Pi Network has always been driven by the decentralized efforts from Pioneers, the Core Team, and community developers alike. This collaborative spirit continues through the Developer Ambassador Program, an initiative that enables the community to mobilize their utilities-building efforts by enrolling new developers onto Pi Network, and support its vision:
Build the world’s most inclusive peer-to-peer ecosystem and online experience, fueled by Pi, the world’s most widely distributed cryptocurrency.
This program is for everyone. Whether or not you are a developer yourself, any Pioneer can be proactive in identifying, engaging and enabling developers in their personal and professional networks to build new Pi apps (or repurpose existing apps into Pi apps) for our large 47+ million strong community.
Your efforts in this Developer Ambassador Program can help create new Pi Apps and further diversify the utilities of the Pi cryptocurrency, bringing us closer to Open Mainnet, all the while bringing you Pi rewards!
Developer Ambassador Reward
Creating utilities and advancing to the next phase of the Pi roadmap is an essential network goal. To incentivize and reward this mass effort, Developer Ambassadors will receive 1000 Pi for every new Pioneer developer they onboard who builds and deploys an unverified Mainnet Pi app that is listed on the Ecosystem UI of the Pi Browser. This program is meant to only reward sincere efforts that advance the network’s goals. Therefore, the reward will only be given when your invited developers build and deploy real apps.
Program Details
In this initial program, Developer Ambassadors have until March 31, 2024 to invite developers to create and list an unverified Mainnet app on the Pi Browser's Ecosystem UI. Developer Ambassadors can manage invitations and track the progress of onboarded developers in the Developer Ambassador interface, found in the main Pi app's menu bar under the "Roles" tab.
The Developer Ambassador can obtain the Pi rewards only if the invited new developer successfully builds a Pi app.
Eligibility
Specifically, for the Developer Ambassador to be eligible to receive the reward of 1000 Pi, the new Pioneer developer needs to:
Join Pi Network using the Developer Ambassador’s general Pi Network referral code (the same one to invite new Pioneers).
Register an app on the Developer Portal within 30 days of becoming a Pioneer.
Have their unverified Mainnet app meet the listing criteria of, and be successfully listed on, the Ecosystem UI of the Pi Browser for at least 30 continuous days.
Details on the Ecosystem UI of the Pi Browser and the requirements to be listed on it as an unverified Mainnet App will be provided later.
Getting started
Follow these simple steps to get started as a Developer Ambassador:
In the Pi mining app, tap the side menu icon ☰ in the top left corner.
Tap on the “Roles” button. Here, you will see a list of various roles that Pioneers can perform.
Tap on the “Developer Ambassador” role.
You will now see your Developer Ambassador dashboard. This is where you will be able to view the apps and progress of the developers onboarded by you. When a developer signs up to Pi Network using your code and registers an app in the Developer Portal, they will appear here.
Populate your dashboard by inviting external developers to join Pi through the existing referral mechanism – simply send them an invitation to join Pi, or otherwise make sure they use your general Pi Network referral code when signing up.
Participate today and help spread the word and power of Pi Network to individuals, groups, and organizations who are interested in seeing their app come to life on Pi.
Find, Pitch, Onboard and Support Developers
There are four key components to being a successful Developer Ambassador: finding great developers, pitching the Pi platform and community to them, onboarding them onto the platform, and supporting them to build strong apps. In this section, we will provide you with resources on how to complete all of these steps!
1. Find Developers
As a Developer Ambassador, you have the freedom to invite developers and businesses from any background to Pi. Here are some suggestions for how to get started:
Reach out to friends, family, colleagues and peers with a background in software development, software engineering, product design or entrepreneurship
Connect with startups and companies who have an app or are interested in building an app or an online presence
Tap into your university, workplace, or professional networks
Look out for both existing apps with a proven model, as well as developers who may want to build a Pi app from scratch
If you have access to a network of developers, you could host gatherings or even your own local hackathon to get multiple parties to start building Pi Apps!
No matter where you find developers, remember to prioritize one-on-one conversations as you are able to directly respond to the developers’ potential questions or concerns.
2. Pitch to Developers
It is important to provide prospective developers with an informative and compelling introduction to Pi. The key attractions of the Pi platform and community for developers are explained in this Why Build on Pi webpage.
It is best to also be able to provide a summary of the benefits of building a Pi App yourself. Some of the main benefits of developing a Pi App include:
Access to over 47 million potential users
Simple Web3 onboarding without need for any blockchain or cryptocurrency-specific programming language or experience
Quick start with built-in developer tools and community contributions
Multiple revenue options allowing for diverse business models
Limitless development – build anything the developer wants
Opportunities for support, mentorship, and Pi cryptocurrency rewards
Low transaction fees and high throughput on this environmentally friendly blockchain
With PiNet—Pi Apps on the Open InterNet—Developer Ambassadors have an excellent toolkit and proof point to use in your pitch to developers you want to onboard onto Pi Network. PiNet is an easy way to view and share Pi Apps on any regular web browser such as Chrome, Safari, and Firefox on any device without needing to sign in with the Pi account. It allows the developer to explore parts of the Pi App ecosystem even before they have a Pi account. For example, sharing Fireside Forum via PiNet can give a developer a sense of a useful Pi App as well as the level of Pioneer engagement on the platform, helping motivate the developer to build a Pi App of their own.
To share PiNet.com links, simply copy the PiNet URL directly from your browser and share with the developer.
3. Onboard Developers
Send interested developers your general Pi Network referral code (the same one to invite new Pioneers) to create their Pi account. This way, you are identified as their Developer Ambassador. You also can send them an invite link directly through the Developer Ambassador Portal. This is found in the Pi mining app by accessing the side menu icon ☰, then tapping on the “Roles” button, then tapping on the “Developer Ambassador Program”, and then tapping on “Add from Contacts”.
4. Support Developers
It is easy to get started and build on Pi. Unlike on other blockchains, a software developer does not need prior blockchain experience or knowledge of any blockchain-specific programming language. As the developer invited by you starts building a Pi App, you can share the following developer resources to support their building of a Pi App along the way.
Guides and Resources
Developer Onboarding Guide: This guide details the steps needed to get set up as a new developer in the Pi Ecosystem.
Getting Started Checklist: This checklist is a part of the onboarding guide, which quickly previews at a high level all the steps needed to start building on Pi.
Pi Platform Github Repository: This is our detailed developer documentation that has all the information and code examples needed to integrate with the Pi SDK and make API calls.
Blueprints and Templates; Pi Developer Community
Pi Demo App Repository: The platform demo application comes with the Pi SDK already integrated. Therefore, a Pi App developer can review or clone this demo application code as a blueprint to build on top of.
PiOS: Learn here about the Pi Open Source software license and how to use it. With a collaborative spirit, a developer can build atop other Pi developers’ code. Further, if the developer chooses to make their own code available to the Pi community via the PiOS license, the community can make further contributions to the code base.
Pi Developer Community: Once the new developer is on their way to building a Pi App, they are able to be a part of a robust community of Pi App developers on Discord who are helping each other. Instructions on joining this Discord server will be available to the developer on the Brainstorm app, which can be found on the Pi Browser.
Starter Developer Workshop Videos
Product Workshop: This video introduces the Pi platform and explains some helpful product and design approaches to a Pi App developer.
SDK Workshop: This video is a technical presentation on how to integrate and use the Pi SDK.
Your efforts in this Developer Ambassador Program can help contribute to the creation of various Pi Apps and the expansion of diverse utilities for the Pi cryptocurrency. Helping bring talented developers to the ecosystem helps bring Pi Network closer to Open Mainnet.
If you are a developer yourself considering building a Pi App, refer to the main Developer webpage. Here, you will find 47 million reasons to be on the Pi platform!