> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.kumbaya.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.kumbaya.xyz/social-features/tipping.md).

# Tipping

Kumbaya runs on tips. When you trade, comment, or interact, you build up a balance in your **Tip Jar** that you can send to creators and posters whose work you appreciate. Tips go directly on-chain - Kumbaya doesn't custody them.

## Where tips come from

Two ways your Tip Jar fills up:

1. **Tip bonus on every buy.** When you buy a token on the launchpad, a tiny portion of the trade (typically 3%) is credited to your Tip Jar instead of you. It's a "tip bonus" - credit you can later send to whichever creator or post you want.
2. **Direct credit deposits.** Some flows (rewards, platform-side seeding) credit your Tip Jar directly.

Your Tip Jar is on-chain (held in the launchpad's tip ledger contract). You can see your balance any time - the **Tip Jar** button is in the top header and the left nav.

## How to tip

Every yap in a token thread has a small **$ button** in its action bar (next to the like / dislike controls). Hovering it shows a tooltip with the post's tip totals, your share so far, and your available balance for that token.

To tip a post:

1. **Tap the $ button once** to queue a single tip unit. Or **hold the button** (long-press) to keep adding units rapidly - useful when you want to tip more than the minimum.
2. As you queue units, a small popover opens under the button showing:
   * The amount you've queued (in token / USD).
   * Whether it's coming **From Jar** (your tip credits for that token) or **From Wallet** (a fallback if your jar balance can't cover what you queued).
   * A countdown bar - the tip fires automatically a moment after your last tap, so quick repeated taps stack into a single transaction instead of one tx per tap.
3. Wait out the short countdown. The queued tip is relayed on-chain by Kumbaya's guardian, so **you don't pay gas**. Your wallet may prompt you to sign a one-line gasless message; that's the only signature needed.
4. The tip lands in the recipient's bucket on that token. They claim it from their **Tip Jar → Received** tab.

The token doing the tipping is automatic - it's whichever token's thread the post is in. There's no per-tip token picker; if you're tipping a yap in the $FOO thread, you're tipping in $FOO credits.

> ⚠️ **You can't tip yourself.** The contract rejects self-tips, so tipping your own content is not possible.

> 💡 **Cancel a queued tip.** If you tap once and change your mind, click outside the popover before the countdown ends - the queued tip is dropped without firing.

## How tips reach creators

When you tip a creator their token's tip credits:

* **Pre-graduation**, the tip splits into a **liquid** portion (the creator can withdraw immediately) and a **vested** portion (locked until the token graduates, then unlocked).
* **Post-graduation**, the full amount is liquid - no waiting.

## Your tip balance - what you can (and can't) do with it

The tip credits in your Tip Jar are denominated in **specific launchpad tokens** - i.e. if you bought $FOO and got tip-bonus credits, those credits are $FOO credits. They live inside the launchpad's tip ledger; they're not freely transferable like a normal ERC-20 balance.

The only thing you can do with them is **tip them to someone else** (a yapper, a creator, anyone except yourself). You can't withdraw your own tip-jar credits to your wallet, and you can't sell or trade them - they're a use-it-or-lose-it credit.

### ⏱ Use them before they're burned

Tip credits are not held indefinitely. Once a token **graduates**, a burn countdown starts on those credits. If you haven't tipped them by the time the countdown elapses, they're **permanently destroyed**.

The Tip Jar surfaces this directly: as soon as a token graduates, each credit balance for that token shows the **time remaining** next to it (formatted as `Xd Yh`, `Xh Ym`, or `Xm`). Hover the countdown for a reminder: *"Credits burn in {time}. Tip some content before it's too late."*

The countdown duration is set by Kumbaya governance (1–90 days). Pre-graduation there's no timer - credits stick around for as long as the token sits on the bonding curve. The clock only starts at graduation.

> Note: this only affects *your* tip-jar credits - i.e. credits you earned from buying but never tipped. Tips you've already sent to creators are safe in their buckets and aren't subject to the burn.

## Receiving tips on your posts

If you post yaps in token threads, other users can tip them. The tip lands in **your bucket on that thread's token** - i.e. a tip on a yap in the $FOO thread arrives as $FOO credits. Each token whose threads you've been tipped in shows up as a separate row.

To collect, open the **Tip Jar** from the jar icon in the top header and switch to the **Received** tab. Each row shows the token, the total tipped, and a **Withdraw** button that pays your liquid balance out to your wallet. (Pre-graduation tips are split into liquid + vested portions - the vested portion unlocks on your first post-graduation withdraw on that token.)

There's no platform-side custody - the credits sit in the tip ledger contract until you withdraw, and the contract pays out to your wallet directly.

## Where to next

* [**Comments and yaps →**](/social-features/comments-and-yaps.md) - posting in threads
* [**Your profile and stats →**](/social-features/profile.md)
* [**Creator fees →**](/launchpad/creator-fees.md) if you've launched a token