Gemini Patreon Control

WordPress plugin that automates episode access management using AI and integrates with Patreon for content monetization.

🎯 Features

1. AI-Powered Episode Management

• Use natural language commands to control episode access
• Powered by Google's Gemini AI
• Examples:
  • "Make episode 5 free for everyone"
  • "Change episode 12 to advance access"
  • "Unlock episode 8"

2. Automatic Episode Number Sync

• Extracts episode numbers from titles automatically
• Bulk sync tool for existing episodes
• Supports multiple formats (Episode XXX, Ep XXX, Chapter XXX)

3. Scheduled Auto-Unlock

• Set different unlock schedules per novel/series
• Automatic conversion from advance (paid) to free
• Weekend skipping option (Mon-Fri only publishing)
• Unlocks episodes starting from the oldest first

4. Patreon Integration

• Automatically updates Patreon post visibility
• Syncs tier requirements
• Works with Patreon WordPress plugin

📋 Requirements

• WordPress 5.0+
• PHP 7.4+
• Custom post types: novels and episodes
• ACF (Advanced Custom Fields) - optional
• Patreon WordPress Plugin
• Google Gemini API key
• Patreon Creator Access Token

🚀 Installation

1. Download the plugin files
2. Upload to /wp-content/plugins/gemini-patreon-control/
3. Activate the plugin through WordPress admin
4. Navigate to Gemini Control in admin menu

⚙️ Setup

Step 1: Configure API Keys

Go to Gemini Control → Settings and configure:

1. Gemini API Key

   • Get your key from Google AI Studio
   • Paste into the "Gemini API Key" field

2. Patreon Credentials

   • Creator Access Token
   • Refresh Token
   • Client ID
   • Client Secret
   • Get these from Patreon Developer Portal

3. Patreon Silver Tier ID

   • Go to Patreon.com → Settings → Tiers
   • Click your $5 tier
   • Copy the ID from the URL

4. Field Names

   • Episode Number meta key (default: episode_number)
   • Patreon post ID meta key (default: patreon_post_id)
   • ACF field type (default: section)

Step 2: Sync Episode Numbers

1. Go to Gemini Control → Sync Episodes
2. Click "Preview" to see what will be synced
3. Click "Sync All Episodes" to auto-fill episode numbers

Step 3: Configure Auto-Unlock

1. Go to Gemini Control → Auto Unlock
2. Click "Add Novel Schedule"
3. For each novel:
   • Select the novel
   • Enter search term (text that appears in episode titles)
   • Set unlock interval (e.g., 1 day, 2 days)
   • Set time (24-hour format, e.g., 02:00)
   • Check "Skip Sat/Sun" if needed
4. Click "Save Schedules"
5. Test with "Test (Preview)" button

📖 Usage

AI Commands

Go to Gemini Control → AI Commands and type natural language:

Make episode 5 free for everyone

The AI will:

1. Find episode 5
2. Change taxonomy from "Advance" to "Free"
3. Update Patreon tier to public
4. Update ACF fields

Automatic Scheduling

Once configured, episodes will automatically unlock based on your schedule:

Example 1: Daily Publishing (Mon-Fri)

• Novel: Surviving The Game as a Barbarian
• Schedule: Every 1 day at 02:00 AM
• Skip weekends: Yes
• Result: One episode unlocks Mon-Fri at 2 AM

Example 2: Every Other Day

• Novel: Lee Gwak
• Schedule: Every 2 days at 02:00 AM
• Skip weekends: Yes
• Result: One episode every 2 weekdays

🏗️ Technical Details

Custom Post Types

The plugin expects two custom post types:

Episodes:

post_type: 'episodes'
taxonomy: 'chapter-categories' (terms: 'advance', 'free')
meta: 'episode_number' (integer)
meta: 'patreon_post_id' (string)

Novels:

post_type: 'novels'
Used for grouping episodes

How Auto-Unlock Works

1. Cron Job: Runs daily at the earliest scheduled time
2. Episode Selection: Finds oldest advance episode by episode number
3. Weekend Logic: If "Skip Sat/Sun" is enabled, only counts Mon-Fri
4. Execution:
   • Changes taxonomy from "Advance" to "Free"
   • Removes Patreon tier restriction
   • Updates ACF fields
   • Calculates next unlock date

Episode Matching

Episodes are matched to novels by searching for the novel title (or custom search term) in the episode title:

Novel: "Surviving The Game as a Barbarian"
Search Term: "Surviving Game Barbarian"
Matches: "Surviving The Game as a Barbarian Episode 219" ✅

🔒 Security

Important Security Notes:

1. ⚠️ Never commit API keys to version control
2. ⚠️ Store keys securely - Use environment variables or wp-config.php constants for production
3. ⚠️ Restrict admin access - Only administrators can access plugin features
4. ⚠️ Sanitize inputs - All user inputs are sanitized and validated
5. ⚠️ Use nonces - All forms use WordPress nonces for CSRF protection

Recommended: Use Environment Variables

Instead of storing keys in database, use wp-config.php:

define('GEMINI_API_KEY', 'your-key-here');
define('PATREON_ACCESS_TOKEN', 'your-token-here');

🐛 Troubleshooting

"Episode not found"

• Check that episode has episode_number meta field filled
• Run Sync Episodes tool to auto-fill missing numbers
• Verify custom post type is episodes

"Patreon API error"

• Verify your access token is valid
• Check that token hasn't expired
• Ensure you have creator permissions

"No episodes to unlock"

• Check that episodes have "Advance" taxonomy term
• Verify search term matches episode titles
• Check that episodes exist for the novel

Wrong timezone

• Plugin uses WordPress timezone from Settings → General
• Verify your timezone is set correctly

📝 Changelog

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• AI-powered episode management
• Auto-unlock scheduling
• Patreon integration
• Weekend skipping
• Episode number sync tool

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📄 License

This plugin is licensed under GPL v2 or later.

👤 Author

Created for automated web novel/light novel publishing workflows.

🙏 Credits

• Powered by Google Gemini AI
• Patreon API
• Built for WordPress

⚠️ Disclaimer

This plugin is provided "as is" without warranty. Always backup your site before installing new plugins. Test thoroughly on a staging site first.

📞 Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests, please open an issue on GitHub.

Note: This plugin is designed for content creators managing serialized content (web novels, comics, etc.) with tiered Patreon access.