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Demo mode allows you to test Morning Brain Starter with fake data, perfect for:
  • Testing the system without real API calls
  • Demonstrations and screenshots
  • Development and debugging
  • Learning the system before connecting real accounts

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Overview

Demo mode uses pre-generated fake data with a theme from The Expanse (sci-fi series), including clients like Tycho Station, Rocinante Corp, and MCR.

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Activating Demo Mode

Demo mode is controlled by a single flag file for Gmail data:
1

Create the flag file

Create an empty file at config/demo_gmail_fake.yaml:
touch config/demo_gmail_fake.yaml
2

Run morning routine

When this file exists, email_lite returns demo data instead of calling Gmail API:
.venv/bin/python run_morning.py
3

Deactivate demo mode

Delete the flag file to return to real data:
rm config/demo_gmail_fake.yaml
The file demo_gmail_fake.yaml is in .gitignore and won’t be committed to version control.

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Demo Data Files

From /home/daytona/workspace/source/config/demo/README.md:1-5:
  • emails_fake.json: List of fake emails (The Expanse theme) to use in the morning demo when you don’t want to call real Gmail.
  • Activation: Create a demo_gmail_fake.yaml file in the root of config/ (can be empty). This file is in .gitignore; if it exists, email_lite returns this data instead of querying Gmail.
  • Reset: The command python scripts/reset_config.py doesn’t delete config/demo/ or the flag; if demo_gmail_fake.yaml doesn’t exist, it (re)creates it so demo remains available after a reset.

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Fake Email Data

The demo emails are defined in config/demo/emails_fake.json:
emails_fake.json
[
  {
    "id": "demo-1",
    "subject": "Rocinante Corp – Confirmación ventana mantenimiento Tycho (marzo)",
    "from": "[email protected]",
    "date": "Fri, 7 Feb 2025 09:12:00 +0000"
  },
  {
    "id": "demo-2",
    "subject": "Re: Oferta ampliación SLA – EVA y armamento",
    "from": "[email protected]",
    "date": "Thu, 6 Feb 2025 14:22:00 +0000"
  },
  {
    "id": "demo-3",
    "subject": "Tycho – Contrato suministros a largo plazo (Acme)",
    "from": "[email protected]",
    "date": "Wed, 5 Feb 2025 11:05:00 +0000"
  },
  {
    "id": "demo-4",
    "subject": "MCRN – Briefing operación conjunta (preliminar)",
    "from": "[email protected]",
    "date": "Tue, 4 Feb 2025 08:00:00 +0000"
  }
]

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Demo Clients

The demo includes five fictional clients inspired by The Expanse:

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Client Structure

Each demo client has a complete directory structure: 
context/clients/
├── tycho/
│   ├── bitacora.md
│   ├── client.yaml
│   └── projects/
│       └── tycho-com/
├── rocinante/
├── mao-kwikowski/
├── mcr/
└── acme/

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Client Configuration

Example client.yaml for Tycho:
tycho/client.yaml
id: tycho
name: Tycho
description: "Cliente demo – Tycho (ficción)"
website: https://example.com
# Projects are discovered by scanning projects/ directory

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Client Matching

Demo clients are configured in config/clients.yaml: 
clients:
  tycho:
    - tycho
  rocinante:
    - rocinante
  mao-kwikowski:
    - mao
    - kwikowski
  mcr:
    - mcr
  acme:
    - acme
This matches the email subjects and senders in emails_fake.json, so demo emails automatically route to the correct client bitácoras.

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Using Demo Data

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Morning Routine with Demo Data

With demo mode active: 
# Create flag file
touch config/demo_gmail_fake.yaml

# Run morning routine
.venv/bin/python run_morning.py
You’ll see:
  • Demo emails from The Expanse characters
  • No actual Gmail API calls
  • Bitácoras updated with demo client activity
  • All other features work normally (Calendar, Asana still use real APIs unless mocked separately)

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Testing Client Matching

Demo mode is perfect for testing client keyword matching: 
# Check which emails match which clients
python scripts/email_lite.py --list
Emails with “Tycho” in subject/sender will match the Tycho client.

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Testing Bitácora Updates

See demo data flow into bitácoras: 
# Update bitácoras with demo emails
python scripts/bitacora_append.py

# Check tycho bitácora
cat context/clients/tycho/bitacora.md

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Extending Demo Data

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Add More Demo Emails

Edit config/demo/emails_fake.json: 
[
  {
    "id": "demo-9",
    "subject": "Your custom subject with client keyword",
    "from": "[email protected]",
    "date": "Mon, 10 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000"
  }
]

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Add More Demo Clients

1

Add to clients.yaml

clients:
  newclient:
    - keyword1
    - keyword2
2

Create client directory

mkdir -p context/clients/newclient/projects
3

Add client metadata

context/clients/newclient/client.yaml
id: newclient
name: New Client
description: "Demo client for testing"
4

Add demo emails

Add emails with matching keywords to emails_fake.json

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Demo Mode Limitations

Demo mode currently only affects Gmail data. Calendar and Asana still make real API calls unless you mock them separately.
What’s mocked:
  • Gmail emails (via emails_fake.json)
What’s still real:
  • Google Calendar events
  • Asana tasks
  • Google Docs transcriptions
  • Google Meet API calls

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Reset Configuration

The reset_config.py script preserves demo mode: 
python scripts/reset_config.py
This will:
  • Keep config/demo/ directory intact
  • Recreate demo_gmail_fake.yaml if it doesn’t exist
  • Reset other config files to defaults

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Theme: The Expanse

Demo data uses names from The Expanse sci-fi series:
  • Tycho Station: A massive space station and shipyard
  • Rocinante Corp: Named after the ship Rocinante
  • MCR (Mars Congressional Republic): Martian military
  • Mao-Kwikowski: A powerful corporation in the series
  • Acme: Generic placeholder (not from the show)
Characters referenced:
  • Fred Johnson (Tycho Station)
  • James Holden (Rocinante)
  • Various Mars and corporate personnel
This is just for fun and demonstrations. Replace with your real clients when ready for production use.

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