config.example.json

{
  "_comment": "Copy this file to config.json and fill in your values. Credentials go in environment variables, never here.",

  "site_url": "https://your-wordpress-site.example.com",

  "categories": [
    {
      "name": "personal-finance",
      "_comment_ymyl": "Set ymyl:true for health, finance, legal, safety topics — adds citations + disclaimer scaffolding.",
      "ymyl": true
    },
    {
      "name": "home-improvement",
      "ymyl": false
    },
    {
      "name": "pet-care",
      "ymyl": false
    },
    {
      "name": "productivity",
      "ymyl": false
    }
  ],

  "rotation_strategy": "sequential",
  "_comment_rotation": "Options: 'sequential' (cycles through categories in order) or 'random' (picks one at random each run).",

  "target_word_count": 1500,
  "_comment_word_count": "Approximate word count for generated posts. 1200-2000 suits most informational queries; 3000+ for competitive head terms.",

  "publish_status": "draft",
  "_comment_status": "Options: 'draft' (recommended while evaluating output), 'publish', or 'private'.",

  "embed_youtube": false,
  "_comment_youtube": "Set true to search for a relevant YouTube video and embed it after the intro paragraph. Requires YOUTUBE_API_KEY env var.",

  "serp": {
    "provider": "apify",
    "_comment_provider": "Currently supported: 'apify'. To use another provider, implement a branch in dispatch_serp_query() in scripts/serp_research.py.",
    "actor_id": "apify/google-search-scraper",
    "_comment_actor": "Apify actor ID for Google SERP scraping. Check the Apify Store for current highly-rated options.",
    "results_per_query": 10,
    "extract_paa": true,
    "_comment_paa": "extract_paa: extract People-Also-Ask questions from SERP results.",
    "country_code": "us",
    "language_code": "en"
  },

  "post": {
    "prompt_template": "Write a comprehensive, answer-first blog post titled '{topic}' for the content category '{category}'. Start with a direct, concise answer to the question in the opening paragraph (targeting position-zero featured snippets). Follow with well-structured body sections using H2 and H3 headings that address related questions. Include a minimum of 5 FAQ entries. Target approximately {word_count} words. {ymyl_instructions}",
    "_comment_prompt": "Adjust this template for your LLM. {ymyl_instructions} is replaced with citation and disclaimer requirements when ymyl:true.",
    "ymyl_instructions": "This is a YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topic. Include a 'Sources' section with at least three reputable citations (e.g., government, academic, or established industry publications) and a disclaimer paragraph stating that the content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional financial, medical, or legal advice.",
    "default_author_id": 1,
    "_comment_author": "WordPress user ID of the post author. 1 is typically the admin account. Find yours via GET /wp-json/wp/v2/users/me.",
    "default_tags": [],
    "_comment_tags": "Array of WordPress tag IDs to apply to every post. Leave empty to skip. Find tag IDs via GET /wp-json/wp/v2/tags."
  },

  "image": {
    "provider": "none",
    "_comment_provider": "Options: 'none' (skip image generation), 'dalle' (OpenAI DALL-E), 'pexels' (free stock photos), 'stable-diffusion'. Wire up scripts/image_stub.py for your chosen provider.",
    "width": 1200,
    "height": 630,
    "_comment_dimensions": "Featured image dimensions in pixels. 1200x630 is the standard Open Graph size."
  },

  "ledger": {
    "topics_csv": "ledger/topic-ledger.csv",
    "_comment_topics": "Path to the CSV file tracking published and skipped topics. Auto-created on first run.",
    "backlinks_csv": "ledger/backlink-opportunities.csv",
    "_comment_backlinks": "Path to the CSV file accumulating external domains linked as citations — for future link-building outreach.",
    "rotation_state_json": "ledger/rotation_state.json",
    "_comment_rotation_state": "JSON file that stores which category index to use next. Auto-created on first run."
  },

  "internal_link_check": {
    "enabled": true,
    "_comment": "When true, wp_publish.py check-slugs is called before publish and aborts on any dead slug.",
    "abort_on_failure": true
  },

  "logging": {
    "log_dir": "logs",
    "log_level": "INFO",
    "_comment": "Log files are written to log_dir/pipeline_YYYY-MM-DD.log. Options: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR."
  }
}