# Support Funding

ZoneGaze remains free. Donation links should be simple external handoffs, not an embedded payment
processor in the dashboard.

## Recommendation

Use GitHub Sponsors as the primary donation platform.

Reasons:

- ZoneGaze is a developer tool and the project already lives on GitHub.
- GitHub Sponsors supports one-time and recurring sponsorships.
- GitHub takes no fee from personal-account sponsorships; organization sponsorships can carry up to
  6%. See [GitHub sponsorship fees](https://docs.github.com/en/sponsors/sponsoring-open-source-contributors/about-sponsorships-fees-and-taxes).
- The sponsor URL is stable once the account is enabled:
  `https://github.com/sponsors/neuralpilot08`.

Current caveat: that sponsor URL redirects to the GitHub profile until the account enables GitHub
Sponsors. Keep the URL in `flow/contracts/src/zonegaze-support.ts` so the app has one source of
truth, but do not render a live Donate button until the URL lands on an enabled payment page.

## Alternatives

| Platform | Fit | Tradeoff |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GitHub Sponsors | Best default for open/free developer projects. | Requires the GitHub account to enable Sponsors. |
| Open Collective | Good if ZoneGaze needs transparent public budgets or a fiscal host. | Fiscal hosts typically charge 4-10%, before processor fees. |
| Ko-fi | Good fallback for one-time tips. | Best fee result requires turning Contributor mode off; less native to GitHub users. |
| Buy Me a Coffee | Simple creator tipping page. | 5% transaction fee. |

## Implementation

- Shared metadata: `flow/contracts/src/zonegaze-support.ts`.
- Marketplace surface: `flow/web/src/components/plugins/zonegaze-plugins-panel.tsx`.
- Action behavior once enabled: open the external donation URL in a new tab with
  `noopener,noreferrer`.
