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Concept

OpenTokenMarket for builders

Run your project on frontier models for $0 — how builder access works and why it's worth claiming.

A builder is the maintainer of a project listed on OpenTokenMarket who runs on a sponsor's funded AI budget instead of paying for inference. You bring the project; sponsors bring the tokens. You never enter a credit card and you never hold a provider account.

What you get

  • Frontier models for $0. OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek and more — billed to a sponsor's balance, not yours.
  • One key, every provider. A single project access key calls every model on the gateway. No OPENAI_API_KEY, no ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, no per-provider signup.
  • Your existing stack. The gateway speaks the OpenAI API and the Anthropic Messages API, so Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI and any OpenAI-compatible client work with two config values.
  • A stable key that outlives top-ups. The key never rotates when a sponsor adds budget — set it once.
  • Spend you can see. Usage and remaining budget show up live on your project control panel, broken down by day and by model.
  • Two ways to get funded. A sponsor can discover your project on Explore and add funds to it directly, or you can send a token request to a specific sponsor from their profile. Either way the budget lands on your project.

How it works for you

  1. List your project — repo or app URL, a short description, and the milestones you plan to hit. Takes a couple of minutes at /projects/new.
  2. Get funded — this happens one of two ways: a sponsor discovers your project and adds funds to it, or you submit a token request to a sponsor from their profile and they approve it (by hand or through their auto-evaluator).
  3. Claim the budget — open your project control panel (Dashboard → My Projects → your project) and copy the Project Access Key and base URL from the Project Access Key card.
  4. Point a tool at the gateway — pick your tool in the Tools section and paste the two values where that guide says.
  5. Ship — run prompts, merge features, and watch spend land on your control panel.

Why it's worth claiming

  • Cost stops being a constraint. Use the best model for the task instead of the cheapest one you can afford.
  • Zero setup tax. No billing accounts to create, no keys to rotate across providers, no quota juggling.
  • Portable. Everything is standard OpenAI / Anthropic API surface. If you ever leave, you change a base URL and a key — nothing else.
  • Accountable in your favour. Sponsors see budget turning into shipped milestones, which is exactly the story that gets a project funded again.

Limits and fair use

  • Budget is per project. Run several projects and each has its own key and balance.
  • The gateway enforces the cap. A 429 or a budget has been exceeded error means the funded balance is spent — ask your sponsor to top up.
  • Per-project caps set by the sponsor keep any single project from draining a whole budget, so allocations reach more builders.
  • Claim within a week. An allocation expires 7 days after a sponsor makes it if you haven't claimed it, and the budget goes back to the sponsor. Claim it from your control panel as soon as it lands.
  • Keep the key server-side. Treat it like any secret — no browser bundles, no commits.

Common questions

Does it cost anything to be a builder?

No. Builders never pay for inference. Sponsors fund every token behind every project budget.

Do I need my own OpenAI or Anthropic account?

No. The gateway holds the upstream accounts. Your project access key is the only credential you need.

Which models can I call?

Whatever the gateway exposes — see the live model catalog. Call a model by its exact public name; the gateway routes it to the right provider.

What happens when the budget runs out?

Requests return 429 until the sponsor tops up. Your key and config stay valid — nothing to reconfigure once budget is back.

What if I don't claim an allocation in time?

Allocations expire one week (7 days) after the sponsor makes them, and the budget returns to that sponsor. Your key and project stay active — the sponsor can allocate again.

Can I keep using my current editor or CLI?

Yes. Anything that speaks the OpenAI API or the Anthropic Messages API works. Start with the tool guides or the generic recipe.

Next step

Claim sponsored tokens — list your project, get it funded, and wire up a tool from the docs.