TrustBridge User Guide 🤝
TrustBridge is a decentralized escrow application designed to build trust between clients and freelancers. It holds funds safely until work is completed and approved, with a built-in arbitration mechanism for disputes.
🎭 Roles Client: The person hiring and paying for work. Freelancer: The person doing the work and receiving payment. Arbiter: A neutral third party (currently a deployed contract/system role) who resolves disputes.
🚀 How to Use (The Workflow)
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Connect Your Wallet Click the "Connect Wallet" button in the top right corner. Connect your MetaMask or other Web3 wallet (ensure you are on Sepolia Testnet).
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Create a Contract (Client) Navigate to Create Contract . Freelancer Address: Paste the wallet address of the person you are hiring. Amount: Enter the amount of ETH you want to pay. Deadline: Set the number of days the freelancer has to complete the work. Click "Create & Deposit Escrow". Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
✅ Result: A new Escrow Contract is deployed on the blockchain, and the funds are sent to it. You will be redirected to the Dashboard.
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View Contracts (Client & Freelancer) Navigate to Dashboard . You will see a card for every contract you are involved in. The card shows the current status: Pending, Active, Completed, Disputed, etc. Note: If you don't see your new contract immediately, click the "Refresh 🔄" button, as blockchain indexing can take a few seconds.
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The "Happy Path" (No Disputes) 🙂 Freelancer: Go to the Dashboard. Find the Active contract. Click "Submit Work". Enter a link to the work (e.g., a Google Drive link, GitHub repo, or IPFS hash). Confirm transaction. Client: Go to the Dashboard. See that work has been submitted. Click "Approve & Release". Confirm transaction. Result: The funds are effectively transferred to the Freelancer. The contract status becomes Completed.
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The "Sad Path" (Dispute) ⚖️ If the Client is unhappy with the work, or the Freelancer feels treated unfairly:
Initiate Dispute: Either party can click the "Dispute" button on the contract card in the Dashboard. Note: This locks the funds so no one can withdraw them. Arbitration: Navigate to Arbitration . (In a real app, this would be a separate dashboard for professional arbiters). Enter the Contract Address of the disputed escrow. Vote: The Arbiter votes for either the Freelancer or the Client. Result: If Arbiter votes Freelancer -> Funds go to Freelancer. If Arbiter votes Client -> Funds are refunded to Client.