# Affiliate.txt

> An open, non-commercial format for publishing offer rules, contacts and change history.

Affiliate.txt proposes that an advertiser publish program rules once on its own domain. Publishers, CPA networks, affiliate managers and anti-fraud services then read the same current, public and machine-readable version.

Current status: public draft 0.1 for discussion and real-world testing.

## How it works

1. **Publish.** The advertiser hosts `/.well-known/affiliate.txt` and names the team responsible for the program.
2. **Connect.** Publishers, CPA networks and tools read offer status, traffic rules, contacts and current assets.
3. **Verify.** When rules change or a dispute arises, all sides refer to a specific version, date and public source.

## Who it serves

- **Publisher:** current terms, allowed traffic sources, contacts and changes before sending traffic.
- **Advertiser:** one place to update rules and a more transparent affiliate channel.
- **Affiliate manager:** less manual communication and faster partner onboarding.
- **Anti-fraud team:** checks an event against the rules that were in force at that time.

Affiliate.txt does not replace CPA networks. It gives them a common format for offer rules.

## Further reading

- [Idea and principles](https://affiliatetxt.org/en/about.md)
- [Draft standard 0.1](https://affiliatetxt.org/en/standard.md)
- [Examples](https://affiliatetxt.org/en/examples.md)