idlepay — Get paid for waiting

How it works

Install once. Keep coding. Cash out.

Nothing about your workflow changes. You earn each time an ad is genuinely shown while your AI is working.

1

Install & sign in

Add the free extension to VS Code, Cursor, or the Claude Code CLI and sign in. ~30 seconds, no card.

$code --install-extension idlepay

2

Code like normal

When your AI is thinking, the spinner verb is quietly swapped for one sponsored line. That's it.

Linear · the issue tracker devs love

3

Get paid, fast

You keep 50% of the ad revenue your wait-time earns. Cash out via Stripe once you pass $10.

Your balance$12.40

Transparency

Only the spinner. Nothing else touched.

It's sandboxed on purpose: the extension declares no capabilities beyond a status-bar item — so it physically can't read your code. And it's open source, so you can check every line.

What it changes

+Only the “thinking…” verb — swapped for one sponsored line, gone when the turn ends.
+Plain text, ≤60 characters, always labeled sponsored. No images, sound, or tracking pixels.
+Shown only during a genuine wait-state. No wait, no ad.
+Stores only an anonymous device ID (a UUID) — never tied to who you are.

What it never touches

×Your code, prompts & responses — the extension has no filesystem, workspace, or terminal access. It literally can't read them.
×The network — exactly one outbound destination (our API). Nothing else, ever.
×Your editor's files — it's status-bar only. It doesn't patch your AI tool or auto-inject anything.
×Anything permanent — reversible in one click, restored exactly as it was.

Don't trust us — read the code. The extension is open source: check exactly what it does, and the long list of things it deliberately can't.

FAQ

Questions, answered plainly.

Earning

How much will I actually make?

It scales with how much your AI works and the live bid price — and clicks pay 50× an impression. Think of it as your AI partly paying for itself, on time you'd burn waiting anyway. It won't replace your salary — it's found money on dead time. (Earnings are estimates, not a guarantee.)

What counts as a real impression?

One sponsored line shown during one genuine wait-state — while your AI is actually thinking. No wait, no line, no impression. We never manufacture waits to serve more ads.

When and how do I get paid?

You keep 50% of the revenue your wait-time earns, tracked in real time in the status bar. Cash out via Stripe once your balance passes $10.

Privacy & trust

Does idlepay read my code?

It can't. The extension has no filesystem, workspace, terminal, or environment access — it's a status-bar item with a single allowed network origin and an anonymous device ID. It only swaps the spinner verb. It's open source, so you can verify all of it.

Is the source public?

Yes. The full extension is open source on GitHub, so you (or your security team) can verify exactly what it does — and everything it deliberately doesn't.

How do I pause or uninstall?

Pause anytime from the status bar, or uninstall in one click. Your editor is restored byte-for-byte, with every setting and keybinding intact.

For advertisers

Reach developers inside their editor.

Bid for the spinner line in a live auction, from $1. Plain text, clearly labeled, only genuine impressions — and half of every dollar goes to the developer who showed it.

Advertise

You're already waiting.
Get paid for it.

Install the free extension and start earning on the wait-time you can't avoid.

Install the extension

Free · uninstall anytime · 50% revenue share