Claim Reward Criteria & Troubleshooting Guide

This guide outlines the complete process for claiming rewards and provides troubleshooting steps for developers working on the Lightning Bounties Platform.

Claim Reward Criteria

To successfully claim a reward for a bounty, follow these steps:

1. Register and Log In with GitHub

⚠️ VERY Important ⚠️

It’s essential to register and log in to Lightning Bounties using your GitHub account before submitting your PR and clicking "Claim Reward."

• This ensures your reward is properly linked to your account and that you’re eligible to claim the bounty.

  • See FIRST TIME ONBOARDING For Detailed Instructions.

2. Find an Issue

• Browse available bounties on the app.lightningbounties.com feed

• Review the issue details, requirements, and reward amount

• Check if the bounty is still available (not claimed by someone else)

  • See Finding Bounties to Solve For Detailed Instructions.

3. Fix the Issue

• Fork the repository to your GitHub account

• Clone your fork locally and create a branch for your work

• Implement the fix according to the issue requirements

• Test your changes thoroughly to ensure they meet all acceptance criteria

• Push your changes to your fork

  • See Working on a Bounty For Detailed Instructions.

4. Create a Pull Request (PR) Targeting Main/Master

• Go to the original repository on GitHub.

• Click "Compare & pull request" for your branch.

⚠️ CRITICAL STEP ⚠️

In the PR description, include close #issue-number or closes #issue-number to link the PR to the issue.

ℹ️ Why?

GitHub only recognizes linked issues when the PR targets the repository's default branch (usually main or master).

• Learn more about linking PRs to issues.

• Provide a clear explanation of your changes and how they address the issue.

• You can include as much additional information as needed in your PR description.

• Submit the PR for review

Screenshot Example:

Example: PR description with correct close syntax and branch targeting.

ℹ️ INFO ℹ️

You may need to refresh the GitHub page to see the issue show up as linked.

5. Wait for Maintainer to Merge the PR

• The repository maintainer will review your PR.

  • Once it is approved and merged, the issue will be closed automatically if you used the correct closesyntax.

    • See Working on a Bounty For Detailed Instructions.

6. Claim Reward Process

• Manually claim your reward:

  • Visit app.lightningbounties.com and find the Bounty you solved

  • Click the "Claim Reward" button

  • Click the "Check" button to verify your eligibility

⚠️IMPORTANT⚠️

The reward process will not start automatically.

You must manually complete the claim steps on app.lightningbounties.com after your PR is merged.

Claim Reward & Check Interface on app.lightningbounties.com

🏁Complete 🏁

Once your PR is merged and your eligibility is verified, the reward will be deposited directly into your Lightning Bounties balance.

---

Complete Claim Process Visualization

Complete Claim Process

Complete Claim Process

Simplified Workflow

---

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues claiming your Lightning Bounty reward, use this guide to diagnose and resolve common problems.

For more details, see the Lightning Bounties Troubleshooting Guide and GitHub’s official documentation on linking pull requests to issues.

---

Issue Not Linked to PR

Example: PR without the required "close #issue-number" syntax

Problem Indicators:

• The PR does not show the linked issue in the GitHub interface.

• The issue remains open after your PR is merged.

• The reward does not process automatically.

Solutions:

1. Edit PR Description

If your PR is still open, you can update the PR description to add the correct closing keyword (e.g., close #issue-number).

• Navigate to your pull request on GitHub.

• Near the top of the PR page, locate the description section (below the title).

• Hover over the description area and click the "Edit" (... or pencil) icon.

• Add the close #issue-numberkeyword at the top of the PR description (not in a comment or commit message, as only the PR body triggers the automation for Lightning Bounties and GitHub).

What the Workflow Looks Like

2. Ask Repository Owner (If you can't edit the PR)

• Contact the repository owner or maintainer

• Ask them to edit the PR description to add the closing keyword

3. Create a Follow-up PR (If original PR was already merged)

If your original PR has already been merged without the correct closing keyword: (see below)

• Create a new PR with a minimal change (e.g., update documentation, add a comment, or fix a typo).

• In the PR description, include the appropriate closing keyword (e.g., close #42).

• Reference your original PR:

  close #42  
  This PR references the work completed in #123 (original PR).

• Notify the repository owner about this follow-up PR and explain its purpose.

• Once merged, return to Lightning Bounties and click "Claim Reward" and "Check."

Example of a follow-up PR created to properly link the issue for Lightning Bounty payment 🔽

Example: A minimal follow-up PR correctly referencing both the issue and original PR

4. Request an Override via Discord

If you are unable to resolve the issue through the above steps, join the Lightning Bounties Discord and request an override from the LB team.

• Add a comment to the PR, tagging the maintainer (e.g., @maintainer) and include the Lightning Bounties issue URL.

• Ask the maintainer to respond in the PR thread confirming that the PR qualifies for the bounty.

⚠️Important ⚠️

The maintainer must write a clear comment confirming the qualification (an emoji or reaction is not sufficient as proof).

For more details on linking PRs to issues, see GitHub’s guide on linking pull requests to issues.

Payment Not Received

Verification Steps:

1. Confirm the issue is marked as "closed" on GitHub

2. Verify the PR that closed it has been merged

3. Check that you clicked "Claim Reward" on Lightning Bounties

Solutions:

• Check User Balance: Ensure your account balance is updated on app.lightningbounties.com

• Verify Wallet Setup: Make sure your Lightning Network wallet is correctly configured

• Contact Support: If issues persist, reach out to the Lightning Bounties Discord for assistance

Common Errors and Solutions

Error	Description	Solution
Missing link syntax	PR doesn't include close #issue-number	Edit PR description or create follow-up PR
Wrong issue number	PR references incorrect issue	Edit PR or create new PR with correct number
Not claiming reward	Forgot to click "Claim Reward" button	Go to Lightning Bounties app and click button
Issue already claimed	Another dev claimed the bounty first	Check issue status before working on it

Best Practices

• Always double-check the issue number when adding close #issue-number syntax

• Communicate clearly with repository maintainers about your bounty claim

• Keep PRs focused on addressing the specific issue

• Don't forget to manually click "Claim Reward" on Lightning Bounties platform

---

ℹ️ Remember ℹ️

The Lightning Bounties system requires both proper GitHub issue linking through the close #issue-number syntax AND manual claiming through the Lightning Bounties platform.

Both steps are essential for successful reward processing

For additional assistance, join the Lightning Bounties Discord community.