automated-content-site

name

automated-content-site

description

Build, automate, and verify zero-cost affiliate/content web properties driven by Hermes Agent. Use when a user wants to "make money online free", run a hands-off content/affiliate site, or have Hermes autonomously research+write+publish on a schedule. Covers the full stack — stdlib-only static generator, affiliate-token templating, free GitHub Pages hosting, and a self-running weekly article cron.

Automated Content / Affiliate Site (zero-cost, Hermes-driven)

Build a money-making web property that runs itself for $0 and 0 paid tools: a static site generated from Markdown, affiliate links injected via config tokens, hosted free on GitHub Pages, and fed new articles by a Hermes cron job that researches real products and writes them.

When to use

• "make money online free / zero investment / automation"
• "set up passive income with Hermes"
• any request to autonomously research, write, and publish content on a schedule

Architecture (the proven shape)

project/
├─ build.py          # stdlib-only: Markdown -> static site (index, articles, sitemap.xml, feed.xml, disclosure)
├─ config.json       # site_name, site_url, niches[], amazon_tag, shareasale_id  (affiliate IDs left EMPTY by agent)
├─ content/          # <slug>.md articles (agent adds 1/week via cron)
├─ autorun.sh        # rebuild + `git push` to GitHub Pages (crash-proof: push failure is non-fatal)
├─ README.md         # the 3 manual steps the USER must do
└─ public/           # built output

Why stdlib-only: no pip, no venv, runs on the bare Python the agent already has. Avoid third-party deps for the build step so it never breaks across machines.

Build steps

1. build.py — parse frontmatter (title/description/slug/date/niche), render a minimal Markdown->HTML converter, expand {{AMAZON:Keyword}} / {{SHAREASALE:id:kw}} affiliate tokens from config.json, emit index + per-article + sitemap + RSS + disclosure.
2. config.json — list niches (low-competition buying-guide topics). Keep affiliate ID fields EMPTY in the shipped config; the user fills them once.
3. content/<slug>.md — start with 1 real, fully-written article (proves the engine).
4. autorun.sh — git pull --rebase, python build.py, commit, git push (make push failure non-fatal so local builds still succeed without remote creds).
5. Git init on main, commit. (Remote + Pages enabled by the user later.)
6. Cron job: weekly, self-contained prompt that picks an uncovered niche, web-searches 3–5 REAL products, writes 1200–1800 words with affiliate tokens, runs autorun.sh.

The 3 things ONLY the user can do (document in README — never skip)

1. Create free GitHub repo money-engine, git remote add + push, enable Pages.
2. Sign up FREE for Amazon Associates + ShareASale, paste IDs into config.json. (The agent cannot open accounts in the user's name — this is the money spigot.)
3. Drive free traffic (Reddit/X/Pinterest/Quora) — no traffic = no earnings.

CRITICAL pitfalls

• MSYS path doubling (Windows): when writing files with the write_file tool on a Windows host using bash, an MSYS path like /c/Users/PREM KUMAR/... is silently rewritten to C:\c\Users\PREM KUMAR\... (the C: gets prepended, doubling the root). Always pass native Windows absolute paths (C:\Users\...) to write_file on Windows; only use /c/... inside terminal/bash commands. See references/windows-msys-path-pitfall.md.
• Frontmatter quote bug: YAML-ish frontmatter values written with quotes (slug: "foo") must have quotes STRIPPED during parse, or the rendered filename becomes "foo".html and the build throws OSError [Errno 22] Invalid argument.
• Affiliate tokens: use {{AMAZON:Keyword}} placeholders in content, never bake in a real tag. Empty amazon_tag must still render a valid clickable amazon.com/s?k= link (no stray &tag=). Expansion is verified in references/verification.md.
• Honest framing: tell the user upfront this is NOT overnight passive income — it compounds per published article, and the agent cannot guarantee earnings. Don't oversell; the deliverable is working free software, not deposited cash.

Verification (always, before claiming done)

Write an ad-hoc script to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\hermes-verify-<name>.py, run it against a temp copy of the project, assert behavior, then delete it. See references/verification.md for the checklist that catches the bugs above.

Support files

• references/windows-msys-path-pitfall.md — the write_file doubling bug + fix
• references/verification.md — ad-hoc verify checklist (17/18 → real result)
• templates/build.py — known-good stdlib static generator (copy + modify)
• templates/config.json — config shape with empty affiliate fields
• templates/autorun.sh — crash-proof deploy script
• templates/sample-article.md — frontmatter + body format the cron must follow