FAQ
Frequently asked questions about civic-dialog.org.
Is this really free?
Yes. Browsing and downloading assets is free with no account required. Publishing assets requires a contributor account, which is also free — just contact us to request access.
What kinds of assets are available?
The marketplace hosts automation assets across several categories: AI/LLM prompt chains, Make/Zapier/n8n workflow templates, Python and shell scripts, data transformation pipelines, and configuration files for common nonprofit tools. All assets must be documented with safety notes and setup steps.
How do I know an asset is safe to use?
Every asset goes through human review before being published. Contributors are required to document what the asset does, what it doesn't do, any known risks, and all prerequisites. After publishing, community members can leave reviews and flag concerns. Look for assets with high ratings and many clones as a starting signal — but always read the safety notes before running anything.
Can I use these assets in my organization right now?
Yes, with common sense. Read the documentation, check the license, and test in a non-production environment first. Assets are community-contributed and come with no warranty.
What license do assets use?
Each asset declares its own license — check the asset detail page. The platform defaults to recommending MIT or Apache 2.0 for maximum reuse, but contributors can choose any OSI-approved license.
How do I publish an asset?
You need a contributor account. Contact us to request access (we verify you're contributing in good faith), then use the publish form to submit your asset. It will go into a review queue and be live within a few days of approval.
I found a bug or safety issue with an asset. What do I do?
Click the "Report" button on the asset page. For serious safety issues, choose "Inaccurate safety information" or "Harmful content" as the reason — these are escalated to reviewers immediately.
Can I contribute code to the platform itself?
Absolutely. The platform is open source at github.com/civic-dialog-org/civic-dialog.org. Read the CONTRIBUTING.md to get started.
Who runs this?
A volunteer team. We have no investors and receive no revenue from the platform. Read more on the About page.
How is this funded?
Currently through volunteer time. We're pursuing foundation grants to cover infrastructure costs (hosting, storage, CI). If your foundation supports nonprofit technology infrastructure, we'd love to talk.
Still have questions?
Open an issue on GitHub or reach out via the contact information in the repository.