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How to use Cursor for Content Generation

Jono AlfordOriginal source ↗

Original video

About this video

How we use Cursor to write docs and blog content. Pull URLs in as context with Cmd+K, build a tone-of-voice guide from any site, and rewrite copy in that voice.

Full transcript

Edited transcript from the original Roboto page

Hey, how's it going? So we are going to do a video about how we can generate documentation and blog content and all that good stuff using Cursor and a tool called Nextra. Do sites. So let's start with one of those. Let's go with Nextra. Do sites. Um, so you can go to this by just going to www.nextra.com. It's a documentation tool, kind of similar to Mint Leafy or I forgot what the other one's called. Git Docs, I think it was or something like that. Um, but the real beauty of it is it's completely open source and you can run it through Vercel very easily. You can basically go to Documentation, Get Started and hit this Deploy. Um, you will need a Vercel account, you will need a GitHub account. Um, it takes one step and it only takes about a minute, about 60 seconds, and you can get it up and running. I'm going to assume that you're able to do this part. If you have trouble doing this part or you have issues with Git or Vercel, get in touch, we can help. Um, but we're going to jump onto the next step, which is the really interesting step.

So we're going to jump into Cursor, and this is our own documentation system that you're looking at right now. Now, every single file is an MDX file, so that's just the way that you write things. If you haven't used MDX before, you're essentially using these little hashtags as headings. So heading one, heading two. This is a paragraph. This is a paragraph. You get the idea, right? It's not super complicated. You'll get it real fast if you haven't used it before.

Um, now here's the really interesting bit. So say I'm going to build a brand new blog or I'm going to go for this blog that I'm writing at the moment, which is called Jumping Ship from WordPress. Um, what I might want to do is I might want to start writing on this. So I'm in the process of writing this thing at the minute, um, but I'm getting lazy, so I like some of this stuff and I want to talk about more things related to Sanity. So uh, give me three more features from Sanity. Check them out here. And now what we can do is this. You can do this by pressing Command K here. Uh, you can go to sanity.io, you can go look at Sanity features. Okay, so uh, in fact, you know, I'm just going to use the homepage because I'm going to be lazy. Um, press at, uh, type the URL in. Boom. Okay, so give me three more features from Sanity. Hopefully it brings brand new features and doesn't give me the same ones. More powerful features. AI assist. That's amazing. Localization support. Yeah, we haven't talked about that yet. Advanced Asset Management. Awesome, right? I've just done that with one AI prompt. So let's take that. That's great.

Um, now that is one part of this. Now the other part of this is doing something called a tone of voice guide or whatever you want to call it. Um, so this website we can actually use as our tone of voice guide. So if I copy this URL again, and I can go create a brand new one, I can say uh, Sanity Tone of Voice MDX. And what I'm going to do, I'm going to go uh, create a tone of voice guide from at and then paste Sanity's link in and we'll see what it does. This will actually write a tone of voice guide, and again we're just using the Command K at the minute. We're not going crazy, just nice simple Cursor functionality. You can see um, we have things like technical confidence with accessibility, forward thinking and innovative, direct and empowering, data-driven credibility, and you can see things like dos and don'ts. This is really nice, and this is just from one singular prompt inside of Cursor, okay?

Let's take that. Now what we can do is we can take the same document again, and what we're going to do is we're going to say oh, Jumping Ship from WordPress Sanity Edition MDX. Um, and I'm basically going to throw the same thing in and I'm going to say rewrite this using at tone of voice. Um, and this is the one I want, the blog, the Sanity tone of voice. So we have our own tone of voice, but we're going to use the one that we've just pulled from Sanity. Um, and you can see, "Transform your content strategy moving from WordPress to Sanity CMS." It sounds a lot more kind of professional uh, rather than what we write. So uh, that's kind of nice. You can see it actually working there.

Um, so this is a really cool piece of functionality because in one jump we've basically rewritten this in a certain way. It works kind of similar to how you would do something like AI translation. You're essentially just taking content and repurposing it, and that's what's really powerful inside of Cursor. Um, and the beauty of this is this completely scales. And now I know what you might be thinking, this is really cool, um, but aren't we just going to use this to rip everybody else's websites off? And you'd be right. So um, what we're going to do, we're going to see their blog and we're going to see what we can do with this. And this is again, I'm sorry, before I do this, Sanity, I hope nobody does this as soon as I've showed this. Um, but you can see uh, let's find something interesting. Um, digital transformation with structured content. So this is one, this is a really cool um, case study. Um, but you can see very quickly how I could write um, generic case study for enterprise. Okay, um, so repurpose. And I'm not saying you should do this. Before I show this uh, at um, to be another company called Acme and rewrite it using our at tone of voice. Now I'm going to use our Sanity tone of voice again, but you can see very quickly how we can pull in. It doesn't have to be other people's content. I'm only showing you other people's content because it's quite, there you go. You see um, you? I might be unleashing Pandora's Box on the marketing folks, but this is, this is really powerful for being able to basically generate content very, very quickly.

Um, obviously you want high quality content so you don't want to do what I'm just doing here. But I want to show you this as a tool to be able to generate content. But I thought I may as well address the elephant in the room that I know people are going to end up using this for. But if you are going to use this, make sure you put your own tone of voice, your own interest, your own stats, your own images, all that good stuff. Put some effort in. Um, but yeah, this is how you would essentially use Cursor as a documentation tool rather than a coding tool. Um, and again it does amazing things with prediction. So you can see very quickly if I throw another one on here, you know, content management, yeah. Oh, what's another one? API-first development. Cool. What's another one? Microservices architecture. Um, really helpful tool. Hope you get the most out of this. Don't just copy other people's work. Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Read timestamped source captions

0:03hey how's it going so we are going to do

0:03hey how's it going so we are going to do a video about how we can generate

0:05a video about how we can generate

0:05a video about how we can generate documentation and blog content and all

0:08documentation and blog content and all

0:08documentation and blog content and all that good stuff uh using cursor and a

0:10that good stuff uh using cursor and a

0:10that good stuff uh using cursor and a tool called nextra dos sites so let's

0:12tool called nextra dos sites so let's

0:12tool called nextra dos sites so let's start with one of those let's go with

0:13start with one of those let's go with

0:13start with one of those let's go with nextra do sites um so you can go to this

0:16nextra do sites um so you can go to this

0:16nextra do sites um so you can go to this by just going to

0:25www.nra.com it's a documentation tool

0:25www.nra.com it's a documentation tool kind of similar to Mint lefy or I forgot

0:27kind of similar to Mint lefy or I forgot

0:27kind of similar to Mint lefy or I forgot what the other one's called git docs I

0:28what the other one's called git docs I

0:28what the other one's called git docs I think it was or something like that um

0:30think it was or something like that um

0:30think it was or something like that um but the real beauty of it is it's

0:32but the real beauty of it is it's

0:32but the real beauty of it is it's completely open source and you can run

0:34completely open source and you can run

0:34completely open source and you can run it through versel very easily you can

0:36it through versel very easily you can

0:36it through versel very easily you can basically go to documentation get

0:38basically go to documentation get

0:38basically go to documentation get started and hit this deploy um you will

0:40started and hit this deploy um you will

0:40started and hit this deploy um you will need a verse cell account you will need

0:41need a verse cell account you will need

0:41need a verse cell account you will need a GitHub account um it takes one step

0:43a GitHub account um it takes one step

0:43a GitHub account um it takes one step and it only takes about a minute about

0:45and it only takes about a minute about

0:45and it only takes about a minute about 60 seconds and you can get it up and

0:4660 seconds and you can get it up and

0:4660 seconds and you can get it up and running I'm going to assume that you're

0:49running I'm going to assume that you're

0:49running I'm going to assume that you're able to do this part if you have trouble

0:51able to do this part if you have trouble

0:51able to do this part if you have trouble doing this part or you have issues with

0:52doing this part or you have issues with

0:52doing this part or you have issues with Git or verel get in touch we can help um

0:55Git or verel get in touch we can help um

0:55Git or verel get in touch we can help um but we're going to jump onto the next

0:56but we're going to jump onto the next

0:56but we're going to jump onto the next step which is the really interesting

0:57step which is the really interesting

0:58step which is the really interesting step so we're going to jump into ver uh

1:00step so we're going to jump into ver uh

1:00step so we're going to jump into ver uh to cursor and this is our own

1:01to cursor and this is our own

1:01to cursor and this is our own documentation system that you're looking

1:02documentation system that you're looking

1:02documentation system that you're looking at right now now every single file is a

1:06at right now now every single file is a

1:06at right now now every single file is a MDX file so that's just the way that you

1:08MDX file so that's just the way that you

1:08MDX file so that's just the way that you write things if you haven't used MDX

1:10write things if you haven't used MDX

1:10write things if you haven't used MDX before you're essentially using these

1:11before you're essentially using these

1:11before you're essentially using these little hashtags as headings so heading

1:13little hashtags as headings so heading

1:13little hashtags as headings so heading one heading two this is a paragraph This

1:16one heading two this is a paragraph This

1:16one heading two this is a paragraph This is a paragraph you get the idea right

1:18is a paragraph you get the idea right

1:18is a paragraph you get the idea right it's not super complicated you'll get it

1:20it's not super complicated you'll get it

1:20it's not super complicated you'll get it real fast if you haven't used it before

1:22real fast if you haven't used it before

1:22real fast if you haven't used it before um now here's the really interesting bit

1:25um now here's the really interesting bit

1:25um now here's the really interesting bit so say I'm going to build a brand new

1:26so say I'm going to build a brand new

1:26so say I'm going to build a brand new blog um or I'm going to go for this blog

1:28blog um or I'm going to go for this blog

1:28blog um or I'm going to go for this blog that I'm writing at the moment which is

1:30that I'm writing at the moment which is

1:30that I'm writing at the moment which is called jumping ship from WordPress um

1:32called jumping ship from WordPress um

1:32called jumping ship from WordPress um what I might want to do is I might want

1:34what I might want to do is I might want

1:34what I might want to do is I might want to start writing on this so I'm I'm in

1:36to start writing on this so I'm I'm in

1:36to start writing on this so I'm I'm in the process of writing this thing at a

1:37the process of writing this thing at a

1:37the process of writing this thing at a minute um but I'm getting lazy so I like

1:40minute um but I'm getting lazy so I like

1:40minute um but I'm getting lazy so I like some of this stuff and I want to talk

1:41some of this stuff and I want to talk

1:41some of this stuff and I want to talk about more things related to sanity so

1:44about more things related to sanity so

1:44about more things related to sanity so uh give me three more features from

1:48uh give me three more features from

1:48uh give me three more features from sanity check them out here and now what

1:51sanity check them out here and now what

1:51sanity check them out here and now what we can do is this is this you can do by

1:52we can do is this is this you can do by

1:52we can do is this is this you can do by pressing command K here uh you can go to

1:55pressing command K here uh you can go to

1:55pressing command K here uh you can go to sanity.io you can go look at sanity

1:57sanity.io you can go look at sanity

1:57sanity.io you can go look at sanity features Okay so

2:01features Okay so

2:01features Okay so uh in fact you know I'm just going to

2:02uh in fact you know I'm just going to

2:02uh in fact you know I'm just going to use the homepage because I'm going to be

2:04use the homepage because I'm going to be

2:04use the homepage because I'm going to be lazy um press at uh type the URL in boom

2:10lazy um press at uh type the URL in boom

2:10lazy um press at uh type the URL in boom okay so give me three more features from

2:11okay so give me three more features from

2:11okay so give me three more features from sanity hopefully it brings brand new

2:13sanity hopefully it brings brand new

2:13sanity hopefully it brings brand new features and doesn't give me the same

2:14features and doesn't give me the same

2:14features and doesn't give me the same ones more powerful features AI assist

2:17ones more powerful features AI assist

2:17ones more powerful features AI assist that's amazing localization support yeah

2:19that's amazing localization support yeah

2:19that's amazing localization support yeah we haven't talked about that yet

2:20we haven't talked about that yet

2:20we haven't talked about that yet Advanced Asset Management awesome right

2:23Advanced Asset Management awesome right

2:23Advanced Asset Management awesome right I've just done that with one uh AI

2:26I've just done that with one uh AI

2:26I've just done that with one uh AI prompt so let's take that that's great

2:29prompt so let's take that that's great

2:29prompt so let's take that that's great um now that is one part of this now the

2:31um now that is one part of this now the

2:31um now that is one part of this now the other part of this is doing something

2:33other part of this is doing something

2:33other part of this is doing something called a tone of voice uh guide or

2:35called a tone of voice uh guide or

2:35called a tone of voice uh guide or whatever you want to call it um so this

2:38whatever you want to call it um so this

2:38whatever you want to call it um so this website we can actually use as our tone

2:40website we can actually use as our tone

2:40website we can actually use as our tone of voice guide so if I copy this URL

2:42of voice guide so if I copy this URL

2:42of voice guide so if I copy this URL again and I can go create a brand new

2:44again and I can go create a brand new

2:44again and I can go create a brand new one I can say uh sanity tone

2:48one I can say uh sanity tone

2:48one I can say uh sanity tone ofo

2:49ofo

2:49ofo MDX and what I'm going to do I'm going

2:51MDX and what I'm going to do I'm going

2:51MDX and what I'm going to do I'm going to go uh create a tone of voice guide

2:56to go uh create a tone of voice guide

2:56to go uh create a tone of voice guide from at and then paste sanity's Linkin

2:58from at and then paste sanity's Linkin

2:58from at and then paste sanity's Linkin and we'll see what it does this will

3:00and we'll see what it does this will

3:00and we'll see what it does this will actually write a tone of voice guide and

3:02actually write a tone of voice guide and

3:02actually write a tone of voice guide and again we're just using the command k at

3:03again we're just using the command k at

3:03again we're just using the command k at the minute we're not going crazy just

3:05the minute we're not going crazy just

3:05the minute we're not going crazy just nice simple cursor functionality you can

3:08nice simple cursor functionality you can

3:08nice simple cursor functionality you can see um we have things like technical

3:10see um we have things like technical

3:10see um we have things like technical confidence with accessibility Forward

3:12confidence with accessibility Forward

3:12confidence with accessibility Forward Thinking and Innovative direct and

3:13Thinking and Innovative direct and

3:13Thinking and Innovative direct and empowering data driven credibility and

3:15empowering data driven credibility and

3:15empowering data driven credibility and you can see things like dos don'ts this

3:18you can see things like dos don'ts this

3:18you can see things like dos don'ts this is really nice and this is just from One

3:20is really nice and this is just from One

3:20is really nice and this is just from One Singular prompt inside of

3:23Singular prompt inside of

3:23Singular prompt inside of cursor okay let's take that now what we

3:25cursor okay let's take that now what we

3:25cursor okay let's take that now what we can do is we could we can take the same

3:28can do is we could we can take the same

3:28can do is we could we can take the same document again and what we're going to

3:29document again and what we're going to

3:29document again and what we're going to do is we're going to say oh

3:32do is we're going to say oh

3:32do is we're going to say oh jumping

3:34jumping

3:34jumping ship from WordPress sanity edition. MDX

3:40ship from WordPress sanity edition. MDX

3:40ship from WordPress sanity edition. MDX um and I'm basically going to throw the

3:42um and I'm basically going to throw the

3:42um and I'm basically going to throw the same thing in and I'm going to say

3:43same thing in and I'm going to say

3:43same thing in and I'm going to say rewrite

3:44rewrite

3:44rewrite this using at tone of voice um and this

3:48this using at tone of voice um and this

3:48this using at tone of voice um and this is the I want this one the blog the

3:50is the I want this one the blog the

3:50is the I want this one the blog the sanity tone of voice so we have our own

3:52sanity tone of voice so we have our own

3:52sanity tone of voice so we have our own tone of voice but we're going to use the

3:53tone of voice but we're going to use the

3:54tone of voice but we're going to use the one that we've just pulled from sanity

3:56one that we've just pulled from sanity

3:56one that we've just pulled from sanity um and you can see transform your

3:57um and you can see transform your

3:57um and you can see transform your content strategy moving from WordPress

3:59content strategy moving from WordPress

3:59content strategy moving from WordPress to San CMS it sounds a lot more kind of

4:03to San CMS it sounds a lot more kind of

4:03to San CMS it sounds a lot more kind of professional uh rather than what we

4:05professional uh rather than what we

4:05professional uh rather than what we write so uh that's kind of nice you can

4:07write so uh that's kind of nice you can

4:07write so uh that's kind of nice you can see it actually working there um so this

4:11see it actually working there um so this

4:11see it actually working there um so this is a really cool piece of functionality

4:13is a really cool piece of functionality

4:13is a really cool piece of functionality because in in one jump we've basically

4:15because in in one jump we've basically

4:15because in in one jump we've basically Rewritten this in a certain way it works

4:17Rewritten this in a certain way it works

4:17Rewritten this in a certain way it works kind of similar to how you would do

4:18kind of similar to how you would do

4:18kind of similar to how you would do something like AI

4:20something like AI

4:20something like AI translation you're essentially just

4:21translation you're essentially just

4:21translation you're essentially just taking content and repurposing it and

4:24taking content and repurposing it and

4:24taking content and repurposing it and that's what's really powerful inside of

4:25that's what's really powerful inside of

4:25that's what's really powerful inside of cursor um and the beauty of this is this

4:28cursor um and the beauty of this is this

4:28cursor um and the beauty of this is this this this complete completely scales and

4:30this this complete completely scales and

4:30this this complete completely scales and now I know what you might be thinking

4:31now I know what you might be thinking

4:31now I know what you might be thinking this is really cool um but aren't we

4:34this is really cool um but aren't we

4:34this is really cool um but aren't we just going to use this to rip everybody

4:36just going to use this to rip everybody

4:36just going to use this to rip everybody else's websites off and you'd be right

4:38else's websites off and you'd be right

4:38else's websites off and you'd be right so um what we're going to do we're going

4:40so um what we're going to do we're going

4:40so um what we're going to do we're going to see their blog and we're going to see

4:42to see their blog and we're going to see

4:42to see their blog and we're going to see what we can do with this and this is

4:44what we can do with this and this is

4:44what we can do with this and this is again I'm sorry before I do this sanity

4:46again I'm sorry before I do this sanity

4:46again I'm sorry before I do this sanity I hope nobody does this as soon as I've

4:47I hope nobody does this as soon as I've

4:47I hope nobody does this as soon as I've showed this um but you can see uh let's

4:49showed this um but you can see uh let's

4:49showed this um but you can see uh let's find something

4:50find something

4:51find something interesting um digital transformation

4:54interesting um digital transformation

4:54interesting um digital transformation with structured content so this is one

4:55with structured content so this is one

4:55with structured content so this is one this is a this is a really cool um case

4:59this is a this is a really cool um case

4:59this is a this is a really cool um case study um but you can see very quickly

5:01study um but you can see very quickly

5:01study um but you can see very quickly how I could write um generic case

5:07how I could write um generic case

5:07how I could write um generic case study for

5:09study for

5:09study for Enterprise okay um so repurpose and I'm

5:13Enterprise okay um so repurpose and I'm

5:13Enterprise okay um so repurpose and I'm not saying you should do this before I

5:15not saying you should do this before I

5:15not saying you should do this before I show this uh at um to be another company

5:21show this uh at um to be another company

5:21show this uh at um to be another company called Acme and rewrite it using our at

5:28called Acme and rewrite it using our at

5:28called Acme and rewrite it using our at tone of voice now I'm going to use our

5:29tone of voice now I'm going to use our

5:29tone of voice now I'm going to use our sanity tone of voice again but you can

5:31sanity tone of voice again but you can

5:31sanity tone of voice again but you can see very quickly how we can pull in it

5:33see very quickly how we can pull in it

5:33see very quickly how we can pull in it doesn't have to be other people's

5:35doesn't have to be other people's

5:35doesn't have to be other people's content I'm only showing you other

5:36content I'm only showing you other

5:36content I'm only showing you other people's content because it's quite

5:37people's content because it's quite

5:37people's content because it's quite there you go you see um you I might be

5:42there you go you see um you I might be

5:42there you go you see um you I might be unleashing Pandora's Box on the p on the

5:44unleashing Pandora's Box on the p on the

5:44unleashing Pandora's Box on the p on the marketing uh on the marketing folks but

5:47marketing uh on the marketing folks but

5:47marketing uh on the marketing folks but this is this is really powerful for

5:49this is this is really powerful for

5:49this is this is really powerful for being able to basically generate content

5:51being able to basically generate content

5:51being able to basically generate content very very quickly um obviously you want

5:54very very quickly um obviously you want

5:54very very quickly um obviously you want high quality content so you don't want

5:55high quality content so you don't want

5:55high quality content so you don't want to do what I'm just doing here but I

5:57to do what I'm just doing here but I

5:57to do what I'm just doing here but I want to show you this as a tool to be

5:58want to show you this as a tool to be

5:59want to show you this as a tool to be able to generate erate content but I

6:00able to generate erate content but I

6:00able to generate erate content but I thought I may as well address the

6:02thought I may as well address the

6:02thought I may as well address the elephant in the room that I know people

6:03elephant in the room that I know people

6:03elephant in the room that I know people are going to end up using this for but

6:05are going to end up using this for but

6:05are going to end up using this for but if you are going to use this make sure

6:07if you are going to use this make sure

6:07if you are going to use this make sure you put your own tone of voice your own

6:08you put your own tone of voice your own

6:08you put your own tone of voice your own interest your own stats your own images

6:11interest your own stats your own images

6:11interest your own stats your own images all that good stuff put some effort in

6:14all that good stuff put some effort in

6:14all that good stuff put some effort in um but yeah this is how you would

6:16um but yeah this is how you would

6:16um but yeah this is how you would essentially use cursor as a

6:17essentially use cursor as a

6:17essentially use cursor as a documentation tool rather than a coding

6:21documentation tool rather than a coding

6:21documentation tool rather than a coding tool um and again it does amazing things

6:23tool um and again it does amazing things

6:23tool um and again it does amazing things with prediction so you can see very

6:25with prediction so you can see very

6:25with prediction so you can see very quickly if I throw another one on here

6:27quickly if I throw another one on here

6:27quickly if I throw another one on here you know content management yeah oh

6:29you know content management yeah oh

6:29you know content management yeah oh what's another one API First Development

6:31what's another one API First Development

6:31what's another one API First Development cool what's another one microservices

6:32cool what's another one microservices

6:33cool what's another one microservices architecture um really helpful tool hope

6:36architecture um really helpful tool hope

6:36architecture um really helpful tool hope you get the most out of this don't just

6:37you get the most out of this don't just

6:37you get the most out of this don't just copy other people's work have a great

6:39copy other people's work have a great

6:39copy other people's work have a great day bye-bye

Questions answered

Editorial answers from the original Roboto page.

What is Cursor AI?

Cursor is an AI-first code editor, a fork of VS Code with a chat panel, inline edits, and the `@` command for pulling in external context like a URL or another file. People mostly know it as a coding tool, but the same workflow is great for writing MDX, blogs, and documentation.

Read the original ↗
How do you use Cursor for content writing?

Open an MDX or Markdown file, hit `Cmd-K` to bring up inline AI, and use the `@` command to attach a URL or file as context, for example a vendor's product page or your own tone-of-voice guide. Cursor will then write or rewrite the content using that source as reference, keeping the structure of the document intact.

Read the original ↗
Can Cursor write blog posts?

Yes. With `@` you can feed Cursor a source URL and ask it to expand a draft, suggest new sections, or rewrite an existing post in a different tone. Use it as a scaffolding tool. Your own stats, examples, and angle still need to go on top, otherwise the post will read like every other AI-generated piece.

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How do you make Cursor follow your tone of voice?

Create a Markdown file describing the tone (voice, dos and don'ts, technical level), then reference it with `@tone-of-voice.md` in any prompt. Cursor will rewrite the target document using that file as a style guide. You can build that tone-of-voice document by pointing Cursor at an example site you like and asking it to extract the patterns.

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What is Nextra?

Nextra is an open-source documentation framework built on Next.js. You write each page as MDX, and it gives you a Vercel-deployable docs site in roughly a minute. It's similar in spirit to Mintlify or GitBook, but free and self-hosted.

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Can Cursor edit MDX files?

Yes. MDX is just Markdown plus JSX, and Cursor treats it as a normal text file. The `@` references and `Cmd-K` inline edits work the same way as on `.ts` or `.tsx` files, which is why it's useful for documentation and blog work.

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Scope and context

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