Turn your reach into the compute your work runs on.
One link, everywhere your work already lives — a README, a blog post, your docs, a QR code on a slide, a post on X, a Slack channel. Wherever it reaches, a supporter funds it in a single tap, and every dollar comes back as AI inference credit: the exact compute your next build runs on. You keep creating, they keep it running, and every fee is shown before anyone pays.
Where every cent of a $5 tip goes.
81% of every dollar reaches the maintainer as compute — and the whole ledger is shown before anyone pays. That transparency is the trust move; the competition doesn't make it.
Maintaining is free. Running isn't.
Every push burns Actions time. A busy repo blows past the free tier by mid-month.
Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor write and review your code — billed by the token.
The LLM features and demos inside your project cost money on every single call.
Your readers can't always fix the bug.
They can cover the compute that will.
One badge. Paste it anywhere.
README, blog, docs site — anywhere Markdown or HTML renders. Pick a style, copy, done.
Live preview uses @copyleftdev. In your snippet, swap YOUR-HANDLE for your GitHub username.
Every cent, disclosed.
Most platforms hide their cut. We print the whole ledger — here's exactly where a $25 tip goes.
85.9% of a $25 tip becomes inference credit — spendable on any model, spend-limited and revocable. It's compute, not cash: never withdrawable.
The honest answers
What is TokenTip?
TokenTip is a tip jar for open-source maintainers where each tip buys AI inference credit — compute, not cash. A reader clicks a README badge, pays by card through Stripe, and the maintainer receives spend-limited, revocable API credit redeemable on any model through OpenRouter.
How do open-source maintainers get paid for AI and compute costs?
Modern open source runs on paid compute — CI minutes, AI coding agents, and inference bills. TokenTip lets a maintainer add one README badge; readers fund that compute directly, and the maintainer receives inference credit they can spend on any model. It is the only tip jar that pays maintainers back in the same currency their project burns.
How is TokenTip different from Buy Me a Coffee or GitHub Sponsors?
Buy Me a Coffee and GitHub Sponsors send cash, which maintainers then have to convert into the AI/compute their project actually needs. TokenTip delivers the compute directly as spend-limited inference credit, closing the loop. Every fee is disclosed on the page before you pay.
What can maintainers spend the credit on?
The credit is a spend-limited API key usable on any model available through OpenRouter — Claude, GPT, Gemini, Llama, and more. It is metered AI inference, not cash: revocable, capped, and never withdrawable.
Is it safe to tip? How are payments handled?
Card details are entered on Stripe and never touch TokenTip's servers. Identity is your GitHub account, so there is no new password to create. Delivered keys are spend-limited and revocable.
How much of my tip reaches the maintainer as credit?
About 87% of a tip becomes inference credit at typical amounts — for example a $25 tip delivers roughly $21.48 of credit after card processing, the platform fee, and the credit-load fee. The full itemized breakdown is shown live on the tip page before you pay.
Can the credit be withdrawn as cash?
No. TokenTip credit is closed-loop, non-cash prepaid access redeemable only for AI inference. It is not a deposit, stored monetary value, or a money-transmission instrument — it is compute, delivered.