Help & documentation
Everything you need to design, issue, and manage Open Badges 3.0 credentials with Incredify.
Getting started
1. Create your organization
Sign up and set up your institution: pick a display name and a subdomain (like miami.incredify.net). The subdomain also becomes your cryptographic issuer identity (did:web), so choose carefully — it can't be changed later. Incredify generates your Ed25519 signing keys automatically; you never have to manage them.
2. Design a badge
Create a badge with a name, description, earning criteria, and skills tags. Design the artwork right in the browser, or upload finished square artwork. See the Badge designer section for a full walkthrough.
3. Issue badges
Issue to one person by typing their name and email, or to an entire cohort by uploading a CSV. Each badge is cryptographically signed the moment it's issued.
4. Recipients claim and share
Each recipient gets a personal badge page — no account or password needed. One click adds the badge to their LinkedIn profile, or they can download the portable credential file.
5. Anyone can verify
Every badge page has a Verify button that checks the cryptographic signature against your published keys, plus revocation and expiry status. Verification requires no trust in Incredify — the math is public.
Badge designer
The built-in designer lets you create badge artwork in the browser without any external tools. Open it from Dashboard → Badges → New badge.
Shapes
Seal, shield, hexagon, rosette, ribbon, or burst. The shape sets the outer boundary of the badge.
Styles
Flat, 3D, material, geometric, or isometric. Styles control shading and depth — pick one to start, then customize colors.
Layers & objects
Add text, shapes, and gradients as independent layers. Reorder them in the Layers panel, or select any object to reveal the contextual toolbar.
Logo upload
Import a PNG (transparent backgrounds recommended) to overlay your crest or logo. Resize and reposition freely.
Undo/redo is always available (⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z). If you already have finished artwork, skip the designer and use Upload image to attach any square PNG or JPG directly.
Issuing badges
Single issuance
Open a badge and click Issue. Enter the recipient's name and email. Optionally attach evidence — a URL, an uploaded file (PDF, PNG, or JPEG), or a plain-text note. Toggle the notification email on or off per issuance.
Bulk CSV issuance
Issue to an entire cohort in one upload. Download the template from the Issue dialog, fill it out, and upload — up to 1,000 rows per file.
| Column | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Recipient's email address | |
| name | No | Recipient's display name |
| evidence_url | No | Link to evidence (must be https://) |
| evidence_name | No | Short title for the evidence link |
| evidence_description | No | Longer description of the evidence |
| evidence_text | No | Free-text narrative (maps to OB3 narrative) |
| evidence2_url | No | Second evidence item — same fields as above |
| evidence2_name | No | |
| evidence2_description | No | |
| evidence2_text | No |
Each row becomes one issuance. Rows with invalid emails are skipped and reported after upload; valid rows still process.
Notification emails
When enabled, recipients get a branded email from credentials@incredify.net with a link to their claim page. For CSV uploads, notifications are sent in bulk after processing completes.
Resending a claim link
Open any issuance from the badge's recipient list and click Resend email. This resends the original notification with the same claim URL.
Recipients & verification
Recipients never need an Incredify account. Each issuance generates a permanent public URL (incredify.net/b/<id>) that anyone can open.
LinkedIn sharing
The claim page has a one-click Add to LinkedInbutton that deep-links into LinkedIn's “Add certification” flow, pre-filled with the badge name, issuer, and credential URL.
Portable download
Recipients can download a baked PNG — the badge image with the full signed Verifiable Credential embedded as metadata — or the raw JSON-LD credential file for use in OB3 wallets.
Verification
The Verify button on every badge page calls /api/verify/<id>, checks the Ed25519 signature against the issuer's did:web document, and confirms revocation and expiry status.
Privacy (listed / unlisted)
Each badge template has a Listed/Unlisted toggle. Unlisted badges are still accessible via direct link but are marked noindex so they won't appear in search results.
What does “did:web” actually mean?
A digital badge is just data, so it has to be signed — like a wax seal only your organization can produce, but that anyone can check. Signing uses a key pair: a private key (a secret only you hold, used to sign) and a public key (shared openly, used by anyone to confirm a signature is genuinely yours).
That leaves one question: where does a verifier find your real public key? did:web is the answer — it publishes your public key at your own web domain. Your issuer identity is a string like did:web:incredify.net:issuers:your-slug, which is really a recipe for a URL:
https://incredify.net/issuers/your-slug/did.json
A small public file lives at that address with your public key inside. So verifying a badge means: read the badge → see which issuer it claims → fetch that file → check the signature against the key. The trust is anchored to your domain, not to Incredify — so a badge stays provably authentic even if Incredify disappeared, and no one has to “trust us” or call a registrar. It's an open W3C standard (“DID” = Decentralized Identifier), so your credentials keep working anywhere, forever.
Pathways
A pathway is a stackable credential that auto-awards when an earner completes a defined set of component badges. Build them from Dashboard → Pathways.
AND slots
Require every badge in the slot — e.g. “must earn Badge A AND Badge B.”
OR options
Accept any N of a set — e.g. “earn any 2 of these 5 elective badges.”
Auto-award
When all requirements are met, Incredify issues the pathway badge automatically — no manual step required.
Earners see their progress on every component badge's claim page: “Counts toward [Pathway Name] — 2 of 4 complete.” The pathway editor validates for circular dependencies before saving.
Sub-organizations
Sub-organizations let you group badges and members by school, department, or program within a single Incredify account. Each badge can belong to a sub-org; members can be scoped to one or more.
Creating sub-orgs
Go to Settings → Sub-organizations and click New sub-organization. Give it a name and save.
Assigning members
In Settings → Members, open a member's profile and pick which sub-org(s) they belong to. Members without a sub-org assignment see all badges.
Filtering the dashboard
Use the sub-org filter dropdown in the badge list to show only badges from a specific sub-organization.
Moving badges
Super-admins can move or copy a badge between sub-organizations from the admin console. Members can do it from the badge's edit page if they have access to both sub-orgs.
Reporting & exports
Dashboard → Recipients shows every issuance across all your badges in one place. Search by name or email, filter by badge, sub-org, date range, or status (active, revoked, expired).
CSV export
Click Export CSV to download all issuances matching the current filters. The export includes recipient name, email, badge name, issued date, claim URL, and current status. Useful for compliance reporting and LMS reconciliation.
Branding
Subdomain
Your subdomain (e.g. miami.incredify.net) appears in your issuer DID, on badge pages, and in verification results. It is set at onboarding and cannot be changed.
Organization logo
Upload a square PNG or JPG in Settings → Profile. Your logo appears on badge claim pages alongside your organization name and verified checkmark. Logo upload requires domain verification.
Verified issuer checkmark
Organizations that signed up with a non-public work email (e.g. @miami.edu) are automatically verified at onboarding. Organizations that signed up with a personal email can verify later via Settings → Verify with your work email. The checkmark appears on all badge claim pages your organization issues.
SSO (Enterprise)
Enterprise onlyEnterprise plans can configure SAML 2.0 single sign-on so staff log in with your institution's existing identity provider (Okta, Azure AD, Shibboleth, etc.) instead of a magic-link email.
Setup steps
- Go to Settings → SSO and click New SSO configuration.
- Copy the SP Entity ID and ACS (callback) URL into your IdP as a new SAML application.
- Paste your IdP's metadata XML URL (or upload the XML file) back into Incredify.
- Save and test — use Test SSO login before enabling it for your whole team.
SP metadata
Your SAML SP metadata is always available at /api/sso/<configId>/metadata. Some IdPs prefer to consume metadata by URL rather than manual entry.
API (Enterprise)
Enterprise onlyIssue badges and list badge templates programmatically. Create an API key in Settings → API keys, then pass it as a bearer token. Plan rate limits, duplicate guards, and pathway auto-awards all apply exactly as they do in the dashboard.
List your badges
curl https://incredify.net/api/v1/badges \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ik_your_key"Issue a badge
curl -X POST https://incredify.net/api/v1/issue \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ik_your_key" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"badge_id": "<badge uuid>",
"recipient": { "email": "earner@example.edu", "name": "Jane Earner" }
}'
# 201 → { "assertion_id": "...", "claim_url": "...", "verify_url": "..." }Rate limits
API requests are rate-limited per key. If you exceed the limit you'll receive a 429 Too Many Requests response. Back off and retry — the Retry-After header tells you when to try again.
FAQ
- Do cheaper plans have fewer features?
- No. Every plan, including Free, has the full platform: the designer, pathways, bulk issuance, reporting, sub-organizations, and verification. Plans differ only in how many badges you can issue per year. API access and SSO are Enterprise-only.
- What's the difference between a badge and an issuance?
- A badge is the template — the design, criteria, and skills. An issuance (or award) is one copy of that badge given to one person. Plan limits count issuances per year; you can create unlimited badge templates on any plan.
- Can I edit a badge after issuing it?
- Only before the first issuance. After a badge has been awarded, it's locked to protect credential integrity — archive it and create a new version instead. All previously awarded badges remain valid.
- What happens when I archive a badge?
- It can no longer be issued, but every badge already awarded stays fully viewable and verifiable forever. Archived badges appear on a separate tab in your dashboard.
- Can I revoke a badge?
- Yes. Revoked badges show their status on the claim page and fail cryptographic verification. Revocation is permanent — it cannot be undone.
- Do recipients need an Incredify account?
- Never. Recipients claim, share, and download their credentials from a public page. No sign-up, no app to install.
- What Open Badges version do you use?
- Open Badges 3.0 (W3C Verifiable Credentials). Each badge is an Ed25519-signed JWT credential, and your issuer identity is anchored to your subdomain via did:web.
- What is did:web, in plain English?
- It's how the public key that verifies your badges is published at your own web domain. Each badge is signed with a private key only you hold; the matching public key sits in a small public file at your did:web address (e.g. incredify.net/issuers/your-slug/did.json). Anyone can fetch it and confirm a badge is genuinely yours — without trusting Incredify or calling a registrar. Because trust is anchored to your domain (not to us), your badges stay verifiable even if Incredify ceased to exist. See the Recipients & verification section above for the full explainer.
- Can I export my data if I leave?
- Yes. Badge templates and issuance records export as standard JSON-LD credential files that work with any Open Badges 3.0 wallet or platform. Recipients keep their claim URLs regardless.
- What evidence types can I attach to a badge?
- For single issuance: a URL, an uploaded file (PDF, PNG, or JPEG), or a plain-text note. For CSV bulk issuance, evidence is URL or text only (up to two evidence items per row — files can't ride in a flat CSV).
- Can I have multiple admins on one account?
- Yes. Invite team members from Settings → Members. You can assign each member to one or more sub-organizations and grant them admin or issuer roles.
- What is a sub-organization?
- A sub-organization (formerly called a department) lets you group badges and members — for example, by school, department, or program. Badge and issuance data can be filtered per sub-org in the dashboard.
- Is there a sandbox or test environment?
- Not a separate environment. You can create a badge, issue it to yourself, and delete or archive it to test the flow. Free plan issuances you use for testing count against your annual limit.
- How long does it take for a badge to appear after issuing?
- Instantly. The claim page is live as soon as the issuance is confirmed, and the notification email typically arrives within a minute.
- Can I customize the badge claim page?
- The claim page automatically shows your organization's name, logo, and verified checkmark. Per-badge or custom-domain claim pages are not currently supported.
Still stuck?
Email us at hello@incredify.net — a human will answer.