Backlink Pilot — OpenClaw Skill

Automated backlink submission for indie products. One config, one command.

Installation

The tool is installed at: ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot/

cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js <command>

Config

Before using, ensure config.yaml exists in the project directory. Create from example:

cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot
cp config.example.yaml config.yaml

Then edit config.yaml with the product details.

Commands

Scout a site (discover form fields)

cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js scout https://example.com --deep

Output: list of submit-related links, form fields, auth requirements.

Submit to a directory site

cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js submit submitaitools
cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js submit toolverto

Dry run (show what would be submitted)

cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js submit submitaitools --dry-run

Generate awesome-list issue body

cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js awesome chinese-independent-developer
cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js awesome awesome-cloudflare

Ping search engines (IndexNow)

cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js indexnow https://example.com/new-page

Check submission status

cd ~/Downloads/backlink-pilot && node src/cli.js status

Available Site Adapters

Site	Command	Auth	CAPTCHA	Notes
submitaitools.org	submit submitaitools	None	Color ✅ auto	DA 73, free listing
toolverto.com	submit toolverto	None	None	Clean URL only (no UTM)

Available Awesome-List Targets

Key	Repo	Language
chinese-independent-developer	nichetools/chinese-independent-developer	Chinese
awesome-privacy	Lissy93/awesome-privacy	English
awesome-wasm	mbasso/awesome-wasm	English
awesome-cloudflare	zhuima/awesome-cloudflare	Chinese
awesome-pwa	nichetools/awesome-pwa	English
awesome-indie	mezod/awesome-indie	English
awesome-oss-alternatives	RunaCapital/awesome-oss-alternatives	English
awesome-free-apps	Axorax/awesome-free-apps	English
awesome-no-login-web-apps	nichetools/awesome-no-login-web-apps	English
awesome-astro	one-aalam/awesome-astro	English

Adding New Site Adapters

Create src/sites/<sitename>.js:

import { withBrowser, delay } from '../browser.js';

export default {
  name: 'example.com',
  url: 'https://example.com/submit',
  auth: 'none',        // none | email | oauth
  captcha: 'none',     // none | color | recaptcha

  async submit(product, config) {
    return withBrowser(config, async ({ page }) => {
      await page.goto('https://example.com/submit', { waitUntil: 'networkidle' });
      // Fill form fields...
      // Submit...
      // Check confirmation...
      return { url: page.url(), confirmation: 'success message' };
    });
  },
};

Then use: node src/cli.js submit <sitename>

Workflow for Agent

1. User says "submit to directories" → check config.yaml exists
2. Scout unknown sites first: node src/cli.js scout <url> --deep to discover form fields
3. Submit one at a time: node src/cli.js submit <site> — check output for success/failure
4. Track progress: node src/cli.js status shows all submissions
5. Pace submissions: Wait 1-3 minutes between different sites
6. If adapter doesn't exist: Use scout to discover fields, then write a new adapter

Key Constraints

• rebrowser-playwright required: Must be installed (npm install in project dir)
• Chromium binary needed: ~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright/chromium-1169/
• Some sites reject UTM params in URLs: toolverto specifically rejects query strings
• Google OAuth sites need manual first login: Agent can't do 2FA without user
• Cloudflare Turnstile is a hard wall: Skip these sites (AlternativeTo, ProductHunt)
• Never submit same product twice to same site
• Rate limit: 1-3 min between sites, 30-60 min same site retry

Troubleshooting

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md in the project directory for detailed solutions to common issues:

• OpenClaw browser returns 403 → switch to rebrowser
• Google OAuth needs manual 2FA on first login
• Some sites reject UTM params in URLs → submit clean URL
• Cloudflare Challenge = hard wall → skip the site
• Date picker widgets (flatpickr etc.) → use page.evaluate() to set value directly
• Reddit blocks all headless browsers at network level → manual only