The insight: the spinner was always inventory
A developer waiting on Claude Code is the highest-intent audience a dev-tool company could ask for: technical, in flow, holding real buying authority, and looking directly at the screen. That attention existed before claudearn — it just evaporated, unowned and unpaid.
So we built a two-sided market on top of the wait. Advertisers bid for the spinner slot; developers who opt in keep half the revenue from views in their own editor. The whole product is one idea taken literally: the wait-state is the ad slot, and the person doing the waiting should own half of it.
Step 1 — the developer flips it on
You install the free extension for VS Code, Claude Code, or Codex (the terminal CLI), set the wallet you want to be paid to, and keep coding. It's opt-in: nothing renders until you turn it on, and it's one click to turn back off.
From then on, when your agent spins, a single sponsored line may appear inside that spinner. No new windows, no pop-ups, no second tab to babysit. The slot was already on your screen — now it has a tenant paying rent.
Step 2 — advertisers bid live for the #1 slot
On the other side, advertisers buy attention in blocks of 1,000 impressions and set a per-block USD bid. It's a live market, not a fixed rate card: the highest bid takes the #1 spinner slot, and serve order follows the auction.
That's how the price of your wait-state gets set in real time. A $20 CPM is a representative figure — about $20 per 1,000 impressions flows in at the top of the market, which is where your share comes from.
Step 3 — one line renders for ~5 seconds
When your agent is thinking, the winning line shows for roughly five seconds and disappears when the agent is done. It's one line, never blocking your work, and every creative is admin-moderated before it can ever serve.
`Discombobulating…` — sponsored by a database that actually scales. You read it, the agent finished, you got paid for the wait. If it ever feels intrusive, that's a failure on our side, and the off switch is one click away.
Step 4 — 50% reaches the developer in USDC
Developers keep about 50% of the revenue on their own impressions. On a ~$20 CPM, that's roughly $10 reaching you per 1,000 impressions — accrued in USDC on Solana, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, so "$0.04 credited" means four cents, not a volatile token.
Once you pass the $1.00 claim minimum, you claim to any wallet you control, such as Phantom. Payouts settle on-chain and are verifiable on Solscan — it's real money on Solana mainnet, not points dressed up in a payout-minimum maze.
- ▸Bid market: 1,000-impression blocks, highest per-block bid takes the #1 slot.
- ▸About $10 reaches developers per 1,000 impressions (≈50% of a ~$20 CPM).
- ▸USDC on Solana, $1.00 claim minimum, claimable to any wallet and verifiable on Solscan.
What it never does: read your code
This is the part we're proudest of, stated as a specific fact rather than a vague promise: the extension renders ad content and reports that a view happened. That's the entire list of things it does to your machine.
It has no path to your source, your prompts, or your files — privacy is enforced by architecture, not by a line in a policy. The ad doesn't know what you're building. It only knows the spinner is spinning.
Honest stage and honest numbers
claudearn runs on Solana mainnet — real USDC, on-chain, verifiable. We don't dangle a guaranteed number, because anyone who guarantees crypto income is selling you something.
The realistic band is roughly $15–$60 a month, and it genuinely varies with two things: how many advertisers are bidding, and how many active coding hours you put in. Some months less, some more. It's honest side income for time you were already losing — not a salary, and we publish the ceiling instead of a fantasy.
Frequently asked questions
How does a sponsored line get into my AI coding spinner?
When you opt in, the free extension can render one sponsored line inside the spinner your agent already shows while thinking. It appears for about five seconds, never blocks your work, and disappears when the agent finishes. It's one click to turn off.
How do advertisers decide which line I see?
Advertisers buy blocks of 1,000 impressions and set a per-block USD bid in a live market. The highest bid takes the #1 slot, so serve order is set by auction rather than a fixed rate card. Every creative is admin-moderated before it can serve.
How much of the money do I actually keep?
About 50% of the revenue on your impressions. On a representative ~$20 CPM, that's roughly $10 reaching you per 1,000 impressions. Realistically that lands around $15–$60 a month, and it varies with advertiser demand and your active coding hours. It's never guaranteed.
Does claudearn read my code, prompts, or files?
No. The extension renders ad content and reports that a view happened — that's the whole list. It has no path to your source, prompts, or repo. Privacy is enforced by architecture, not by a promise in a policy.
How and when do I get paid?
Earnings accrue in USDC on Solana mainnet. Once you pass the $1.00 claim minimum, you claim to any wallet you control, such as Phantom. Payouts settle on-chain and are verifiable on Solscan — it's real money, not points.