Referral Program
appeeky/aso-skills
When the user wants to design, launch, or optimize an in-app referral / invite / share-to-earn program — including reward structure, mechanics, fraud prevention, deep link setup, and viral…
Suede-owned referral and affiliate program discipline. An agent skill from JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.
Install Suede Referrals
$ npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills suede-referrals --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/suede-referrals .claude/skills/suede-referrals && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "suede-referrals" agent skill from https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills/tree/main/skills/suede-referrals into .claude/skills/suede-referrals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "suede-referrals", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills/tree/main/skills/suede-referralsType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills suede-referrals --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/suede-referrals .agents/skills/suede-referrals && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "suede-referrals" agent skill from https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills/tree/main/skills/suede-referrals into .agents/skills/suede-referrals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "suede-referrals", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills suede-referrals --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/suede-referrals .cursor/skills/suede-referrals && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "suede-referrals" agent skill from https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills/tree/main/skills/suede-referrals into .cursor/skills/suede-referrals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "suede-referrals", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.git --path skills/suede-referrals--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills suede-referrals --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/suede-referrals .gemini/skills/suede-referrals && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "suede-referrals" agent skill from https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills/tree/main/skills/suede-referrals into .gemini/skills/suede-referrals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "suede-referrals", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills suede-referralsInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/suede-referrals .github/skills/suede-referrals && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "suede-referrals" agent skill from https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills/tree/main/skills/suede-referrals into .github/skills/suede-referrals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "suede-referrals", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills suede-referrals --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/suede-referrals .opencode/skills/suede-referrals && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "suede-referrals" agent skill from https://github.com/JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills/tree/main/skills/suede-referrals into .opencode/skills/suede-referrals/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "suede-referrals", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
suede-referrals- GitHub stars
- 127
- Token cost
- ~2.1k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 953 words
- Files
- 6 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 78
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Suede-owned referral and affiliate program discipline. An agent skill from JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.
- Works in 7 steps: Program Type → Current State → Product Fit → …
- Designing refer-a-friend mechanics
- SKILL.md covers Before Starting, Referral vs. Affiliate, Referral Program Design and Program Optimization, plus 6 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Suede Referrals is an agent skill from JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills. Suede-owned referral and affiliate program discipline. Use when designing refer-a-friend mechanics, ambassador or partner incentives, fraud controls, attribution, payout logic, or viral-loop measurement. NOT FOR: executing payouts or changing billing, launch-wide packaging (use suede-launch-packaging), lifecycle messaging (use suede-emails), or reporting unverified referral lift.
Its SKILL.md is about 2.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 8 other files, including reference files (for example `CARD.md`, `agents/openai.yaml` and `evals/evals.json`).
It sits in Marketing & SEO, covering Referral and retention marketing and Influencer and creator marketing. The repository describes itself as: Open-source AI skills for SEO, AI search visibility, conversion copy, marketing strategy, and business operations. Reusable workflows for Claude Code and Codex, plus code review… The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Designing refer-a-friend mechanics
- Partner incentives
- Viral-loop measurement
Example prompts
- “/suede-referrals”
Workflow steps
7 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit e5f94d7. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Suede Referrals loads about 2.1k tokens when it runs, and up to ~4k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 100 tokens; SKILL.md has 953 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills at commit e5f94d7, republished under its MIT licence (© JasonColapietro). 953 words, ~2,117 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/suede-referrals/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 5 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.- name
- suede-referrals
- description
- Suede-owned referral and affiliate program discipline. Use when designing refer-a-friend mechanics, ambassador or partner incentives, fraud controls, attribution, payout logic, or viral-loop measurement. NOT FOR: executing payouts or changing billing, launch-wide packaging (use suede-launch-packaging), lifecycle messaging (use suede-emails), or reporting unverified referral lift.
- metadata.version
- 2.0.0
Suede Referral & Affiliate Programs
Suede Referrals designs measurable customer, affiliate, and partner loops from incentive economics through attribution and fraud controls. It separates modeled loop performance from observed results and keeps activation and payouts behind approval.
Before Starting
Check for product marketing context first:
If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.
Gather this context (ask if not provided):
1. Program Type
- Customer referral program, affiliate program, or both?
- B2B or B2C?
- What's the average customer LTV?
- What's your current CAC from other channels?
2. Current State
- Existing referral/affiliate program?
- Current referral rate (% who refer)?
- What incentives have you tried?
3. Product Fit
- Is your product shareable?
- Does it have network effects?
- Do customers naturally talk about it?
4. Resources
- Tools/platforms you use or consider?
- Budget for referral incentives?
Referral vs. Affiliate
Customer Referral Programs
Best for:
- Existing customers recommending to their network
- Products with natural word-of-mouth
- Lower-ticket or self-serve products
Characteristics:
- Referrer is an existing customer
- One-time or limited rewards
- Higher trust, lower volume
Affiliate Programs
Best for:
- Reaching audiences you don't have access to
- Content creators, influencers, bloggers
- Higher-ticket products that justify commissions
Characteristics:
- Affiliates may not be customers
- Ongoing commission relationship
- Higher volume, variable trust
Referral Program Design
The Referral Loop
Trigger Moment → Share Action → Convert Referred → Reward → (Loop)Step 1: Identify Trigger Moments
High-intent moments:
- Right after first "aha" moment
- After achieving a milestone
- After exceptional support
- After renewing or upgrading
Prompt cadence for customers who have not referred: day 7, day 30, day 60,
and after any milestone. The timing is this skill's call; the message copy is
not: hand that to suede-emails.
Step 2: Design Share Mechanism
Ranked by effectiveness:
- In-product sharing (highest conversion)
- Personalized link
- Email invitation
- Social sharing
- Referral code (works offline)
Step 3: Choose Incentive Structure
Single-sided rewards (referrer only): Simpler, works for high-value products
Double-sided rewards (both parties): Higher conversion, win-win framing
Tiered rewards: Gamifies referral process, increases engagement
For examples and incentive sizing: See references/program-examples.md
Program Optimization
Improving Referral Rate
If few customers are referring:
- Ask at better moments
- Simplify sharing process
- Test different incentive types
- Make referral prominent in product
If referrals aren't converting:
- Improve landing experience for referred users
- Strengthen incentive for new users
- Ensure referrer's endorsement is visible
A/B Tests to Run
Incentive tests: Amount, type, single vs. double-sided, timing
Messaging tests: Program description, CTA copy, landing page copy
Placement tests: Where and when the referral prompt appears
Common Problems & Fixes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Low awareness | Add prominent in-app prompts |
| Low share rate | Simplify to one click |
| Low conversion | Optimize referred user experience |
| Fraud/abuse | Apply the fraud controls below |
| One-time referrers | Add tiered/gamified rewards |
Fraud Controls
Read references/affiliate-programs.md §Fraud Prevention before designing rewards or writing program terms: it carries the technical, policy, and structural control set (delayed payout after activation, device and IP signals, clawback on refunds, per-period caps, manual review of suspicious patterns). Every program in this skill uses it, customer referral programs included, not only affiliate programs.
Set these thresholds explicitly, because the reference leaves them open:
- Name the qualifying downstream event that releases a reward (a paid conversion or day-N retention, N stated), never signup alone.
- Hold payouts until the refund/chargeback window has closed, and state that window in days.
- State the dollar amount above which a payout goes to manual review before it is released.
Show full SKILL.md (378 more words)Show less
Measuring Success
Key Metrics
Program health:
- Active referrers (referred someone in last 30 days)
- Referral conversion rate
- Rewards earned/paid
Business impact:
- % of new customers from referrals
- CAC via referral vs. other channels
- LTV of referred customers
- Referral program ROI
Typical Findings
Industry-reported ranges, published by referral-platform vendors and not measured on this product. Use them to calibrate a recommendation; never assert them as a result this program will produce or has produced.
- Referred customers have 16-25% higher LTV
- Referred customers have 18-37% lower churn
- Referred customers refer others at 2-3x rate
Launch Checklist
Before Launch
- Define program goals and success metrics
- Design incentive structure
- Build or configure referral tool
- Create referral landing page
- Set up tracking and attribution
- Define fraud prevention rules
- Create terms and conditions
- Test complete referral flow
Launch
- Announce to existing customers
- Add in-app referral prompts
- Update website with program details
- Brief support team
Post-Launch (First 30 Days)
- Review conversion funnel
- Identify top referrers
- Gather feedback
- Fix friction points
- Send reminder emails to non-referrers
Affiliate Programs
For affiliate program design, commission structures, recruitment, fraud prevention, and tools: See references/affiliate-programs.md
Tool Integrations
These are evaluation examples, not guaranteed integrations. Verify current vendor documentation, pricing, account access, attribution behavior, payout controls, tax support, and data-export terms before recommending a platform.
| Tool | Best For | Verify Before Use |
|---|---|---|
| Rewardful / Tolt | SaaS affiliate programs | Billing integration, attribution, payouts |
| Mention Me | Enterprise referral programs | Identity, fraud, and reporting controls |
| Dub.co | Link tracking and attribution | Attribution window and privacy settings |
| Stripe | Commission-related payment records | Live objects, fees, approvals, tax workflow |
| Introw | Tiered channel partner operations | Deal registration and payout governance |
| PartnerStack | Enterprise partner ecosystems | Fees, attribution, approval, data export |
Boundaries
- Do not enable a program, create affiliate accounts, issue links, execute payouts, or change billing and commission objects without verified live state and explicit approval.
- Do not invent attribution, conversion, fraud, or viral-coefficient results; distinguish modeled economics from observed data.
- Do not decide tax, labor, privacy, contest, endorsement, or incentive compliance. Surface the jurisdiction-specific review needed before launch.
Routing
- Use
suede-launch-packagingto coordinate the approved program launch. - Use
suede-emailsfor referral invitation and nurture sequences. - Use
suede-marketing-psychologyto test incentive framing. - Use
suede-ab-testingto design and evaluate the incentive, messaging, and placement tests above. - Use
suede-analyticsto define and read referral attribution.
© JasonColapietro, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
SKILL.md and 5 other files (references) in skills/suede-referrals of JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills.
- SKILL.md
- CARD.md
- agents/openai.yaml
- evals/evals.json
- references/affiliate-programs.md
- references/program-examples.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit e5f94d7
Compare with similar skills
Suede Referrals next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suede Referrals this skillJasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills | 127 | — | ~2.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Referral Programappeeky/aso-skills | 2.2k | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| 18 Referral Programminhnv0807/ai-business-skills | 609 | — | ~1.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Ecommerce Marketing Strategy BuilderLeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills | 2.2k | 1 repos | ~4.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Referralscoreyhaines31/marketingskills | 54k | 2 repos | ~2.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Referral Programfreekmurze/dotfiles | 1k | 17 repos | ~1.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | None |
Similar skills
18 Referral Program
minhnv0807/ai-business-skills
Dung khi muon khach cu keo khach moi — thiet ke chuong trinh gioi thieu, affiliate, ma moi ban: co che thuong mot chieu hay hai chieu, muc thuong, cach theo doi, chong gian lan va kich ban ra mat…
Ecommerce Marketing Strategy Builder
LeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills
Full-stack e-commerce marketing strategy builder. An agent skill from LeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills.
Referrals
coreyhaines31/marketingskills
When the user wants to create, optimize, or analyze a referral program, affiliate program, or word-of-mouth strategy.
Referral Program
freekmurze/dotfiles
When the user wants to create, optimize, or analyze a referral program, affiliate program, or word-of-mouth strategy.
Audience Research
ScrapeCreators/social-media-research-skills
A skill your agent uses when the user wants to evaluate a creator, influencer, or brand audience using public profile signals, TikTok audience demographics, follower/following data, comments…
More from JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills
All 78 skills in this repoSuede Release Linter
JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills
Lints a local music or media release folder and scores its readiness, flagging missing files, weak metadata, artwork and stem problems, split gaps and rights blockers.
Creator Rights Passport
JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills
Turns messy creator materials into an offline rights-and-provenance transfer package: hashed asset inventory, intake manifest, credits, license notes and a missing-information report.
Suede Clip to Guide
JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills
Turns a video clip, interview moment or transcript into a package that bridges viewers to a long-form guide, with rights, claim and approval gates along the way.
Suede MCP Release QA
JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills
Checks a Suede AI MCP server release against a live process: the full JSON-RPC lifecycle, schemas, annotations, malformed input, catalog agreement and install docs.
Android App Factory
JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills
Takes a native Android app from product idea to Google Play release, covering Compose architecture, policy checks, privacy, billing, testing, signing and rollout.
Suede Ad Creative
JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills
Suede-owned paid-media creative system for hooks, headlines, primary text, static and motion concepts, platform specs, review pages, and test-ready variant batches.
Related
Categories
Questions about Suede Referrals
What does Suede Referrals do?
Suede-owned referral and affiliate program discipline. An agent skill from JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills. Suede Referrals is an agent skill from JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills. Suede-owned referral and affiliate program discipline.
When should I use Suede Referrals?
Suede Referrals fits situations like: designing refer-a-friend mechanics; partner incentives; viral-loop measurement.
How do I install Suede Referrals in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/suede-referrals in JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills) into .claude/skills/suede-referrals in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Suede Referrals in Codex?
Run `npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/suede-referrals in JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills) into .agents/skills/suede-referrals in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Suede Referrals in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills --skill suede-referrals -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/suede-referrals, .gemini/skills/suede-referrals, .github/skills/suede-referrals and .opencode/skills/suede-referrals in your project.
What does Suede Referrals need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Suede Referrals is instructions for the agent only.
Does Suede Referrals access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Suede Referrals safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Suede Referrals use?
Suede Referrals is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Suede Referrals use?
About 2.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8.5k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 1.9k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Suede Referrals?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Suede Referrals: Referral Program (appeeky/aso-skills, 2.2k stars), 18 Referral Program (minhnv0807/ai-business-skills, 609 stars), Ecommerce Marketing Strategy Builder (LeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills, 2.2k stars) and Referrals (coreyhaines31/marketingskills, 54k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Suede Referrals?
JasonColapietro (a GitHub user) maintains it in JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills, which has 127 GitHub stars. The repository holds 78 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 10, 2026.
Source: JasonColapietro/suede-creator-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.