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Prepare your account to work on funded issues

alexanmtz Written by
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Table of contents

Create your account

  1. Sign up and verify your email.
  2. Complete your profile so maintainers and sponsors can identify you.
  3. Add payout details if you plan to receive payments.
  4. Review task and payment rules before starting funded work.

Prepare your profile for assignments

  • Add your main skills (language, framework, tooling) so maintainers can match you with issues faster.
  • Link your GitHub account and make sure your username is correct, since assignment and PR tracking depend on it.
  • Write a short description of your experience level and preferred task type (bug fix, feature, documentation, refactor).
  • Keep your timezone and response availability updated to reduce delays during review.

Choose the right first task

  • Start with issues that have clear acceptance criteria and reproducible steps.
  • Prefer tasks with active maintainers and recent comments.
  • Check whether tests or setup steps are already documented in the repository.
  • Avoid taking multiple funded tasks at once until you have completed your first full delivery cycle.

Understand how approval works

  • Assignment confirms that you are the contributor expected to deliver the issue.
  • Work is evaluated against scope, quality, and acceptance criteria defined in the issue.
  • Payment release depends on acceptance, not only on opening a Pull Request.
  • If scope changes during implementation, ask for written confirmation before continuing.

Contributor checklist before coding

  1. Re-read the issue and list expected outcomes.
  2. Confirm setup instructions and run baseline tests/lint locally.
  3. Create a branch with a clear name linked to the issue.
  4. Plan small, reviewable commits.
  5. Keep notes/screenshots for your final PR description.

Two ways to find a payment path

A listed, funded issue gives you an amount and an assignment process before delivery. You can also contribute through a project’s normal workflow and discuss payment with its maintainer. In that case, clarify the amount and approval route before assuming the work will be paid.

Example: your first funded contribution

You find an issue with a reproducible bug and clear acceptance criteria. Ask a question, request assignment, make the fix in a branch, and open a linked Pull Request with the test result. The maintainer reviews and accepts the change, then releases payment. Your Claims and Payouts pages show the later money stages.

For the detailed steps, continue with Work on an issue. For payout setup, see Set up a payout method.