# Put every article on the site first (canonical home)

The site is the canonical copy; every other platform points at it. This file is the exact checklist the agents follow. Paths are relative to your site source folder; the original uses a Python static build (build.py) deployed to Vercel.

## 0. Take the build lock
Take `agents/locks/site-build.lock` before editing the catalog or building. If another agent holds it and it is under 20 minutes old, wait. Delete it after the deploy is verified.

## 1. Add it to the catalog
Append one entry to `articles/catalog.py` (or your equivalent):
- `slug`: short, keyword-first, lowercase-hyphens. Never change it after publishing.
- `topics`: 1 to 3 topic slugs from a fixed list. Only add a new topic when 3+ articles would share it. Topics drive the index, search and the /articles/topic/<slug>/ hubs.
- `kw`: one search phrase people really type. Check it with Google autocomplete: `https://suggestqueries.google.com/complete/search?client=firefox&q=<phrase>`. No made-up search volumes.
- `title` (about 60 chars, keyword near the front, still true) and `desc` (140 to 160 chars, true, no em dashes).
- `offer`: the one call to action that matches the topic. `tools`: 1 to 3 internal links.

## 2. Import, back up, build
```
python articles/import_articles.py <slug>      # images -> webp, og image, content json
cp -r ../_deploy/site ../_deploy/site.bak-$(date +%m%d-%H%M)
python build.py                                # must report the article count and pass the SEO check
```
If build.py changed since you last read it, re-read it first. Data files (data.csv) may need copying into the deploy folder by hand; check they return 200.

## 3. Deploy and verify
```
cd ../_deploy/site && vercel deploy --prod --yes
curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' https://<your-site>/articles/<slug>/   # expect 200
```
Also check that /articles/ lists it first and that the feed and sitemap.xml contain it.

## 4. IndexNow (every deploy)
Right after the deploy and the 200 check, submit only new or changed URLs to IndexNow (Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam). Diff the deployed sitemap's per-page lastmod against a saved state file; expect HTTP 202. Run it after the deploy, never before: it checks the live key file at `https://<your-site>/<YOUR_INDEXNOW_KEY>.txt`. Google ignores IndexNow, so also do step 6.

## 5. Canonicals on copies
- dev.to: PUT `https://dev.to/api/articles/<id>` with `{"article":{"canonical_url":"https://<your-site>/articles/<slug>/"}}` and header `api-key: <YOUR_DEVTO_API_KEY>` read from a local file (never print it). On a 401, stop and report. Do not look for other keys.
- New dev.to posts: set canonical_url in the front matter at publish time.
- Medium: import from the site URL (that sets the canonical). Substack has no canonical field, so its first line links the site copy.

## 6. Search Console
In the signed-in browser, open your own tab, inspect the new URL and click Request indexing. Do not sign out, do not switch accounts, close only the tabs you opened.

Rules: every number checked against a source, no em dashes, no fake reviews or ratings in schema.