Githoney by TxPipe: Dev bounty system using Marlowe contracts, deep integration with Github

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Santiago Carmuega

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

5

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

A bounty management system that integrates Github PRs with Marlowe contracts, minimizing the trust requirements between parties and removing the need for intermediates.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Apache 2.0 License

All artifacts will be open-source

• on-chain contracts (Marlowe)
• Github bot
• web frontend
• documentation

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

Githoney is a bounty management system designed specifically for open-source software development tasks. It's not just any bounty system, it's one that's built leveraging on-chain smart contracts. This provides visibility and strong guarantees to all parties involved.

One of the key features of Githoney is its integration with GitHub. It operates as a bot within GitHub, interacting with users through issues, PRs, and comments. This bot is responsible for setting up the on-chain contracts and monitoring all interactions.

In the Githoney system, there are three main roles:

• The maintainer: This is the individual or team maintaining a GitHub repository and has a task that requires completion.
• The contributor: This is the individual or team that can complete the task by submitting a PR.
• The bot: An automated actor that takes care of setting up the on-chain contracts and overseeing interactions.

The process is straightforward: a maintainer attaches a bounty to a GitHub issue. A contributor can then accept this bounty by starting a new PR referencing the bounty. Once the PR is completed, reviewed, and merged, the contributor can claim their reward.

Our Prototype

You can find what we've built so far in the following site: https://bounties.txpipe.io/

By following the instructions on the documentation you can install the Github bot on your organization and create bounties in the preprod network. Any user should be able to appreciate the complete lifecycle of a bounty using tAda.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

Foster open-source software by providing a simple funding mechanism

Cardano is based on open-source software. By providing a mechanism for simple and secure funding of open-source project, we are promoting the development of Cardano itself.

Promote the use of ADA as currency in a real-world scenario

The bounties in our system use ADA as its default currency. By doing this, we promote the use of ADA as an asset to exchange value in real-world interactions.

Promote organic growth of on-chain activity

The contracts governing the bounties work on top of the Cardano blockchain. Bounty contracts that go through the system will increase on-chain activity.

Showcase the benefits of Marlowe contracts

The use of Marlowe contracts simplifies development drastically. This project can be used as a case-study of how to implement a blockchain dApp with minimal effort required for smart-contract development.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

TxPipe is an active member of the Cardano ecosystem

TxPipe has been developing open-source tools for the Cardano ecosystem for over 2 years and we're not going anywhere. Evidence of our commitment can be found by evaluating the continuous activity of our public code repositories.

Experience developing in the Cardano ecosystem

TxPipe has helped developed several dApps for the Cardano ecosystem. This experience allows us to evaluate the feasibility of the project and its potential benefit from a developer's perspective.

A working prototype with good feedback from users

There's already a running prototype that allows anyone to try the complete lifecycle of a bounty. The feedback from users so far has been very positive. This gives us a high degree of confidence that the final MVP is feasible and worth developing.

Succesful Catalyst proposals

We have successfully completed 2 prior Catalyst proposals. This may serve as evidence that our team has the required capabilities to fulfill these type of projects.

Development process will be public and open-source

Both the output and the development process will be public and open-source. This approach provides an easy way for the Catalyst team and the Cardano community to evaluate the progress at each step of the process.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Productivize

We already have a working prototype, we now need to turn it into an MVP.

Outputs:

• A fee mechanism that allows to charge a small amount for each bounty processed
• A fully branded frontend describing the product and onboarding instructions
• A support channel for end-users to resolve questions and issues
• A monitoring system to keep tracking of business metrics
• An initial communication campaign through social media
• Source code of the system publicly available

Acceptance Criteria:

• Any end-user is able to run the complete lifecycle of a bounty using the services and information publicly available.
• A reviewer is able to appreciate the communication campaign in social channels (Twitter, LinkedIn)

Visibility

We have an MVP, we now need to put it out there, make some noise

Outputs:

• An automated system to announce new bounties on a dedicated githoney Twitter account.
• A frontend for showcasing current and past bounties, aiding contributors in finding opportunities.

Acceptance Criteria:

• Any user is able monitor bounty announcements via the corresponding Twitter account
• Any user is able to browse present and past bounties using Githoney's frontend

Reputation System

Implement a reputation system to incentivize fair play, transparency and increase trust on all sides.

Outputs:

• A reputation tracking system that keeps records of bounty metrics for each of the actors involved in the process (quantity, fulfilled vs incomplete, time-to-complete, etc)
• A frontend interface to expose the reputation of maintainers and contributors (a leaderboard and a profile page)

Acceptance Criteria:

• A properly working reputation tracking system
• View the reputation of maintainers and contributors on the frontend of githoney

Badge System

Develop a badge/reward system to recognize and motivate developers and maintainers.

Outputs:

• A badge system that delivers specific NFT to actors of the system that have completed certain achievements (eg: 1st completed bounty, bounty fulfilled within 1 week, etc)
• A frontend that provides visibility of the different badge types and explains rules to gain each one.
• An improvement on the profile pages to display badges owned by each actor.

Acceptance criteria:

• A technical reviewer is able to inspect on-chain activity to appreciate badge tokens being sent to bounty participants.
• Any user is able to browse profile pages and their corresponding badges using Githoney's frontend.

Collaboration & Partnerships

Explore how to bootstrap activity by collaborating with other parties

Tasks:

• Explore collaboration with Catalyst team to integrate Githoney bounties as a mechanism to fund open-source development tasks.
• Explore collaboration with IOG & the Marlowe team to promote the use of Githoney in related open-source projects.
• Explore collaboration with CF to promote the use of Githoney in related open-source projects.

Outputs:

• A report describing the scope and results of the different initiatives involving external collaborators.

Acceptance criteria:

• A public report where the community can read all the attempts done to bootstrap the activity on the system by collaborating with key stakeholders

Completion Report

This milestone is about wrapping up the project and providing relevant insights for the Catalyst team and larger Cardano community to evaluate the result of the proposal.

Outputs:

• An MVP version of the Githoney system.
• A comprehensive report describing the improvements applied to the prototype
• A comprehensive report providing usage metrics
• a video recording summarizing the process and results of the whole project

Acceptance Criteria:

• A reviewer is able to appreciate all of the improvements described in this proposal using the publicly available Githoney interfaces (github bot, frontend, twitter, etc)
• A reviewer is able to appreciate the level of usage of Githoney by reading the report and watching the summary video.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Assigned Team:

• Santiago Carmuega - Tech Lead - Github
• Federico Weill - Project Manager / Community Manager - Linkedin
• Rodrigo Suaya - Product Manager - Linkedin
• Paulo Bressan - Backend developer - Github
• Rodrigo Santa Maria - Frontend Developer - Github
• Manuel Gunther - Blockchain developer - Github

Additional Members

• We'll recruit a UI / UX designer with experience in responsive web design.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

FTE = Full-time equivalent

Total budget = ₳ 297,136

Software Development

• Blockchain developer: 1 FTE x 2 months = ₳ 51,429
• Backend developer: 1 FTE x 4 months = ₳ 91,429
• Frontend developer: 1 FTE x 4 months = ₳ 57,143

Product Development

• Product Manager: 1 FTE x 5 months = ₳ 57,140
• UX / UI Designer: 1/2 FTE x 4 months = ₳ 17,140

Marketing & Communication

• Community Manager: 1/4 x 3 months = ₳ 8,570

Project Management

• Project manager: 1/4 FTE x 5 months = ₳ 14,285

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The bulk of the budget falls under the software and product development categories. TxPipe has experience in both fields, allowing it to provide reasonable value for money. The hourly rates are defined using fair market prices. The estimation for the level of effort takes into account all of the optimizations that our team is capable of providing after years of experience developing software solutions in the Cardano ecosystem.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund Rules and also that data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept