01
Fork the repo
Use the open code as a starting point, ideally from the `international-starter` tag. You do not need permission.
Open source for local democracies
Fork Brief-nach-Berlin for your country
Brief-nach-Berlin is a German civic tech tool. People enter a postal code and a concern, then get a draft letter to the right political representative. Do not start with a translation. Start with the fixed starter version `international-starter` (commit cce073a), the slim national-only build. More political levels come later. First write a plan: data, responsibilities, language, email, domain and letter logic. If you know someone in Austria or Switzerland who could help, send me the contact or pass this page on.
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Since mid-May 2026
letters created
02
Copy the prompt
Ask your LLM to read `ADAPT_TO_YOUR_COUNTRY.md` and write a local plan first.
03
Localize with people
Validate representatives, language, design, and political incentives with people on the ground.
Start with this prompt
Paste this into Codex, Claude, Cursor, or your GSD setup. It starts with the fixed starter version and planning, not code.
You are working in a fork of https://github.com/tholo91/brief-nach-berlin. Start from the stable national-only version, not from the latest main: git checkout international-starter (That tag points to commit cce073a, the last version that only routes one political level: the national parliament.) Important: keep the first version national-only. Do not implement the later Bund/Land/Kommune routing architecture. You can add more political levels after the local MVP works. First read: - README.md - ADAPT_TO_YOUR_COUNTRY.md - web/src/lib/generation/generateLetter.ts - web/src/lib/lookup/plzLookup.ts - web/src/lib/config.ts - web/src/lib/contact.ts Goal: Create LOCAL_ADAPTATION_PLAN.md for adapting this project to [COUNTRY/REGION]. Use the GSD framework if available: https://github.com/gsd-build/get-shit-done If GSD is not available, create the same structure manually. The plan must include: - MUST / SHOULD / OPTIONAL tasks - local data requirements - representative lookup strategy for one political level - AI provider setup - output language and official-language decisions - email setup - domain setup - design localization: use a warm travel-letter aesthetic, warm and friendly, handmade and slightly hand-drawn, not a cold AI-slop look; stay close to the airmail/paper/green identity, but make the local version feel at home in its own country rather than a flat translation - political letter prompt changes - local validation test cases Do not start coding yet....
Building a real local version?
Send me the country, the main language, and the data source you would start from. If you know someone local who should see this, introduce us.
