# Affiliate.txt draft standard 0.1

> A minimal machine-readable file for publishing affiliate program rules.

Document status: a product hypothesis and public draft, not an adopted industry standard.

## Discovery

Canonical location: `https://example.org/.well-known/affiliate.txt`.

Hosting the file on the advertiser's domain verifies the source and keeps it independent of any one CPA network. The server should return UTF-8 text with HTTP status `200`.

## Syntax

The format uses `key: value` lines, sections in square brackets and comments beginning with `#`. Field order is irrelevant. Unknown fields must be ignored.

```text
version: 0.1
program: Example Store
website: https://example.org
contact: affiliate@example.org
updated: 2026-09-17

[offer default]
status: active
landing: https://example.org
allowed: content
forbidden: cookie-stuffing
```

## Core fields

- `version`, `program`, `website`, `contact` and `updated` are required.
- `policy` links to full legal terms.
- `disputes` provides an appeal contact or procedure.

## Offer fields

Each `[offer identifier]` section may include `status`, `landing`, `payout`, `cookie`, `allowed`, `forbidden` and `assets`.

## Changes and disputes

Material changes require a new `updated` date. Previous versions should be retained and linked through `changelog`. A violation record is meaningful only with the source rule, file version, event time and appeal process.

## Data safety

Do not publish personal phone numbers, private keys, tokens, private rates, client lists or other non-public information.