# External Authority Placement Scout

> Find and score legitimate external authority and backlink opportunities as a dry-run register, using relevance, platform rules, risk, target-page fit, and explicit user approval gates. Use this skill when the user asks where links to a target site could be placed effectively, but never post, submit, DM, email, open PRs, or edit external accounts without separate explicit approval.

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-sergekostenchuk-ui-ux-agent-skill-system-external-authority-placement-scout`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [sergekostenchuk](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/sergekostenchuk)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Communication](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/communication)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Upstream author:** [sergekostenchuk](https://github.com/sergekostenchuk)
- **Source:** https://github.com/sergekostenchuk/ui-ux-agent-skill-system/tree/main/core/skills/external-authority-placement-scout

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-sergekostenchuk-ui-ux-agent-skill-system-external-authority-placement-scout
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# External Authority Placement Scout

Use this skill only after the white-hat authority policy exists.

Read `$HOME/SKILL/plans/seo-llm-skill-cluster/authority/white-hat-authority-policy.md`
before creating an opportunity register.

Read [references/scouting-workflow.md](references/scouting-workflow.md) for candidate sources,
required register fields, and draft rules.

## Owns

- dry-run opportunity discovery;
- opportunity register rows;
- relevance and target-fit scoring;
- platform-rule checklist;
- approval-gated outreach or submission drafts;
- handoff to backlink-quality-validator.

## Does Not Own

- external posting;
- account edits;
- PR creation;
- email/DM sending;
- buying links;
- spam automation;
- final quality validation after a link exists.

## Workflow

1. Define target site, target pages, audience, and allowed opportunity categories.
2. Collect candidate opportunities from user-provided platforms or approved public research.
3. Check relevance, user value, target fit, and policy risk.
4. Record platform-rule status and whether current official/public rules must be rechecked.
5. Create register rows matching the opportunity schema.
6. Draft optional human-review text only when useful.
7. Require explicit user approval before any external action.
8. Hand off existing or proposed placements to `backlink-quality-validator`.

## Non-Negotiables

- Dry-run by default.
- Do not post links anywhere.
- Do not open PRs.
- Do not send outreach.
- Do not create accounts.
- Do not recommend PBNs, link farms, fake reviews, fake accounts, mass profile creation, hidden links, or irrelevant directories.
- Do not use exact-match anchor stuffing.
- Do not claim authority impact without evidence.

## Safety And Privacy Boundaries

- Do not store platform credentials, private messages, contact lists, cookies, or tokens.
- Do not scrape platforms against their rules.
- Do not include private account data in reports.
- If the user approves a future external action, create a separate task with platform, draft, approval, rollback/removal path, and monitoring plan.

## Output Shape

Return:

1. Scope and target pages.
2. Opportunity register table.
3. Scoring rationale.
4. Platform-rule status and verification needs.
5. Draft text if requested, clearly marked as draft only.
6. Blocked opportunities and reasons.
7. Approval required before action.

## Validation

Validate skill edits with:

```bash
python3 $CODEX_HOME/skills/senior-skill-architect/scripts/lint_production_skill.py $HOME/SKILL/skills/external-authority-placement-scout
python3 $HOME/SKILL/plans/seo-llm-skill-cluster/scripts/lint_skill_cluster.py $HOME/SKILL
```

Forward tests live in [evals.json](evals.json).

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [sergekostenchuk](https://github.com/sergekostenchuk)
- **Source:** [sergekostenchuk/ui-ux-agent-skill-system](https://github.com/sergekostenchuk/ui-ux-agent-skill-system)
- **License:** Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-sergekostenchuk-ui-ux-agent-skill-system-external-authority-placement-scout
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/sergekostenchuk
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.