Make the wait pay more.

How Earnings Actually Work

Ticker shows one sponsor line in the Claude Code status bar — the strip you watch while the model thinks. Advertisers pay per impression (CPM) or per click (CPC). You keep 70% of every dollar your installs generate.

The impression model:

• A view only counts after ~5 seconds of dwell time. Glance-and-blink doesn't pay.
• Ticker sends only three data points off your machine: coarse language label, model ID, and region. No code, no prompts, no file paths.
• Ads are matched to that signal in real time. More relevant match = higher bid = more revenue per impression.

A realistic earnings estimate:

At roughly 4 hours of active Claude Code use per day, a single seat earns in the neighborhood of ~$20/month. That figure is an estimate based on industry CPM ranges and typical dwell patterns — not a promise. Actual results vary by region, advertiser demand, and how much of your session time the status line stays in view.

Maximize Your Impressions

More visible dwell time = more counted impressions = more revenue. Here is where to focus:

• Keep Claude Code running during real work. Idle terminals don't generate impressions. The status line has to be on screen and active.
• Longer thinking sessions earn more inventory. Agentic runs, large refactors, multi-file edits — anything that keeps the model working accumulates dwell time faster than quick one-liners.
• Keep the status line visible. A split-pane layout with the terminal in view beats a minimized window. If you use a tiling window manager, pin the pane.
• Multiple projects and seats multiply your base. Each active Claude Code instance you run is an independent impression stream.

Relevance Pays More

Ticker uses your language label and model ID to match ads. A TypeScript developer working in a Next.js repo is a more specific signal than "some developer." More specific signal → better advertiser match → higher CPM.

What influences fill quality:

• The stack you work in: JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust, and other popular ecosystems attract the most advertiser demand.
• The model you use: larger, more capable models tend to skew toward professional users, which advertisers pay more to reach.
• Your region: US, EU, and AU/NZ markets command higher rates than most others.

You don't need to change what you build — this is about understanding why sessions in high-demand stacks on modern models earn more per impression than a generic shell session.

The Referral Lever

Every Ticker install comes with a personal referral link. When another developer installs Ticker through your link, their installs are attributed to you — a passive earnings layer on top of your own usage.

• Your referral link is your growth lever. Share it in blog posts, Twitter threads, README badges, or wherever developers you know hang out.
• OSS maintainers with active followers or a newsletter have a natural platform. One well-placed mention can seed dozens of installs.
• The referral pool is unlimited — refer any number of developers, and attributions persist as long as the installs stay active.

Check your dashboard for current referral terms.

Privacy & Trust

Ticker is designed to earn developer trust, not extract data.

• Only three signals leave your machine: coarse language label, model ID, and approximate region. That is the entire data payload.
• Zero tokens. Ticker never reads your prompts, responses, file contents, or anything in your codebase.
• One-command uninstall. The install is fully reversible with a single command. Nothing persists.
• No account required to earn. You connect a payout method; that's it. No profile, no tracking pixel.

The Almanac of Plays

These are illustrative patterns — not guarantees — that tend to produce above-average impression volume.

The team rollout. An engineering lead who installs Ticker across a 5-person team effectively creates 5 independent impression streams — the highest-leverage single action available.

The long agentic session. Refactoring a large codebase, running a test suite, a multi-file architecture change — hours of continuous model activity. One 3-hour evening refactor can produce as many impressions as a day of regular use.

The OSS maintainer. Maintainers who live in the terminal accumulate passive impressions during work they were already doing. Pair that with a referral link in the project README and it compounds.

The contractor seat. Agencies, freelancers, and consultants accumulate dwell time proportional to hours billed. The install is transparent to clients (one status bar line), and the 70% share compounds across a heavy billing month.

The side-project stack switcher. Moving across three or four projects in an evening generates varied ad signals across each session, which can improve fill quality relative to one long monotonous session.

FAQ

Does Ticker slow down Claude Code or cost tokens?

No. Ticker hooks into the status line display layer only. It adds zero tokens to any prompt and has no measurable performance impact.

When do I get paid?

Payouts run through Stripe once your balance crosses the minimum threshold. Connect a payout account in your dashboard and cash out your balance.

Can I use Ticker in a work environment?

Ticker sends only a coarse language label, model ID, and region — no code, no prompts. If your employer has strict network egress rules, check with your security team; the data payload is fully documented.

What if I uninstall and reinstall later?

Your earning history and referral attributions are tied to your account, not the machine. Reinstalling and re-linking restores your history.