# How contracts work

Source: https://skill.io/learn/how-contracts-work
Last updated: 2026-10-01

How to accept a contract on a Skill.io game server, how it is checked from the server log, when you are paid, and what backing or fading an attempt means.

A contract is a task you complete on one of Skill.io's own game servers for a fixed payout. Because Skill.io runs the servers, their logs are the record, and software settles the result.

## What is a contract?

A task such as staying alive for an hour in DayZ or getting a set number of kills in a Hell Let Loose match. You stake on yourself, go and do it, and Skill.io's agents check the server log.

DayZ, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam and Rust have open contracts. Contracts are grouped from easy to extreme.

## How do I accept one, and what can I stake?

Open the contract, enter your in-game name exactly as the server shows it, pick your stake and press Accept. The stake comes off your balance straight away and your payout is fixed at that moment.

Stakes start at $1. The most you can stake is shown on each contract.

## How long do I have?

Every contract has a time window, from 15 minutes to a few hours, shown on the contract. The clock starts when you accept, so be on the server first.

## How does Skill.io know I completed it?

Skill.io runs the servers, so their logs are the record. Agents read each log as it is written, match it to your in-game name and settle the contract. Kills come from the kill log. Team kills never count.

A few kills the log cannot see are checked by the team from your recording. You can follow an attempt live on its contract page.

## When do I get paid?

Once the completion shows up in the server log, you are paid within 5 minutes: your stake times the price you accepted at. Some servers publish their log in bursts, so a result can take a little longer. Contracts the team checks by hand are paid once the review is done.

## What if I run out of time, or the log cannot be read?

If the window ends without a completion in the log, the contract is lost. It is only counted as lost once the log has been read past the end of your window.

If the agent could not read the server log during your window, you get your stake back. A contract nobody reviews within 3 days of its window closing is refunded.

## What does backing or fading an attempt mean?

When someone accepts a contract, other players can bet on how it goes. Back it if you think they will complete it, fade it if you think they will not. The price moves with the money on each side and with the attempt itself, like the time left.

You cannot bet on your own attempt. If an attempt is refunded, the backs and fades on it are refunded too.