Frequently Asked Questions

>> What is the Badge Program?

The DemonDie Certifier is a terminal-themed badge system that rewards open source contributors. When you merge a PR with a labeled contribution type, you earn points across four families: frontend, backend, docs, and community. Each family has four tiers — Imp, Fiend, Overlord, Demon King — and you unlock them as you accumulate points.

>> How do I sign up?

Go to certifier-demondie.vercel.app and click "Sign in with GitHub". Your profile is created automatically — no forms, no passwords. After signing in, you land on your dashboard where you can track your points, badges, and contributions.

>> How do I earn points?

Maintainers label PRs with a family:tier format before merging (e.g. frontend:imp). When the PR merges, the system detects the label, looks up your profile by your GitHub username, and awards points automatically. Each PR can earn points in one family category only.

>> What families are there?

There are four families:
frontend — UI code, components, CSS, accessibility
backend — Server logic, APIs, databases
docs — Documentation, tutorials, translations, README
community — Issue triage, reviews, feature proposals, CI/CD, support

>> What tiers and point values exist?

Each family has four tiers with escalating point values:
Imp — 1 point per PR (badge at 5 pts)
Fiend — 3 points per PR (badge at 15 pts)
Overlord — 9 points per PR (badge at 45 pts)
Demon King — 27 points per PR (badge at 135 pts)

>> How do I claim a badge?

Once you cross a point threshold in any family, a badge appears in the "Claimable Badges" section on your dashboard. Click the "Claim" button to mint it. The badge moves to "Claimed" and a "View credential" link appears to see your digital credential on certifier.io.

>> What happens when a PR is merged?

When a PR merges, GitHub sends a webhook to the application. The system:
1. Verifies the HMAC-SHA256 signature to confirm it's from GitHub
2. Checks the PR's labels for a valid family:tier match
3. Looks up the contributor profile by the PR author's GitHub username
4. Inserts a contribution record and awards the points
5. If a badge threshold is crossed, a claimable badge is created

>> What if a PR was merged without a label?

Points are not awarded retroactively. The label must be on the PR at the time of merge. If a maintainer needs to correct this, they can manually insert a contribution via SQL — see the maintainer-labels.md guide or contact a maintainer with database access.

>> Can I track contributions to multiple repositories?

Yes. Maintainers can add repos in the Admin settings at /admin or via SQL. The webhook operates at the org level and the app filters by the tracked repo list. When a new repo is added, no redeploy is needed — the webhook reads the list from the database on every request.

>> Is the leaderboard public?

Yes, the leaderboard at /leaderboard shows all contributors who have earned at least one point, sorted by total points across all families. Any visitor can view it without signing in.

>> Why didn't my points show up after a merge?

Common reasons:
1. The PR didn't have a valid label before merging
2. The repository isn't in the tracked repos list
3. Your GitHub username doesn't match the PR author's login
4. The webhook secret is misconfigured

Contact a maintainer to investigate — they can check the webhook delivery logs in the GitHub org settings.

>> How do maintainers set up the webhook for a new org?

In the Admin settings at /admin, maintainers configure:
1. The GitHub org name
2. The webhook secret (must match what's set in GitHub org webhook settings)
3. The list of tracked repositories

The webhook endpoint is /api/github/webhook and is configured at the GitHub org level (Settings > Webhooks). It uses HMAC-SHA256 verification for security.

>> Can I change my GitHub username?

If you change your GitHub username, new PRs will still award points correctly because the profile is matched by the current login. However, past contributions remain linked to your old GitHub user ID. Your total points and badges are preserved — they're tied to your profile ID, not your username.

>> What data does the app collect from me?

When you sign in with GitHub, we collect your username, display name, email, and avatar URL. We also track your PR contributions, point totals, badge claims, and any special badge nominations/votes. No private repository data is accessed. See the Privacy Policy for full details.

>> I found a bug. How do I report it?

Open an issue in the Demon-Die/certifier repository. Include details about what you were doing, what you expected to happen, and what actually happened. Screenshots or error messages are helpful.