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Adding Anonymous Rewards to a Bounty

Adding Anonymous Rewards to a Bounty

Lightning Bounties supports anonymous contributions, allowing anyone to add rewards to existing bounties without logging into Lightning Bounties or needing a GitHub account. This feature enables broader community participation and makes it easy for users to support important bounties or fixing issues with sats.

Understanding Anonymous Contributions

Anonymous rewards allow anyone to top-up an existing bounty without requiring a Lightning Bounties platform account. This approach:

  • Lowers barriers to participation for occasional contributors

  • Preserves privacy for users who prefer not to create accounts

  • Enables quick contributions. All you need is a Lightning Wallet that supports Bolt 11 invoices.

  • Supports spontaneous funding when users discover important issues

When to Use Anonymous Rewards

Scenario
Why Choose Anonymous

One-time contributions

You don't plan to regularly use the platform

Privacy concerns

You prefer not to link contributions to your identity

Quick funding

You want to support an issue immediately without having to Log-In with your GitHub.

No GitHub Account

Anyone can contribute sats to open bounties—no developer experience or GitHub account required.

Step-by-Step Anonymous Reward Process

Step 1: Navigate to the Bounty

1

Visit app.lightningbounties.com

Non-logged-in state on Lightning Bounties Platform
2

Browse the bounty feed to find the issue you want to support

Verify the bounty is still active (no trophy icon indicates it's unsolved)

No ⛔"Trophy" icon: Bounty is open for you to solve.
No ⛔"Trophy" icon: Bounty is open for you to solve.
"Trophy" 🏆 icon present: Bounty is solved & claimed.
"Trophy" 🏆 icon present: Bounty is solved & claimed.
3

Click on the bounty card to view full details

No Trophy Means It's Open to Add Rewards to
No Trophy Means It's Open to Add Rewards to

Step 2: Create Anonymous Reward

1

Click "Add Reward To This Issue" on the bounty detail page

  • Review the issue details to confirm this is the bounty you want to support

You'l see this on every open bounty
2

Enter the amount in sats you want to contribute to the open Bounty

Set the Amount of Sats you wish to add to the Open Bounty
We will use 5 sats for this demo but you'll likely commit more rewards
3

Click on Advanced Settings

Critical step for posting anonymous rewards
4

Set lock time for your contribution (optional)

Choose between minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months
Choose between minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months
5

Click on Make reward anonymous

Critical step for posting anonymous rewards
6

Click on Add Reward

This button is available on every open bounty, whether you’re logged in or not!
7

Almost instantly you should see the "Reward added successfully" pop-up

Should See pop-up appear
8

See who contributed at the bottom

Scroll to the Bottom of The Bounty
9

Your anonymous reward is now live!

Should See Image Above

Anonymous Contribution Scenarios

Scenario:
Use Case:
Process:

Supporting Open Source Projects

You discover a critical bug in a project you use daily

  • Find the bounty on Lightning Bounties

  • Add an anonymous reward to increase incentives

  • Share the bounty link with other affected

Community-Driven Funding

A developer community rallies around an important feature request

  • Multiple anonymous contributors add rewards

  • Total bounty grows to attract skilled developers

  • Community members share progress on forums

Privacy-Focused Contributions

You want to support development but maintain privacy

  • Use anonymous rewards exclusively

  • Verify payments via Branta

  • Track bounty progress without account linkage

Anonymous Rewards Limitations

No Account Benefits

  • Cannot track contributions in a personal dashboard

  • No contribution history or statistics

  • Cannot reclaim funds if lock time expires

Limited Support Options

  • No direct support resolution through platform account

  • Cannot modify contributions after payment

  • Limited communication with platform support

Converting Anonymous to Account-Based Contributions

If you find yourself regularly contributing anonymously, consider:

  1. Login through GitHub on Lightning Bounties for better tracking

  2. Using the deposit system for more efficient contributions

Anonymous Reward Best Practices

Contribution Sizing

  • Start with smaller amounts to test the process

  • Consider multiple smaller contributions rather than one large payment

  • Factor in Lightning Network fees for very small amounts

Issue Selection

  • Choose well-defined bounties with clear acceptance criteria

  • Support active projects with responsive maintainers

  • Verify issue relevance before contributing

Community Coordination

  • Share bounty links in relevant forums and chat channels

  • Encourage others to add anonymous rewards

  • Monitor progress through public GitHub activity

Anonymous rewards democratize bounty funding by removing account barriers while maintaining the security and transparency that makes Lightning Bounties effective. This feature enables broader community participation in open-source development funding

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