Support Us
ap_ds is a fully open-source, free-to-use project. If it has been useful to you, you might consider buying the author a coffee, though not donating will not affect a single feature you can use.
Donations are handled by the third-party platform Afdian; clicking through will take you to afdian.com. This site does not collect or store any payment information.
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ap_ds is an open-source project. The source code, documentation, releases and licence are identical for every user, whether you donate or not.
Donating grants no functional privilege: no hidden content, no paid features, no priority technical support, no special licence terms, and nothing to unlock.
A donation is purely voluntary financial support, a way of saying you agree with how the project is run. If those tiers read like you are buying a service, then we have explained it badly: it really is not that.
Why support is needed
ap_ds does not sell anything: no paid edition, no subscription, no advertising, and no user data turned into revenue. What keeps it going is a steady investment of time plus some fixed costs, and the largest part of that is the code itself:
- Code development (the largest part) ap_ds is not a large project, but it is far from small: from audio decoding and metadata parsing to the SDL2 bindings and cross-platform quirks, every new feature and every bug fix is written line by line. This part is not invoiced as a salary, but the cost is real. Priced at a developer’s market rate, the number is not flattering.
- Servers and domain Hosting, bandwidth and domestic/international access optimisation for apds.top, every month.
- Domain, certificates and security Domain renewal, issuing and auto-renewing TLS certificates, plus vulnerability follow-up and security review.
- Cross-platform testing on real hardware The code has to be verified on real hardware: Windows 7/10/11, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), several Linux distributions and ARM64 embedded devices.
- Long-term support promise v3.0.0 LTS commits to security updates and technical support through March 2031, and that promise costs time and effort to keep.
- Maintenance, packaging and releases Dual-track LFV and LTS releases, answering issues, documentation updates, multi-platform builds and wheel/sdist packaging, hash-manifest maintenance: all real work.
These costs do not shrink just because the download count is small. Your support directly lowers the risk of the project stalling.
Where the money goes
These are approximate uses, not audited accounts. The amounts are modest anyway, but the direction is clear:
| Use | Details | Rough share |
|---|---|---|
| Code development | New features and bug fixes (developer hours) | ~45% |
| Servers and domain | Hosting, bandwidth, CDN, DNS | ~20% |
| Cross-platform testing and builds | Real-hardware test environments, builds and verification | ~15% |
| Maintenance, docs and releases | Answering issues, documentation, packaging and shipping releases | ~15% |
| Reserve | Contingencies and long-term maintenance buffer | ~5% |
These proportions will shift with circumstances. Developer hours do not produce a cash outlay, but they are the single largest input into this project; any surplus goes first to maintaining the long-term support (LTS) line.
What you get for donating
Honestly: very little. We are not going to dangle perks to attract donations. Here is what is on offer, and what is not.
- If you wish, your name (or nickname/ID) is credited publicly: not only on the thanks list on this page, but also in the official README, release notes, the PyPI project page, the GitHub page and other official channels. Of course, if you would rather not be shown, or prefer to stay anonymous, just let us know.
- The project keeps running and stays free to use, which is the most tangible return there is.
- The author knows someone is using it and approves, which helps more than anything else.
- If you leave contact details, you will be told about important changes that relate directly to your feedback.
- No hidden content or members-only area.
- No extra features, no better performance, no earlier access to releases.
- No priority technical support; issues are handled on their merits, not on whether you donated.
- No special licence terms; the licence applies to everyone, unchanged.
In other words: what you are paying for is that this project keeps existing, not any form of privilege. If privilege is what you were after, there is none here, but you can still use ap_ds for free.
Support tiers
The tiers are provided by the Afdian platform and are billed monthly. The exact perks and payment details are as listed on Afdian; what follows is roughly what each tier means for the project, so you can pick one that fits.
Roughly the price of a drink for the author. It does not cover much cost, but knowing that someone is actually using it and chose to support it is itself a reason to keep going.
Roughly one month's share of a domain or a small server, and it genuinely absorbs part of the project's fixed costs.
Roughly covers a month of server and domain costs, so that expense no longer has to come from somewhere else.
Roughly puts a little value on one full maintenance day of work. This is the kind of support that keeps a project maintainable in the long run.
A custom amount, repeatable. Set whatever suits you; a one-off small amount means just as much as ongoing support.
If you wish to be credited, your name goes into the public thanks (the thanks list on this page, plus the official README, release notes, PyPI project page, GitHub page and other official channels). Not wanting to be credited, or staying anonymous, is completely fine too; just let us know.
Which tier should I pick?
| Your situation | What you might consider |
|---|---|
| Individual use, tight budget | Not donating is completely fine. If you want to, a one-off custom amount is plenty. |
| Using it regularly, happy to support | ￥10 or ￥21 per month, whatever is comfortable. |
| Used in a commercial project or at work | ￥88.88 per month, or a custom amount scaled to your usage. |
| Want to support the project long term | ￥188.88 per month, or a long-running custom amount. |
| Student, or money is tight | Please do not donate; use the no-cost ways to help instead. |
Which tier you pick, or whether you donate at all, has no effect on the features you can use. You can change or stop it on Afdian at any time.
Note: if you would rather not be credited publicly, you can support anonymously; simply do not provide a name.
Leave your contact details (for the thanks list)
If you would like to be credited in ap_ds’s official channels after donating (the thanks list on this page, the README, release notes, the PyPI project page, the GitHub page and so on), tell us the name you want shown and how to reach you. A real name, nickname, ID or organisation all work; if you would rather not be shown or prefer to stay anonymous, that is completely fine too, just let us know. Use any of the following (or any other way you can think of):
The most direct route; either address works. Please put “ap_ds donation” in the subject.
me@dvsyun.top · dvs6666@163.com
A comment on your support, a direct message, or a note under a post. The author will see it on the platform.
This site has an Issues/feedback page: just submit it there. If you would rather not send email, this is the easiest path.
Repository issues, community discussions, blog comments, word of mouth through a friend; anything that gets the information to the author counts.
If you do not hear back, it was probably missed, so just remind us a few days later. A small donation will never be the reason for a slow reply.
You can help a great deal without spending money
Money is not the only way to support a project, and often the following helps more:
- Report problems File an issue with reproduction steps and environment details; that drives fixes faster than any donation.
- Improve the docs If something is unclear or an example does not run, tell the author or send a fix.
- Translate Help proofread or extend the documentation in other languages.
- Use it in a real project Putting ap_ds to work and reporting what happens is the most valuable testing there is.
- Spread the word Mention it on a blog, in a community or a chat group so people who need it can find it.
- Star or recommend it For an open-source project, visibility is itself a resource.
If you are a student, or money is tight: please do not donate. Supporting in the ways above helps just as much.
Frequently asked questions
No, and it never will. ap_ds is open source; every feature is available to every user, and donations have nothing to do with features.
No. Issues, feedback and feature requests are handled on their content, not on whether you donated.
Not at all. ap_ds is free to use under the AP_DS-OSL 2.0 licence. Donating is entirely voluntary.
No. The licence terms apply to everyone, and a donation grants no additional permission or exemption.
You can say so in a message and it will be taken into account where possible, but the final allocation follows the project’s actual needs.
Payments currently go through Afdian. For invoices or corporate transfers, email us first with what you need and we will see whether there is a workable route.
Refunds follow the Afdian platform’s own rules; please raise it through the platform. You can also email us to explain the situation.
Not on their own. Minors should take part only with a guardian’s knowledge and consent.
Please note
- Please give only what you can comfortably afford. ap_ds is a small project and nobody should feel pressure over it.
- A donation is voluntary, unpaid support. It does not constitute a purchase, employment, contracting or any form of service agreement.
- Donating does not change the licence and confers no exclusivity or priority.
- Minors must have a guardian’s knowledge and consent.
- Payment, refund and invoicing matters are governed by the Afdian platform’s rules.
- If you want to stay anonymous or unlisted, say so clearly in your message and it will be respected exactly.
- If the project ever becomes impossible to maintain, it will be announced on this site in advance rather than quietly disappearing.
Thank you, sincerely
The best moments in building ap_ds are not the releases; they are the messages saying “I built something with it”.
If you have ever filed an issue, reported a bug, fixed a typo in the docs, or simply installed it in one of your projects: thank you. All of that genuinely keeps this project alive.
If you choose to support it financially, that is a real help; if you do not, that is perfectly fine too, and using it is already enough.
Dvs (DvsXT)
Thanks list 1 supporter(s)
- skt 1.00 since 2026-10 ap_ds 捐赠 · 自选金额