> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://aven-docs.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Aven: Pay for Verified Work on the Stellar Blockchain

> Aven escrows project budgets on Stellar and releases exact payments to freelancers based on verified active work sessions — no invoicing, no disputes.

Aven is a Stellar-based protocol that connects employers and freelancers through trustless, on-chain payment agreements. Clients lock a project budget inside a Soroban smart contract, and the contract releases exactly the amount justified by a freelancer's verified active work time — no manual invoicing, no payment disputes over hours, no trust required. Every approved session leaves a permanent, portable attestation on-chain that workers can carry to future clients as proof of delivery.

Aven is designed for two audiences: **employers (clients)** who want to fund project work with confidence that payments are tied to real, measurable output, and **freelancers (workers)** who want a tamper-proof record of every hour they deliver and a reliable way to get paid the moment a session is approved.

## Core components

Aven is made up of three tightly integrated parts that work together across the full payment lifecycle.

| Component | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Web dashboard** | The browser interface where employers create and fund payment streams, review submitted work sessions, approve or dispute reports, and browse public worker attestations and reputation profiles. |
| **`aven-stellar` CLI** | An npm package (`npx aven-stellar`) that freelancers run locally inside their Git repository. It tracks active coding time, captures Git change metadata, and submits a structured work-session report to the matching stream — without ever uploading source code or recording keystrokes. |
| **Soroban smart contracts** | Three contracts deployed on the Stellar network that handle escrow and payment release, immutable proof-of-work records, and portable worker reputation scores. All payment math is enforced on-chain with no off-chain override possible. |

## Feature highlights

> **Escrow Payments**
>
> Employers fund streams up front. The budget sits in the smart contract until work is verified and approved — funds can never be released to an incorrect amount.

> **Work Session Tracking**
>
> The `aven-stellar` CLI measures real active time and Git activity, not just elapsed wall time. Idle periods are excluded automatically.

> **On-chain Reputation**
>
> Every approved session mints an attestation. Workers accumulate a verifiable, address-linked reputation profile that any future client can inspect independently.

> **GitHub Delivery Verification**
>
> Final-project sessions verify delivery branches and head commits against the connected GitHub repository, giving clients proof that the agreed work was pushed.

> **Privacy-conscious CLI**
>
> The CLI records only timing, branch and commit metadata, relative file paths, and diff statistics. It never reads file contents, records keystrokes, takes screenshots, or touches `.gitignore`-excluded paths.

> **Freighter Wallet Auth**
>
> Both employers and freelancers authenticate with their Stellar wallet via the [Freighter](https://www.freighter.app/) browser extension. Aven never requests or stores wallet secret keys.

## Network

> [!NOTE]
>
> Aven currently operates on the **Stellar testnet**. All XLM and USDC balances, payment streams, attestations, and reputation records are testnet assets — they carry no real monetary value. Testnet wallets can be funded for free using the [Stellar Friendbot](https://laboratory.stellar.org/#account-creator?network=test). This is the right environment to explore Aven, build integrations, and evaluate the payment flow before any mainnet deployment.

## Next steps

> **[Employer Quickstart](https://aven-docs.mintlify.site/quickstart-employer.md)**
>
> Set up Freighter, fund a testnet wallet, create your first payment stream, and invite a freelancer to start work.

> **[Freelancer Quickstart](https://aven-docs.mintlify.site/quickstart-freelancer.md)**
>
> Install the `aven-stellar` CLI, authorize your wallet, start tracking a work session, and submit your first report.

> **[How It Works](https://aven-docs.mintlify.site/how-it-works.md)**
>
> Understand the end-to-end lifecycle from stream creation and CLI authorization through payment release and attestation minting.

> **[CLI Overview](https://aven-docs.mintlify.site/cli/overview.md)**
>
> Full reference for every `aven-stellar` command, option, and local configuration file.


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