Credits & sponsorship

Why credits exist

Seeding a repository uses real disk space. Without any limits, a small number of people could fill the node with thousands of repositories, pushing out content that others care about. Credits are a lightweight way to allocate that space fairly.

Every signed-in user starts with a small number of credits. Each credit represents one repository slot you're vouching for on this instance.

What you can do with a credit

• Create a new repository — When you create a repository at /new, 1 credit is spent and you become the repository's first sponsor.
• Import an existing repository — When you import a repository by rad: ID at /import, 1 credit is spent and you become the first sponsor.
• Sponsor any repository — You can add your sponsorship to any repository already on this instance. Each sponsorship holds 1 credit for as long as you're sponsoring.

Credits are not consumed permanently — they're held while you're sponsoring a repository. Unsponsor the repository and your credit comes back.

Sponsoring a repository

Sponsoring a repository is how you signal that you want it to remain available on this instance. On any repository page, look for the Sponsors section in the right sidebar.

• Click Sponsor to add your sponsorship (costs 1 credit).
• Click Unsponsor to remove it (returns 1 credit to you).

The sponsors list in the sidebar shows everyone currently supporting that repository. The more sponsors a repository has, the more confident the instance operators can be that it should stay.

Zero-sponsor warning

If a repository has no sponsors at all, it shows an amber warning banner at the top of its page. This means nobody is currently vouching for it and it may be removed from the instance in a future cleanup to reclaim storage space.

If you see this on a repository you care about, sponsor it — the cost is 1 credit and you can always get it back by unsponsoring later.

Getting more credits

Credits are currently granted by instance admins. If you need more, reach out to an admin and explain what you're trying to host. In the future, credits may also be available through a subscription.

You can also free up credits by unsponsoring repositories you no longer care about.

Viewing your credits and sponsorships

Your profile has a Credits & Sponsorships tab (visible only to you) that shows your current credit balance and every repository you're sponsoring. From that page you can also unsponsor a repository directly.

To get there, go to your profile and click the Credits & Sponsorships tab in the navigation bar.

Importing a repository

If you visit a rad: repository URL that isn't seeded on this instance yet, you'll see a page explaining the situation with an Import this repository button. You can also go directly to /import and enter the rad: identifier.

Once imported, the node begins syncing the repository from the Radicle network. You become the first sponsor automatically.