The install flow, step by step
From the VS Code Marketplace it's the normal install you've done a hundred times: open the listing, click Install, and the extension loads into VS Code, Claude Code, or Codex (the terminal CLI) — same package, same path everywhere. No build step, no config file to hand-edit, no separate account broker sitting in the middle.
On first run you do two small things: sign in so your impressions credit to one account, and paste a Solana wallet address (Phantom or whatever you use) so a payout has somewhere to land. Then the opt-in toggle. Until you flip that toggle, the extension renders nothing and reports nothing — it ships off by default.
- ▸Install from the VS Code Marketplace (covers VS Code, Claude Code, and Codex CLI).
- ▸Sign in once so impressions credit to a single account.
- ▸Paste a Solana wallet address for payouts — no proprietary wallet required.
- ▸Flip the opt-in toggle. Off by default; nothing renders until you turn it on.
Permissions: what it can access, and what it can't
Here's the honest permission list, not a policy paragraph. The extension can render text into the spinner UI, and it can make a small network call to report that a view happened and to fetch the next line to show. That is the complete set of capabilities it uses.
What it does not have: any read access to your open files, your editor buffers, your prompts, your terminal scrollback, or your repository. It doesn't index your workspace, it doesn't watch your keystrokes, and it doesn't ship code anywhere. The sponsored line has no idea what you're building — it only knows the spinner is currently spinning. That boundary is structural: there's no code path from the ad surface to your source, so privacy isn't a promise we're asking you to trust, it's a thing the build doesn't let happen.
- ▸CAN: render one line of sponsored text into the spinner.
- ▸CAN: report a view event and fetch the next line to display.
- ▸CANNOT: read your files, buffers, prompts, terminal history, or repo.
- ▸CANNOT: index your workspace, log keystrokes, or transmit code anywhere.
Exactly what data leaves your machine
When the toggle is on and your agent is thinking, one outbound signal goes out: a view event saying "a sponsored line was shown." That's what you're credited on, and it's the entire payload that concerns your work — it carries no file contents, no prompt text, and no project details.
Everything you'd worry about an editor extension exfiltrating — code, secrets in your repo, what you're typing — never moves, because the extension never reads it in the first place. If you want the precise wording on data handling, the /legal page spells it out; this is the plain-English version.
The opt-in toggle and one-click off
The toggle is the whole control surface, and it lives where you can find it — the status bar in VS Code, and an equivalent toggle in Claude Code and Codex. On means the spinner can carry a sponsored line; off means it goes back to plain "Thinking…" immediately.
There's no cool-down, no "are you sure" funnel, and no support ticket to turn it off. Don't want it during a screen-share, a demo, or a focus block? One click. Turn it back on whenever. It is opt-in by design, not opt-out-if-you-can-find-the-setting.
- ▸Toggle lives in the status bar (VS Code) and equivalent UI in Claude Code / Codex.
- ▸Off returns the spinner to plain "Thinking…" with no delay.
- ▸No cool-down, no confirmation funnel, no ticket — reversible in one click.
Is it safe? Moderation, killswitch, and uninstall
Two safety questions matter: can a bad ad reach you, and can you fully back out. On the first — every creative is admin-moderated before it's allowed to win a slot, so the line in your spinner has been reviewed, not auto-served from an open bid box. There's also a killswitch on the system: if something needs to stop serving network-wide, it can be stopped centrally.
On the second — uninstall is the standard editor uninstall. Remove the extension and it's gone, no clawback and no residual process; any USDC you already accrued stays claimable to your wallet. Opt-in to turn it on, one click to turn it off, normal uninstall to remove it entirely. You're never locked in.
- ▸Every ad creative is admin-moderated before it can serve.
- ▸System-level killswitch can halt serving centrally.
- ▸Uninstall like any extension — no clawback; accrued USDC stays claimable.
Performance: does it slow your editor?
The work the extension does is tiny: drop a line of text into a spinner that was already on screen, and fire one lightweight view event. It isn't parsing your project, running a language server, or watching the filesystem, so there's nothing in its job that competes with your editor for real work.
The sponsored line shows for about five seconds inside a wait you were already sitting through, and it's non-blocking — it never holds up your agent or your typing, and it disappears the moment the agent finishes. The earnings mechanics behind that line live on /get-paid-to-code if you want the money side.
Frequently asked questions
Is the claudearn extension safe to install?
Yes. It's free, ships off by default, and is opt-in and one-click reversible. It renders one sponsored line in your agent's spinner and reports that the line was shown — that's the entire list of what it does to your machine. Every ad creative is admin-moderated before it can serve, and there's a system-level killswitch.
What can the extension actually access on my machine?
It can render text into the spinner and make a small call to report a view and fetch the next line. It cannot read your files, editor buffers, prompts, terminal scrollback, or repo, and it doesn't index your workspace or log keystrokes. There's no code path from the ad surface to your source — the boundary is structural, not a promise.
Exactly what data leaves my machine?
One thing: a view event meaning "a sponsored line was shown," which is what you're credited on. It carries no file contents, prompt text, or project details. Your code never moves because the extension never reads it. The /legal page has the precise wording.
How do I turn it off or uninstall it?
Turning it off is one click on the toggle (status bar in VS Code, equivalent UI in Claude Code and Codex) — no cool-down, no confirmation funnel, no support ticket. To remove it entirely, uninstall it like any editor extension: it's gone with no clawback, and any USDC you already accrued stays claimable to your wallet.
Will it slow down my editor?
It shouldn't. The extension only drops a line of text into an existing spinner and fires one lightweight view event — it isn't parsing your project, running a language server, or watching the filesystem. The line is non-blocking, shows for about five seconds, and clears when the agent finishes.
Is the ad in my spinner moderated, or could anything show up?
Moderated. Every creative is admin-reviewed before it's allowed to win a slot, so the line isn't auto-served from an open bid box. If something needs to stop serving across the network, the killswitch can halt it centrally.