For developers
Where the sponsor card appears
TipCLI appears inside developer-owned workflow moments such as CLI startup, dev-server ready, scaffold complete, or a local tool dashboard. It is one labeled card, not a feed or popup.
Get paid for the open-source tool you already maintain.
Add one sponsor card to your dev tool. Sponsors pay before review. TipCLI serves approved cards. You earn from verified delivery.
Free to add. One sponsor card maximum. Disable any time with TIPCLI_DISABLED=1.
dev@machine:~/tool
dev@machine:$ npm run dev
Validating config
Starting local services
Loading routes
Ready on localhost:5173
Approved sponsor card
One reviewed developer-tool message, shown at the right moment.
Privacy-safe delivery record created.
dev@machine:$
The money loop
A sponsor pays. A reviewed tool shows one card. The maintainer gets paid after verified delivery.
TipCLI has two customers on purpose: developers who own trusted workflow surfaces, and advertisers who want to reach developers without cookies, retargeting, or pretending terminal users are web visitors.
For advertisers
Advertisers pay through Stripe Checkout
Advertisers create a campaign, choose a package, and reserve budget before review. Manual review happens before serving so broken, misleading, or poor-fit campaigns do not reach developer tools.
For developers
When a developer earns
A maintainer earns only from eligible, verified sponsor delivery after the publisher project is approved. No paid delivery before publisher eligibility approval.
For developers
When payout happens
TipCLI verifies delivery, records payout evidence, and uses Stripe Connect as the primary payout path. Manual payout is only an operator fallback. No fake balance, no projected earnings dressed up as money owed.
Product loop
From advertiser payment to publisher payout, every state is visible.
This is the actual operating model: advertiser campaign, Stripe payment, human review, one card served in a developer workflow, privacy-safe tracking, and payout status that does not pretend unverified delivery is cash.
example lifecycle: funded, reviewed, delivered, paid out
Advertiser funds campaign
Stripe paymentPaid budget is collected with Stripe before delivery starts.
Operator reviews fit
Manual approvalA human checks category, destination, and developer experience.
Publisher CLI asks
No terminal logsThe privacy-safe SDK requests one eligible sponsor card.
Terminal card is served
Verified deliveryOnly approved paid campaigns can render in the tool.
Stats update
Delivery recordsImpressions and clicks update without cookies or fingerprints.
Publisher payout status
Connect payoutVerified payable, pending payout, and paid payout stay separate until Connect payout evidence exists.
publisher-cliapproved
tool:$ npm run dev
requesting sponsor for frontend surface...
Verified sponsor card
Approved paid campaign, matched to this category.
Rendered once, without source-code access, cookies, terminal logs, or developer fingerprinting.
tool:$
Privacy-safe delivery stats
Counts update as delivery happens. No payout balance is implied.
Impression recorded+1
Click recorded+1
Publisher payout
Connect ready after verified delivery. Manual fallback stays operator-only.
- Verified payable
- verified state
- Paid payout
- requires evidence
How TipCLI works
Four moving parts, all visible to you. No hidden ad network, no fake dashboard numbers, no surprise sponsor placements.
01
Add TipCLI to your tool
Install the SDK and choose a natural surface: CLI startup, dev-server ready, scaffolder complete, or another local workflow moment.
02
Advertisers fund campaigns
Advertisers reserve budget with Stripe Checkout. TipCLI manually reviews every campaign before it can run.
03
Your users see one labeled card
The card is clearly sponsored, category-matched, and shown at most once per process. No popups, no retargeting.
04
You earn from verified delivery
TipCLI counts eligible impressions, creates payout evidence after review, and uses Stripe Connect as the primary payout path.
You decide what can appear.
TipCLI should feel like a revenue setting inside your developer tool. You choose the surface, categories, and safety rules before enabling delivery.
One sponsor card maximum per process.
Category controls for AI, infra, database, security, DevOps, and frontend.
CI skip, fast timeout, silent failure, and TIPCLI_DISABLED=1.
Manual campaign review before anything reaches your users.
When you get paid, and how much.
Advertisers pay to reach developers. TipCLI takes a platform fee and pays maintainers whose tools delivered eligible sponsor impressions.
Default split
70% maintainer / 30% TipCLI
Payout floor
$25 minimum
You earn from verified impressions of the sponsor card in your tool.
CI, bot-like traffic, and disabled SDK runs are excluded from delivery.
Campaign terms and available rates are shown before you enable a card.
Stripe Connect is the primary payout path after verified delivery; manual payout remains an operator fallback.
We will not promise a fake dollar amount. Earnings depend on sponsor budget, category fit, and verified delivery. No campaign, no card, no surprise. Read the Payout policy for Stripe Connect payout rules and fallback exceptions.
Here is everything TipCLI sees.
The entire request is intentionally small. If TipCLI ever needs more, we will say what changed and why.
{
"publisherKey": "pub_live_...",
"surface": "cli-startup",
"category": "ai",
"event": "impression"
}Never collected
source code
terminal logs
environment variables
git remotes
device fingerprints
cookies
No cookies, no terminal-log upload, no environment inspection, no source code access, and no developer fingerprinting.
Three lines to integrate.
The SDK skips CI, supports `TIPCLI_DISABLED=1`, times out quickly, and fails silently if the API is unavailable.
Public install starts after the `@tipcli/sdk` npm publish gate. Private launch projects should use the dashboard snippet or local workspace package until the registry check passes.
import { showSponsorCard } from "@tipcli/sdk";
await showSponsorCard({
publisherKey: process.env.TIPCLI_PUBLISHER_KEY,
surface: "cli-startup",
category: "frontend",
});For advertisers: reach developers without creepy adtech.
TipCLI is maintainer-first on purpose. That is why the sponsor surface can be credible: reviewed campaigns, clear disclosure, workflow context, and no hidden retargeting machinery.
Advertisers reserve campaign budget with Stripe Checkout before manual review. Read the Advertiser policy for review, revision, refund, and no-guarantee terms.
Questions maintainers ask first
Is this just ads in my terminal?
No. TipCLI is a sponsorship surface: one clearly labeled card, shown at most once per run, only in categories the maintainer allows.
How much will I make?
It depends on sponsor budget, category, and verified impressions. We do not print fake earnings. Campaign terms are shown before you enable delivery.
When do I get paid?
After verified paid delivery, payout evidence, and Stripe Connect readiness. Manual fallback is only for operator exceptions when Connect cannot complete the transfer.
What do you collect from users?
Only the fields needed to request and record sponsor delivery: publisher key, surface, category, and event type. No source code, terminal logs, cookies, environment variables, or fingerprinting.
What happens if TipCLI is down?
The SDK times out quickly and fails silently. Your tool keeps running normally with no sponsor card.
Can I turn it off?
Yes. Disable the SDK with TIPCLI_DISABLED=1 or remove the integration. Maintainers stay in control of their tools.
Why this exists: open source creates enormous value. Maintainers often do not capture it.
TipCLI is a small funding layer for the developer workflow moments maintainers already own.
180M+
developers on GitHub
GitHub Octoverse 2025
395M
public and open-source repos
GitHub Octoverse 2025
$8.8T
estimated OSS demand-side value
Harvard Business School
60%
maintainers are unpaid hobbyists
Tidelift 2024