Gas Price Alert

Overview

Automatically search for the cheapest gas prices in your area, with a focus on Costco and other discount stations. Get daily notifications with the best options within a specified radius.

Quick Start

1. 1. Configure location - Set your city/coordinates and search radius
2. Run search - Find gas stations and estimated prices
3. Schedule daily alerts - Get morning notifications with cheapest options
4. Focus on Costco - Costco typically has gas $0.15-0.25 below market average

Workflow

Step 1: Configure Your Location

Option A: Use ZIP code (recommended)

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Option B: Use coordinates

Default locations are pre-configured for Columbus, Ohio:

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To use a different location:

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Common US cities:

• - Columbus, OH: 39.9612, -82.9988
• Chicago, IL: 41.8781, -87.6298
• New York, NY: 40.7128, -74.0060
• Los Angeles, CA: 34.0522, -118.2437
• Miami, FL: 25.7617, -80.1918

Step 2: Search for Gas Stations

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Parameters:

• - --zip: ZIP code (overrides lat/lon, e.g., --zip 43215)
• INLINECODE2: Latitude (default: 39.9612 - Columbus, OH)
• INLINECODE3: Longitude (default: -82.9988 - Columbus, OH)
• INLINECODE4: Search radius in miles (default: 20)
• INLINECODE5: Fuel type - 87, 89, 91, diesel (default: 87)
• INLINECODE6: Base price for estimation (default: 2.89)
• INLINECODE7: Output file (default: gas_prices.json)
• INLINECODE8: Print human-readable summary to stdout

Step 3: Set Up Daily Alerts

Use OpenClaw cron to receive daily morning notifications:

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This runs every day at 8 AM Eastern Time.

Step 4: Receive Notifications

The agent will:

1. 1. Search for gas stations in your area
2. Identify Costco and discount stations
3. Generate a summary with the cheapest options
4. Send the summary via Telegram

Example notification:

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Output Format

Each station includes:

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How It Works

1. 1. OpenStreetMap/Overpass API - Finds all gas stations in the area
2. Costco database - Known Costco locations are matched and prioritized
3. Price estimation - Costco prices estimated $0.15-0.25 below market average
4. Distance calculation - Uses geodesic distance for accurate mileage
5. Smart filtering - Removes duplicates and sorts by relevance

Limitations

• - Real-time prices: Currently uses estimated prices for Costco. For exact prices, check GasBuddy.com or station apps.
• Coverage: Relies on OpenStreetMap data completeness
• Estimation accuracy: Costco prices estimated based on typical discount patterns

For Real-Time Prices

To get actual real-time prices:

1. 1. GasBuddy.com - Check manually or use their commercial API
2. Station apps - Costco, Kroger, Shell, etc., have apps with current prices
3. AAA - Provides average prices by region
4. Waze - Community-sourced price updates

Troubleshooting

No stations found

• - Increase the --radius parameter
• Verify coordinates are correct
• Check if the area has good OpenStreetMap coverage

Incorrect prices

• - Prices for non-Costco stations are estimated as "N/A"
• Costco prices are estimates based on typical discount patterns
• For exact prices, use GasBuddy or the station's app

Geopy not installed

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Resources

scripts/gas_alternative.py

Features:

• - Finds all gas stations within radius
• Identifies Costco locations
• Estimates Costco prices
• Calculates distances
• Generates human-readable summaries

scripts/gasbuddy_search.py

Use when:

• - You have a GasBuddy API key
• You need real-time prices
• You're willing to use Playwright for JavaScript rendering

references/locations.md

Dependencies

Install required packages:

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For Playwright-based GasBuddy scraping (optional):

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