For Developers

Prerequisites

• A GitHub account with owner or write access to the repository
• An Opentip account (sign in with GitHub or email)
• A linked wallet — an Opentip Smart Wallet (recommended) or any external EVM wallet on Base

Step 1 — Create an account

Go to /tip/signin and sign in with GitHub. This links your GitHub identity so you can verify repo ownership. Alternatively, create an account with email and password, then connect GitHub later from your dashboard.

Step 2 — Link a wallet

During onboarding (or from Dashboard → Wallets), create an Opentip Smart Wallet or connect an external wallet to use as your payout address. External wallets require signing a message to prove ownership.

This wallet will receive all tips for repos you register. New repo registrations default to your Smart Wallet. You can link multiple wallets and use different ones for different repos.

Step 3 — Register your repo

Visit your repo's page on Opentip:

If the repo is not yet registered, you will see a Claim this repo section. Click Verify ownership.

Click Register repo and confirm the transaction in your wallet. The repo is now registered and ready to receive tips.

AI-generated summary

Upon registration, Opentip automatically generates an AI summary of your repository using Groq. The summary is created by analyzing your README, configuration files, and source code. It includes:

• Description — what the project does and what problem it solves
• Tech stack — core technologies used in the project
• Features — 3-5 key features of the project
• Audience — who the project is built for

The summary is cached in the database and automatically refreshed every 7 days. Tippers see this summary on the About tab of your repo page, helping them understand what they are contributing to.

Tabbed repo pages

Each repo page on Opentip has two tabs:

The active tab is controlled via URL parameter (?tab=about or ?tab=tip), making it shareable.

Managing links

Repo owners can add custom links that appear on the About tab. These can be documentation, social media, community, or any other relevant URLs.

To manage links, go to Dashboard → Repos and choose Manage. That opens the repo manage page, where you can add up to 10 links, each with a title and URL. The same page updates the Worklog, the project logo, and the About summary.

Step 4 — Claim tips

When someone tips your repo, the tokens (USDC or ETH; OAR is coming soon) are held by the smart contract in a per-token pending balance. To withdraw, connect the wallet that was registered as the payout address and click Claim all.

The full pending balance, after the platform fee, is transferred to your wallet in one transaction.

Updating your payout address

If you want to rotate your payout wallet, you can call updatePayoutAddress on the contract from the current payout wallet. This changes the address for future claims without affecting pending balance.

Setting up your profile

Visit Dashboard to customize your public profile at /tip/dev/{login}:

• Profile picture — Upload a headshot or avatar (max 2MB)
• Header image — A banner that appears at the top of your profile (max 4MB)
• Bio — Tell people what you build. URLs are automatically linked.
• Social links — Website, GitHub, Twitter, Discord, Telegram, Farcaster

Dashboard overview

How the pull payment model works

Opentip uses a pull payment pattern. Tips are not sent directly to your wallet. Instead:

1. The tipper sends USDC (approve and transfer) or ETH (a payable call) to the contract. OAR is coming soon.
2. The contract deducts its platform fee to the treasury and credits the remainder to the repo's pending balance for that token. The tip page shows the split.
3. You (the payout address holder) call claimAll() to withdraw all tokens at once.

This model means you control when you withdraw, and the contract never has custody of your balance beyond what you are owed.