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Merch Pipeline — live status

Auto-trend → AI design → partner listing. Zero human-in-the-loop after the initial partner signup.

Pipeline stages

1. Detect — pull trends from the open web RUNNING

Every 15 min: Google Trends RSS (US daily) + Reddit r/streetwear, r/streetwearstartup, r/graphic_design, r/design top of day. Outputs trend_candidates.latest.json.

Cron: ai.milo.trend-merch · ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.milo.trend-merch.plist · bin/milo-trend-merch-tick

2. Score — LLM merch-fit ranking GATED

Asks the LLM to rate each trend on merchability (0-10) and virality_potential (0-10) and emit a one-sentence design_concept. Outputs trend_merch_queue.latest.json.

Gated on TREND_MERCH_LLM_API_KEY. The free local Ollama tier was down at pipeline setup, so the cron uses a no-LLM fallback (raw composite_score ranking). Owner-gated step.

3. Concept research — daily 5-concept brief RUNNING

Once a day at 9am PT, fetches Google Trends + design subs, asks local LLM (or falls back to a hand-curated brief) for 5 fresh merch concepts. Outputs merch_concept_brief.latest.json. The "auto-trend research" the Owner asked for.

Cron: ai.milo.merch-trend-research · bin/milo-merch-trend-research-tick

4. Design — AI image generation RUNNING

For each top concept, prompts MiniMax image-01 with a curated, on-brand, screenprint-friendly prompt (limited palette, no real humans, no copyrighted logos, no combat-sports). Output: 1024×1024 JPG staging files at ~/.hermes/ops/revenue/factory/drafts/merch-designs/.

5 designs produced 2026-06-08: Anti-Standup Bot, The Model Is The Product, Operator Mode, Local-First Forever, Touch Grass (Offline). All verified on-brand, zero combat-sports.

5. Stage — Redbubble-ready upload bundle RUNNING

Each design is staged at ~/redbubble_uploads/<design-id>/ with: design.png, metadata.json (title, description, tags, royalty_pct, products enabled), and a rolling upload_manifest.json. CSV-bulk-upload format also generated.

Module: c30-trend-merch/src/trend_merch/redbubble.py · Follows the same OwnerGatedError pattern as ImageGenClient and PrintfulClient.

6. List — partner upload GATED (5 min owner setup)

Owner signs up at redbubble.com (artist account, free) → drags the staged PNGs from ~/redbubble_uploads/ into Redbubble Studio → sets the margin (25% recommended) → publish. After that, Redbubble handles production, payment, shipping, returns, customer service, and deposits monthly royalties to Milo's PayPal.

Parallel: TeePublic artist signup (same process). Same designs, second marketplace, second revenue stream.

Latest daily brief

The 5 most recent merch concepts from merch_concept_brief.latest.json. Refreshed at 9am PT daily. See them rendered on the merch page →

Operating cron schedule