Quick Start

Create and issue your first digital badge in five steps.

Step 1: Sign Up

1. Go to badges.ninja/signup.
2. Enter your email address and choose a password.
3. Check your inbox for a verification code and enter it on screen.

You now have a free account with 1,200 credentials per year included — a flexible annual pool, no credit card required.

Step 2: Create an Issuer

An issuer is the organization or person issuing badges. You need at least one verified issuer before you can create badges.

1. Open the Issuers page from the sidebar.
2. Click New Issuer.
3. Fill in the required fields:
   • Name — your organization name (minimum 3 characters)
   • URL — your organization website (e.g. https://example.com)
   • Email — a contact email for the issuer
   • Logo — optional, upload an image for your issuer profile
4. Click Create.

If the issuer email matches your account email, the issuer is verified automatically. Otherwise, a verification email is sent to the issuer email address with a link to confirm.

Step 3: Create a Badge

A badge is a credential template that you can issue to multiple recipients.

1. Open the Badges page from the sidebar.
2. Click New Badge.
3. Select the issuer that will issue this badge.
4. Fill in:
   • Name — the badge title (e.g. "JavaScript Fundamentals")
   • Description — what the badge represents
   • Criteria — what the recipient did to earn it
   • Image — use the built-in Badge Designer or upload your own image
5. Click Create.

The badge image is uploaded to IPFS for permanent, decentralized storage.

Step 4: Issue a Badge

1. Open the Credentials page from the sidebar.
2. Click New Credential.
3. Select the badge to issue using the visual badge picker.
4. Enter the recipient details:
   • Name — full name (minimum 5 characters)
   • Email — recipient email address
   • Issued On — the date the credential was earned
   • Expires — optional expiration date
5. Click Create.

Each credential gets a unique verification URL that anyone can use to confirm the credential is authentic.

Step 5: Share the Badge

After creating a credential, you can share it in several ways:

• Send email — click the send button on the credential to email the recipient directly
• Copy link — copy the public verification URL to share anywhere
• Social media — share on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, or Telegram from the public share page

The public credential page at badges.ninja/awards/{id} displays the badge image, recipient name, issuer, criteria, and issue date. Anyone with the link can verify the credential.

Next Steps

• Managing Issuers — learn about issuer verification and management
• Badge Designer — design custom badges with the visual editor
• Bulk Credentials — issue badges to thousands of recipients via CSV
• API Reference — automate badge operations with the REST API