affiliate-audit

Connect the affiliate catalog to a site's content and surface monetization gaps. The monetization loop's engine: catalog × content × traffic → ranked gaps.

Run

node scripts/affiliate-audit.mjs --content=<site>/content --traffic=<traffic.json> --write

Reads the program catalog (data/programs.json or operator equivalent, expecting fields like status and disclosure) + the content dir + optional traffic → ranks (1) programs to join first, (2) posts to add links to. Writes AUDIT.md.

If no runtime is wired, the audit can also be run as a reasoning pass: read the catalog, scan the content for tool mentions, cross-reference against which mentions carry a live program link, and rank the gaps by traffic × payer value.

Strategy rules (apply when recommending or placing links)

1. Frontier names rank, adjacents pay. The largest foundation-model and generative leaders usually have NO affiliate program. Capture their traffic; monetize via the recurring payers the post recommends.
2. Highest-ticket recurring tool the operator actually uses, first. Then the recurring spine of subscription payers. Authenticity beats commission rate.
3. Recurring > one-time. Passive income compounds on subscriptions, not flat bounties.
4. One disclosure per page. FTC + trust. Use the catalog's disclosure string.
5. Never link a tool you can't vouch for, and never let a link override the honest pick — say what's actually best, then point to the payer you'd actually buy.
6. Ignore dead-ends/closed (status in the catalog): frontier tools with no program, programs closed to new affiliates, deprecated tools.

The loop

Audit → join top program → set the program link in the catalog → add link + disclosure to the named posts → re-audit (gap clears).

Compose

• agentic-income — the operating brain that decides what to do with the gaps this audit surfaces.

How SIS consumes this

The Affiliate stream queen runs this on the weekly monetization-loop cadence. The audit produces recommendations only; placing links and joining programs runs through the queen's gate, and any revenue that flows downstream into settlement is handled by payments-mandate, never here.

Built on SIP — Starlight Intelligence Protocol Substrate: starlightintelligence.org/protocol v1.1.0 Layers used: [file-contract, attestation, sovereignty] Vertical: starlight-agent-skills · portable capability layer