Want to read more about how the service works for users of support?

Last updated: December 04, 2024

Last updated: December 04, 2024

What is Githelp today

What is Githelp today

Githelp is a platform that connects businesses, organizations and solo developers with open source projects. For users, with an aim of improving the support functions and lowering the barriers of using OS. And for the repositories, with an aim of establishing an extra source of funding and hopefully positively influence adoption rates, by making it easier for users to put their faith in OS projects of all sizes.

For users in need of support, the connection is currently established through the browsing function on the Githelp website, where they can access the support landing pages of various OS projects, and create tickets there. Or, by going to registered OS projects´ Discord servers and using our assistant, for projects who have installed that.

Within the assistant, the actual support is offered in three different ways:


  • Paid expert help - from core teams and/or validated experts

  • Free Community help

  • Free AI-support


To see upcoming functionality and plans going forward, head to our Planned roadmap.

Githelp is a platform that connects businesses, organizations and solo developers with open source projects. For users, with an aim of improving the support functions and lowering the barriers of using OS. And for the repositories, with an aim of establishing an extra source of funding and hopefully positively influence adoption rates, by making it easier for users to put their faith in OS projects of all sizes.

For users in need of support, the connection is currently established through the browsing function on the Githelp website, where they can access the support landing pages of various OS projects, and create tickets there. Or, by going to registered OS projects´ Discord servers and using our assistant, for projects who have installed that.

Within the assistant, the actual support is offered in three different ways:


  • Paid expert help - from core teams and/or validated experts

  • Free Community help

  • Free AI-support


To see upcoming functionality and plans going forward, head to our Planned roadmap.

Which repositories do we provide support for?

Which repositories do we provide support for?

We try to provide support for most OS repositories registered on Github, however divided into two categories. If the project has registered on our platform, the support is more extensive, as this means we have established a connection directly to the core team of the project. For the unregistered proejcts, the support is more limited, due to lack of such connection. Users are encouraged to request a core team connection for any OS project they want help for. It is completely free for them to do so, and done from the support landing page of the repository in question. In the same way, helpers are encouraged to request validation for any OS project they have expertise within.

Registered repositories

Registered repositories

For registered repositories we offer:


  • Expert help instantly (if experts are online)

  • Community help* (free)

  • AI-support* (free and repo-specific)


*Community help and AI-support require that the repository has installed our assistant at their Discord server, normally in their help channel.

For registered repositories we offer:


  • Expert help instantly (if experts are online)

  • Community help* (free)

  • AI-support* (free and repo-specific)


*Community help and AI-support require that the repository has installed our assistant at their Discord server, normally in their help channel.

Unregistered repositories

Unregistered repositories

For unregistered repositories we offer:


  • Expert help within 48 hours (we try to reach out to experts in our network we believe have the right expertise)

  • AI-support* (free and repo-specific)


*AI-support is only offered for unregistered repositories if requested by the users.

For unregistered repositories we offer:


  • Expert help within 48 hours (we try to reach out to experts in our network we believe have the right expertise)

  • AI-support* (free and repo-specific)


*AI-support is only offered for unregistered repositories if requested by the users.

Commission given to OS projects

Commission given to OS projects

All registered OS projects on our platform receive up to 15% commission from any support provided on their project using Githelp. Acting as an alternative to donations for the user, and a potentially valuable additional source of funding for the OS project in question. Accumulated commissions generated from support on unregistered projects are set aside, and paid out to the project upon registration.

You can see the commission rates at the support page of each repository.

All registered OS projects on our platform receive up to 15% commission from any support provided on their project using Githelp. Acting as an alternative to donations for the user, and a potentially valuable additional source of funding for the OS project in question. Accumulated commissions generated from support on unregistered projects are set aside, and paid out to the project upon registration.

You can see the commission rates at the support page of each repository.

How to get started

How to get started

Register yourself

Register yourself

Start with registering yourself. If you are a person who wants to provide support/be a helper for a particular OS project, the right user category would be Provider of support. You can make the registration here. You can request to get validated for multiple repositories.

If you want to use the service as multiple user groups, register one at a time.

Start with registering yourself. If you are a person who wants to provide support/be a helper for a particular OS project, the right user category would be Provider of support. You can make the registration here. You can request to get validated for multiple repositories.

If you want to use the service as multiple user groups, register one at a time.

When registered

When registered

After the registration, a notification is sent to the contact person of the repository you have requested to get validated for. That contact person will then validate you or reject the request. We will inform you about the outcome of the validation regardless of the answer. Depending on how fast the repository can make a decision about your request, it could take a couple of days to get the feedback.

If you are requesting to be validated for support of an unregistered repository, Githelp will review your request and make the decision.

After the registration, a notification is sent to the contact person of the repository you have requested to get validated for. That contact person will then validate you or reject the request. We will inform you about the outcome of the validation regardless of the answer. Depending on how fast the repository can make a decision about your request, it could take a couple of days to get the feedback.

If you are requesting to be validated for support of an unregistered repository, Githelp will review your request and make the decision.

Start using Githelp

Start using Githelp

A Discord user account is recommended

A Discord user account is recommended

It is recommend that you have a Discord account, as we try to use your Discord online status to see whether you are available for tasks. You will then get notifications about new tickets, in the helper channel(s) you will be added to. If the repository is registered and has an active Discord server, the channel will be at the repository´s Discord server. If not, it could be created a channel at Githelp´s server.

Other questions

Other questions

You will find information on how to use the service both on our website and in this documentation. If you have any additional questions or struggles, we are avilable and ready to help out with any assistance.

How to use githelp

How to use githelp

When you have registered, and is validated for at least one repository, you can start to accept any incoming tickets. Githelp will then coordinate everything related to scheduling, payments and ticket details for you.

Claiming a ticket

Claiming a ticket

Someone asks for help

Someone asks for help

A person in need of support submits a ticket, by using the the support landing page of the OS project in question, or by interacting with the Githelp support assistant at the project´s Discord server, if it is installed there.

Helpers are notified

Helpers are notified

When a ticket is submitted, all helpers approved by the repository are notified in the Discord helper channel and/or email. This could be only yourself, or a group of people that is validated. The first one to claim the ticket is assigned to it. This is done by either tapping “Claim ticket” in the Discord helper channel, or by being the first person who responds to the email. Make sure to only claim tickets that suits your comptence and experience.

Ticket is claimed

Ticket is claimed

The helper who claims the ticket follow the instructions given by Githelp. A link to connect the person who asked for help with the helper is provided as a part of this process. If the person in need of help asked for instant support, the helper who claimed the ticket should access the link within 3 minutes after the ticket was claimed. The help is given by either text chat, voice or video, based on the helpee´s preferences.

Help is given

Help is given

Upon entering the link that connects the helper with the person in need of help, help/support is given. You are encoruaged to be as service-minded and helpful as possible, as we want to give every user a good experience and make them return to the service for future issues.

Details about help is shared with Githelp

Details about help is shared with Githelp

After the support is completed, you are asked to submit a few details regarding the help. This will be a integrated part of the process with new feature updates. The details you will be asked for are:


  • How the support went. Did you solve the problem.

  • How much time you spent. Time spent, will be the basis for invoicing the customer.


Time you are not actively working on solving the issue (e.g. pauses in the support) should not be billed. Are you helping to solve the issue without being actively connected to the helpee, this time can of course be billed. This should be clarified with the helpee in order to set the expectations right

After the support is completed, you are asked to submit a few details regarding the help. This will be a integrated part of the process with new feature updates. The details you will be asked for are:


  • How the support went. Did you solve the problem.

  • How much time you spent. Time spent, will be the basis for invoicing the customer.


Time you are not actively working on solving the issue (e.g. pauses in the support) should not be billed. Are you helping to solve the issue without being actively connected to the helpee, this time can of course be billed. This should be clarified with the helpee in order to set the expectations right

Pricing for users

Pricing for users

Registering for Githelp is completely free for both individual users and businesses/organizations. An invoice is only shared, if an individual - privately or through their employer - has engaged an expert in helping with a particular issue. There are no other costs for them related to using the service.

Community help and AI-support

Community help and AI-support

Community help and AI-support through the Githelp assistant, are services that are free to use. There are no costs associated with using these functionalities.

Expert Help

Expert Help

If creating a ticket and actively engaging an expert, users are charged a fee if someone claims their ticket and help is initiated. The fee is divided into two main elements - a starting fee and a fee per minute.

Ticket start fee - 15,00 USD
First 60 minutes - 1,50 USD/minute
After 60 minutes - 1,00 USD/minute

If no one claims their ticket, they are not charged any fee.

If creating a ticket and actively engaging an expert, users are charged a fee if someone claims their ticket and help is initiated. The fee is divided into two main elements - a starting fee and a fee per minute.

Ticket start fee - 15,00 USD
First 60 minutes - 1,50 USD/minute
After 60 minutes - 1,00 USD/minute

If no one claims their ticket, they are not charged any fee.

What happens if a user pauses their help?

What happens if a user pauses their help?

Users are charged for the time a helper is actively trying to solve their issue. This means the elapased time of a voice- or video chat. Or the active text chatting time. If they for some reason decide to pause the help and return later, the time in between will not be charged.

If the helper uses any time on his own to do research or trying to solve the issue, outside the active chatting, this time will be included in the the charged help.

Users are charged for the time a helper is actively trying to solve their issue. This means the elapased time of a voice- or video chat. Or the active text chatting time. If they for some reason decide to pause the help and return later, the time in between will not be charged.

If the helper uses any time on his own to do research or trying to solve the issue, outside the active chatting, this time will be included in the the charged help.

Compensation

Compensation

As a helper, your compensation stems from any support you provide. All fees paid for expert help is split between the helper who gave the support, the OS project and Githelp. In addition all fees come with a transaction fee from Stripe, equivalent to the cost we have of making the transaction. The compensation to the helper always makes up anywhere from 73-98% of the paid amount. The compensation rate for each OS project will be transparent to you.

Expert Help

Expert Help

As mentioned in the previous section, if a user creates a ticket and actively engages an expert, the user is charged a fee when someone claims their ticket and help is initiated. The fee paid is the basis for the helper´s compensation.

How is the fee split?

How is the fee split?

The compensation rate is mainly dependent on two factors; First, if it is the first 5000 USD worth of support for a particular repository, Githelp takes no fee, making the amount split between the repository and the helper larger. And second, the rate the repository decides to take for itself. The repository is eligble to set aside anything between 0-15% of any transaction as a part of their own commission and funding. The chosen rate can vary from repository to repository. This gives us the following splitting of the fee:


  • Helper - 73-98% (depending on what share the specific repository takes, and whether it is the first 5000 USD of support, without any Githelp fee)

  • Repository - 0-15% (depending on what share the specific repository takes)

  • Stripe - 2% (estimated transaction fee)

  • Githelp - 0-10% (depending on whether it is the first 5000 USD of support or not for a specific repository)

Why can the repository take a commission?

Why can the repository take a commission?

The commission is meant to act as an alternative to donations for the repository´s users, and a potentially additional source of funding for the OS project in question. This, as many OS projects struggle to fund development and maintenance of their repository. Accumulated commissions generated from support on unregistered projects are set aside, and paid out to the project upon registration.

You can see the commission rates at the support page of each repository.

The commission is meant to act as an alternative to donations for the repository´s users, and a potentially additional source of funding for the OS project in question. This, as many OS projects struggle to fund development and maintenance of their repository. Accumulated commissions generated from support on unregistered projects are set aside, and paid out to the project upon registration.

You can see the commission rates at the support page of each repository.

How is the compensation paid out?

How is the compensation paid out?

All compensations are processed through Stripe, and is currently paid out after each completed ticket. In time this will be done on a monthly basis in order to limit the administration. When processing any payouts, Githelp also shares documentation for the payout in question, as well as a monthly payout report for all payouts within a calandar month.

Does it cost me anything to be registered on Githelp?

Does it cost me anything to be registered on Githelp?

Registering for Githelp is completely free. The only costs related to Githelp for you as a helper are the commission Githelp takes when coordinating a support ticket that surpasses 5,000 USD in total transactions for a specific repository (10%), any commission taken by the repository itself, and the Stripe transaction fee (2%).

Planned roadmap

Planned roadmap

Githelp is currently at an early stage, but we have great plans for the coming months. We hope that our platform can grow and evolve with the community and its users.

Current roadmap

Current roadmap

On a high level, we are planning for the following development and feature introductions:


  • Slack-assistant - Assistant that can be installed in your own Slack - November 27, 2024

  • Statistics dashboard that you can log into - November 27, 2024

  • VS Code GPT extension - Githelp available as a part of the GPT-service in VS Code - November 27, 2024

Do you have feature ideas?

Do you have feature ideas?

If you have other ideas on what we should focus on, let us know. We appreciate any engagement from the community. Also thoughts related to the already listed features are highly appreciated.

Want to be an early user?

Want to be an early user?

If there are any particular features you are extra interested in, and want to be an early tester/user of, let us know. We will in that case put you on the list of early notifications.