Judging Modes
How completion is determined for grants
Two Ways to Decide "Done"
zkGrants supports two primary modes for determining when a submission qualifies for payout. Choose based on your trust model and the nature of the work.
Tests decide — no human in the loop
Maintainer decides what lands
Automatic (CI-Based)
The Test Suite is the Judge
A PR qualifies when it passes the required workflow/checks. No human approval needed — if tests pass, payout is claimable.
How It Works
- 1Grant creator specifies required GitHub Actions workflow(s)
- 2Builder opens PR targeting the grant branch
- 3CI runs automatically on the PR
- 4When all required checks pass, builder can generate proof and claim
✓ Best For
- • Well-defined, testable requirements
- • Performance challenges with benchmarks
- • Algorithm implementations
- • Bug fixes with clear acceptance tests
⚠ Consider
- • Tests must fully define "done"
- • Code quality not checked
- • May allow gaming if tests are weak
- • No review of approach or style
Merge-Based
Maintainer Has Final Say
A PR qualifies when a repo administrator merges it. This mode preserves maintainer control over what lands in the codebase.
How It Works
- 1Grant creator specifies the target branch and optional required checks
- 2Builder opens PR following repo contribution guidelines
- 3Maintainer reviews and requests changes if needed
- 4When maintainer merges, builder can generate proof and claim
✓ Best For
- • Features requiring code review
- • Contributions to existing OSS repos
- • Work where quality matters over speed
- • Complex changes needing discussion
⚠ Consider
- • Requires maintainer availability
- • Subjective judgment involved
- • Review may take time
- • Builders must trust maintainer fairness
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Aspect | Automatic (CI) | Merge-Based |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides | Test suite | Maintainer |
| Trust model | Trust code, not people | Trust maintainer judgment |
| Speed | Instant (when CI passes) | Depends on review time |
| Quality control | Defined by tests only | Human code review |
| Objectivity | Fully objective | Some subjectivity |
| Setup effort | Need good test coverage | Works with any repo |
Combining CI and Merge
Merge-based grants can also require CI checks to pass before merge. This gives you the best of both worlds:
Example: A grant that requires both passing tests AND maintainer approval. Tests ensure correctness, maintainer ensures quality and fit.
This is the recommended approach for contributions to production repositories where both automated and human review are valuable.
Related Topics
Learn more about grant configuration and what happens if work isn't completed.