, set the following three properties to connect Netlify:

• NETLIFY_SITE_ID: Found in Netlify UI → Site settings → General → Site details → API ID .
• NETLIFY TOKEN: A Personal Access Token you create in Netlify UI → User settings → Applications → Personal access tokens.
• NETLIFY_URL: Your public Netlify site URL (e.g. https://inkling-demo.netlify.app)

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Development Setup (optional)

This section is for those who want to track the project in git and use clasp to push/pull changes to Apps Script.

Install clasp

npm install -g @google/clasp
clasp login

You may need to enable the Apps Script API for your Google account: https://script.google.com/home/usersettings

Clone this repo

git clone https://github.com/punchagan/inkling.git
cd inkling

All the source code is in src/.

Attach the script to your Sheet

1. In the Sheet: Extensions → Apps Script.

2. In the script editor: copy the Script ID (from Project Settings → Script ID).

3. In your local repo, run:

   clasp clone <SCRIPT_ID> --rootDir src

   This creates a local .clasp.json (ignored by git) pointing to your project.

Push the code

clasp push

This uploads everything from src/ into your bound Apps Script project. Reload the Sheet: you should now see the Inkling menu at the top.

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AI Transparency

This project was developed with significant AI assistance (ChatGPT by Open AI). The core architecture and design grew out of some hackish script I had put together in the past, but extensive refactoring, feature additions, etc., were performed using AI-assisted development.

While the tool has been tested and works well in practice, users should be aware that:

• Technical implications: AI-generated code may have unique patterns or subtle issues. We've tested Inkling on real newsletters, but thorough testing is always recommended.

• Legal uncertainty: The copyright status and liability for AI-generated code remain legally untested. The original codebase provides a foundation, but AI contributions cannot be easily traced to specific training data.

• Practical use: Despite these unknowns, Inkling provides useful functionality for managing a tiny personal newsletter+site and is actively maintained.

By using this tool, you acknowledge these uncertainties. As with any development tool: use version control, review generated newsletters+site, and test thoroughly.