We present a generic system of three harmonic modes coupled parametrically with a time-varying coupling modulated by a combination of two pump harmonics, and show how this system provides the minimal platform to realize nonreciprocal couplings that can lead to gainless photon circulation, and phase-preserving or phase-sensitive directional amplification. Explicit frequency-dependent calculations within this minimal paradigm highlight the separation of amplification and directionality bandwidths, universal in such schemes. We also study the influence of counter-rotating interactions that can adversely affect directionality and associated bandwidth; we find that these effects can be mitigated by suitably designing the properties of the auxiliary mode that plays the role of an engineered reservoir to the amplification mode space.
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