Get paid while you code.
Kickbacks sells the little “thinking…” word inside the Claude Code & Codex spinners — and pays up to 50% of ad revenue back to you, the developer whose machine showed it.
✶ Discombobulating… (esc to interrupt) ✶ Linear — issue tracking that’s actually fast ↗ (esc to interrupt)
How the money works
No surveys. No crypto. No “watch this video.” You just keep coding, and your balance ticks up in the status bar.
Advertisers buy blocks
One block is 1,000 five-second impressions. Advertisers set a price per block and a creative, then buy as many as they want.
An open auction decides
An English-ascending auction picks whose ad shows where, and when. Prime slots cost more.
You get the developer share
Up to half of ad revenue accrues to the developer whose editor rendered the ad — credited per impression and per click.
Clicks pay more
A click is worth 50 impressions. Cash out from the payout portal any time once you cross the $10 minimum.
Where the ad shows up
Four surfaces, one extension. VS Code surfaces work on local, Remote-SSH, devcontainers, and code-server. Older CLIs just keep their stock verbs — nothing breaks.
| Surface | Where | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Spinner overlay | Claude Code VS Code panel | A compatible extension build |
| Thinking-shimmer | Codex VS Code panel | A compatible extension build |
| Status-bar line | Claude Code terminal CLI | Any Claude Code version |
| Spinner verb | Claude Code terminal CLI | Claude Code 2.1.143+ |
Install in four steps
- Search Kickbacks in the VS Code Marketplace and install.
- Click Kickbacks: Sign in in the status bar.
- Authenticate with Google.
- Keep coding. Earnings start automatically — cash out at kickbacks.dev/me.
Want to advertise?
You’re buying attention from the most technical audience on earth, in the calmest possible format — a single line, while they wait. Set your bid, drop in a creative, and you’re live.
ads@kickbacks.dev