The AffiliateRail skill

A skill is a set of instructions and reference files that Claude loads when a topic matches. The AffiliateRail skill teaches Claude how to run a SaaS affiliate program well. It covers:

• commission design, worked from your own margins
• the terms to write before launch
• recruiting and activation
• fraud, and the polite no
• reading the numbers honestly
• the payout mechanics: tax forms, the reporting thresholds, VAT and partner invoices
• clawbacks, which is money you take back after you've already paid it
• why a 200 from a payout API isn't a payment

Download: affiliaterail-skill-latest.zip

The stable address always serves the current version. The versioned file beside it (currently affiliaterail-skill-v1.1.3.zip) never changes once published, so you can pin one if you prefer.

It has two modes, and picks one itself

• Not connected: a competent advisor. Ask it anything about running a program. It answers from its reference files, including the tax-form and payout material grounded in professional advice. It always notes that this is general information and isn't tax advice.
• Connected to AffiliateRail (via the MCP server): an operator. "Who went quiet?", "who should I pay this month?" and "is my program healthy?" become live answers built from the tools. It has one hard rule: it never states a number about your program that didn't come from a tool call.

It detects the connection from the tools available in the conversation. You never have to tell it which mode it's in.

What it won't do

It never calls a write tool without showing you the server's confirmation card and getting your agreement first. It can change the settings and rules you confirm. It can't move money, however hard it's asked, because payouts aren't on the MCP surface at all. AffiliateRail never holds funds.

Installing

1. Download the zip above and unzip it. You get one folder, affiliaterail-affiliate-programs.
2. Claude Code: put the folder in .claude/skills/ in your project. For every project, use ~/.claude/skills/.
3. Claude apps and claude.ai: upload the zip under Settings, Capabilities, Skills, wherever your plan offers skill uploads.
4. Ask an affiliate question. The skill loads itself when the topic matches, so there's nothing to invoke.

For live answers, also connect the MCP server. The skill works without it, and it's better with it.

Updates

The version lives in the skill's own metadata and in the filename. To update, download affiliaterail-skill-latest.zip again and replace the folder. There's nothing else to migrate.

Changes ship with the product. Our test suite pins the skill's tool knowledge to the server, so if a tool changes, the skill and this page change in the same release.