TipForge Organization

Welcome to TipForge — Creator Tipping Infrastructure built on Stellar blockchain.

🎯 Mission

Enable creators worldwide to receive instant USDC payments from fans across any platform, removing payment friction and geographic barriers.

📦 Repositories

TipForge is organized as three independent, tightly-integrated repositories:

1. Backend

Core system of intelligence and infrastructure

• REST API for all operations
• User authentication and creator management
• Payment orchestration and Stellar integration
• PostgreSQL database + Redis caching
• Source of truth for all business rules

Tech: Fastify, Node.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Redis, Stellar SDK

Get Started:

git clone https://github.com/TipForge/backend-.git
cd backend
npm install
npm run prisma:migrate
npm run dev

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2. SDK

Clean abstraction layer for developers

• Type-safe client library wrapping backend APIs
• Framework-agnostic core (works with any JavaScript framework)
• Optional React hooks for seamless integration
• Utility functions for wallet, transaction, validation operations
• Npm package for easy integration into third-party apps

Tech: TypeScript, Stellar SDK, Zod, React (optional)

Get Started:

git clone https://github.com/TipForge/sdk.git
cd sdk
npm install
npm run build

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3. Frontend

User-facing web application

• Landing page and user onboarding
• Creator profile pages and dashboards
• Send tip flow (minimal UI, maximum simplicity)
• Creator earnings dashboard
• Responsive design with Tailwind CSS

Tech: Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion, TanStack Query

Get Started:

git clone https://github.com/TipForge/frontend.git
cd frontend
cp .env.example .env.local
npm install
npm run dev

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🏗️ Architecture

Frontend (Next.js)
    ↓
SDK (TypeScript abstraction)
    ↓
Backend (Fastify)
    ↓
Stellar Blockchain

Data Flow Example (Sending a Tip)

1. Fan clicks "Send Tip" in Frontend
2. Frontend calls SDK.createTip(creatorId, amount)
3. SDK validates input, sends request to Backend API
4. Backend validates auth, verifies creator wallet, builds Stellar transaction
5. Backend broadcasts transaction to Stellar network
6. SDK receives confirmation, returns to Frontend
7. Frontend shows success state, updates transaction history

🔧 Key Design Principles

Contract-First Development

• Backend defines API contracts first (src/types/index.ts)
• SDK wraps those contracts
• Frontend consumes stabilized SDK

Separation of Concerns

• Backend = All logic, auth, payments, business rules
• SDK = Translation layer, validation helpers, utilities
• Frontend = Experience only, calls SDK, zero business logic

Repo Independence

• Each repo builds, tests, deploys independently
• No hidden cross-repo coupling at runtime
• Clear boundaries between layers

🚀 Quick Start (All Three Repos)

1. Clone all repos

git clone https://github.com/TipForge/backend-.git backend
git clone https://github.com/TipForge/sdk.git sdk
git clone https://github.com/TipForge/frontend.git frontend

2. Install dependencies

cd backend && npm install
cd ../sdk && npm install
cd ../frontend && npm install

3. Setup backend database

cd backend
npm run prisma:generate
npm run prisma:migrate

4. Start development

# Terminal 1: Backend
cd backend && npm run dev

# Terminal 2: SDK (compile)
cd sdk && npm run build --watch

# Terminal 3: Frontend
cd frontend && npm run dev

Backend runs on http://localhost:3000 Frontend runs on http://localhost:3001 (or next available port)

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ LTS
• PostgreSQL 14+
• Redis 6+
• Git

🔐 Environment Variables

Backend (backend/.env)

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/tipforge
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key
STELLAR_NETWORK=testnet
STELLAR_SERVER_SECRET=your-stellar-account-secret
USDC_CONTRACT_ID=contract-id

Frontend (frontend/.env.local)

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3000

📚 Documentation

Each repo has comprehensive documentation:

• Backend: backend/README.md — API contracts, database schema, development guide
• SDK: sdk/README.md — API reference, usage examples, React hooks
• Frontend: frontend/README.md — Component structure, state management, development workflow

🛠️ Code Standards

All repos follow these standards:

• TypeScript: Strict mode enabled (strict: true)
• Formatting: Prettier (100 char line width, single quotes)
• Linting: ESLint with TypeScript plugin
• Testing: Vitest for unit/integration tests
• Validation: Zod schemas for runtime type safety

Before Committing

npm run lint      # Check style
npm run format    # Auto-format code
npm run build     # Verify TypeScript compiles
npm run test      # Run tests

🔄 Development Workflow

Adding a Feature

1. Backend — Define API contract in src/types/index.ts
2. Backend — Implement endpoint and business logic
3. SDK — Wrap the endpoint in src/client.ts
4. Frontend — Call SDK from component, no direct backend calls

Code Review

• All changes go through pull requests
• Link related PRs across repos
• Verify contracts match across backend → SDK → frontend

🚢 Deployment

Backend

Deploy to production server or Docker container:

npm run build
npm start

SDK

Publish to npm (when ready):

npm run build
npm publish

Frontend

Deploy to Vercel or Netlify:

npm run build
npm start

📞 Contributing

1. Fork the appropriate repo
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/my-feature
3. Follow code standards (lint, format, test)
4. Open a pull request with clear description
5. Get review from team members

🤝 Support

• Issues: Report bugs in the relevant repo's Issues tab
• Discussions: Start conversations in GitHub Discussions
• Documentation: Check repo READMEs first

📄 License

TipForge is open source under the MIT License.

🌟 Key Features

• ✅ Instant USDC payments via Stellar
• ✅ Multi-platform creator profiles (X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, GitHub, Twitch)
• ✅ No geographic barriers or regional restrictions
• ✅ Low transaction fees powered by Stellar
• ✅ Simple onboarding for creators and fans
• ✅ Creator dashboard with earnings tracking
• ✅ Developer-friendly SDK for integrations
• ✅ Type-safe TypeScript throughout

🎯 Roadmap

Phase 1 (Current) — MVP

• Creator registration and verification
• Send tip functionality
• Basic dashboard

Phase 2 — Scale

• Browser extension
• Mobile apps
• Payment links

Phase 3 — Ecosystem

• Subscriptions
• Donations
• Merchant tools

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Built with ❤️ by the TipForge team

Join us in making creator support frictionless, global, and accessible.