FAQ

Frequently asked questions about badges.ninja.

What are digital badges?

Digital badges are visual, verifiable representations of skills, achievements, or credentials. Each badge contains metadata about what was earned, who earned it, who issued it, and the criteria required. Unlike paper certificates, digital badges can be verified online by anyone with the badge URL.

What is the Open Badge v2.0 standard?

Open Badge v2.0 is an industry standard by IMS Global (now 1EdTech) that defines how digital badges are structured, issued, and verified. badges.ninja follows this standard so your badges are interoperable with other Open Badge platforms and verifiers. The standard defines three core data objects: Issuer (who issues), BadgeClass (what is issued), and Assertion (the credential to a specific person).

How does IPFS storage work?

Badge images are stored on IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), a decentralized storage network. Once uploaded, images are content-addressed — meaning they are identified by a cryptographic hash of their content. This makes them permanent, tamper-proof, and accessible through any IPFS gateway. Your badge images remain available even if badges.ninja is offline.

What does the free plan include?

The Free plan includes 2 issuers, 5 badge classes, 1,200 credentials per year, 1 API key, 1 GB of badge image storage, and full access to the visual badge designer, IPFS storage, and Open Badge v2.0 compliance — at no cost, with no credit card required. The credential allowance is a flexible annual pool that resets on your account's registration anniversary.

Can I use the API to automate badge creation?

Yes. badges.ninja provides a full REST API for creating issuers, badges, and credentials programmatically. Generate an API key from your dashboard and include it in the X-Api-Key header. See the API Reference for complete documentation with examples.

Can I revoke a badge after I've issued it?

Yes. From the Credentials page you can revoke an individual credential (optionally with a reason, and notifying the recipient) or delete it entirely. Revoked credentials remain resolvable, but their public verification page shows that the credential has been revoked. This follows the Open Badge v2.0 revocation model.

Where do recipients collect their badges?

Recipients can sign in passwordlessly at badges.ninja/me to see every badge they have been issued, and can claim a public profile at badges.ninja/u/<handle> to showcase their credentials. Each credential also has its own public verification and share page.

How do bulk credentials work?

Bulk credentials let you issue the same badge to hundreds or thousands of recipients by uploading a CSV file with names and emails. The system processes each row, shows real-time progress, and lets you pause, resume, or cancel. After processing, you can download CSVs of successful and failed credentials. See Bulk Credentials for the full guide.

How do recipients share their badges?

Each credential has a public verification page and a share page. Recipients can share their badge on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, or by email. They can also copy the direct verification URL. Social media sharing includes rich previews with the badge image and description. See Sharing & Verification.

How is my data secured?

badges.ninja uses AWS infrastructure with encryption at rest and in transit. Authentication is handled by Amazon Cognito with secure password policies. API keys use cryptographic generation. Badge images on IPFS are content-addressed and tamper-proof. The platform follows security best practices including WAF protection and DDoS mitigation.

How do I get support?

If you need help, open the Support page from the sidebar in your dashboard. You can create a support ticket describing your issue, and the team will respond. You can also check this documentation and the Quick Start guide for common questions.