Become a host

Apply on the website

Open the host portal, create an account or sign in, and submit your name, country and assessment consent. The server assigns a stable numeric host ID. Applying does not subscribe you to marketing email.

Generate a private pairing code for each computer. It expires after 24 hours and can be used once. A new code replaces your unused code. Your host ID identifies you; the private pairing code authorizes a machine to join your account. Never share the code or copy an installed worker credential to another machine.

One required host setup

All company and partner rental machines must run Proxmox VE, managed by ComputerUse. Customers run Linux or Windows inside a VM. A Windows reporting task alone is not a rental host.

Follow host setup. The earlier Windows worker and ThinkCentre administrator packages have been withdrawn from public downloads. An existing registration remains associated with its owner during migration; rerunning a different enrollment mode must not change ownership.

The reusable boot USB detects hardware, displays the selected disk, authenticates company credentials or host ID and pairing, installs Proxmox and starts private management and reporting. The full sequence has passed a virtual-machine rehearsal and both company ThinkCentres are now online with owner Linux desktops. New hosts still require server-side desktop activation and verification after enrollment; the USB does not automatically install the fast desktop connection. See host setup for the exact steps and update policy.

Qualification runs on the final Proxmox host

After conversion and private enrollment, leave the host powered and connected for 48 hours, with a preliminary report after 24 hours. The assessment must evaluate the actual Proxmox configuration before rental approval. Existing Windows telemetry is migration evidence and does not substitute for qualification of the final host.

Uptime, connectivity and approximate bandwidth scoring exist in the management service, and the Proxmox collector runs on both company hosts. Partner qualification still requires the full observation window and independent validation of the final host. No customer workloads run during assessment.

The current probe design uses approximately 144 MiB over 48 hours, plus telemetry. These tests measure the path to the service; independent verification is required before commercial activation. Personal files and BIOS passwords do not belong in telemetry.

Qualification score

Version 1 uses visible rules: uptime contributes 45 points, connectivity 15, download 15, upload 15 and hardware 10. Target criteria are 99% heartbeat coverage, 99% successful connectivity checks, at least 24 hourly bandwidth samples across a 48-hour observation window, median 25 Mbps download, median 10 Mbps upload, median latency no more than 200 ms, supported RAM, at least four logical processors and 170 GiB free system disk.

Server receipt times and one sample per minute prevent duplicate heartbeat submissions from inflating uptime. Missing reports count against coverage. A preliminary score is not approval. AI review is not configured yet; the dashboard explicitly identifies the current method as transparent rules. These initial thresholds are product qualification targets and may change after real-machine benchmarking.

50/50 revenue split

The host receives 50% of the rental charges attributable to that host's computers, after discounts and adjusted for refunds and chargebacks. Separate taxes and unrelated add-ons are excluded. No platform-overhead deduction is applied to the host share. Fractional cents carry forward in the ledger. Accrued amounts are unpaid and require settlement reconciliation before transfer.

Eligible company computers are assigned before eligible partner computers within the requested tier. Existing active host rentals stay assigned to their machines. There is no guaranteed utilization or income.

Stripe Connect

The V2 marketplace sandbox implements authenticated host onboarding, current account status from Stripe, platform products and a storefront. Read the detailed integration guide. It is isolated from real computers and live credit; real sandbox verification requires its own API key and two event signing secrets.

Hosts use a V2 recipient account and Express dashboard. Identity and bank details go to Stripe. The sample demonstrates US hosts; other countries need supported payout arrangements before a live rollout. Every status read checks current requirements and transfer capability through Accounts V2.

Hosted-machine purchases use a destination charge with a 50% application fee, as requested. A $40 rental sends $20 to the host's Stripe balance and gives ComputerUse $20 before processing costs. Stripe fees come from the company share. A single destination-charge checkout supports one host; customers can buy several computers from that host, while purchases spanning hosts need separate checkouts. Odd-cent totals give the extra cent to the host. Company machines do not need a partner transfer.

Live customer collection and host payments remain closed. A destination charge transfers funds to a connected Stripe balance; bank payouts follow Stripe's availability and payout schedule. Fresh-rental provisioning, capacity holds, failure refunds, transfer/application-fee reversals, disputes and paid end-to-end checks still need launch verification. Unused prepaid credit does not count as a host rental. The existing prepaid attribution ledger and the sandbox order ledger are separate; do not enable both for the same payment. See Stripe destination charges.