Use Navigators
By default, every action a DAO takes is a proposal. That's fine for a founding crew, but it doesn't scale to open onboarding, recurring payroll, or quick temperature checks. Navigators are immutable extension contracts that let people and automation act within bounds the DAO sets once. This guide covers how to put one to work; for the full catalog and the per-navigator details, see the Navigators overview.
First, know the trust class
How you add a navigator depends on which of three classes it belongs to — because each is endorsed where its power actually lives.
| Class | Navigators | You endorse it by… |
|---|---|---|
| Permissioned | Onboarder, ERC-20 Tribute, NFT-Gate, Timelock, Vesting, Subscription | Passing a Navigators proposal that grants it a permission |
| Read-only | Signal | Posting a vault sanction list that names it |
| Module | Budget | Passing a proposal that enables it on the vault |
Navigators are trusted code
A navigator with MANAGER can mint tokens; one enabled on the vault can move treasury funds. Only
endorse navigators that are immutable, audited, and bounded by a cap, allowlist, or expiry. Governance
can always pause or revoke one, but treat endorsing a navigator as a high-trust action.
Endorse a permissioned navigator
Permissioned navigators are granted a permission bit through governance. There are two moments you can do it:
- At launch — the launch wizard's Navigators step lets you enable and configure an Onboarder or ERC-20 Tribute navigator as part of the deploy. These two are the only navigators offered in the wizard.
- After launch — pass a Navigators proposal. Because granting permissions is
governanceOnly, the DAO must vote to add, reconfigure, pause, or revoke one. The moment the proposal processes, the navigator can act. This is how you add NFT-Gate, Timelock, Vesting, and Subscription.
Configure an Onboarder
When you add an Onboarder, you set how tribute converts to tokens and the limits that keep it safe:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mode | multiplier (shares = tribute × multiplier) or fixed-price (a set price per share) |
| Price / multiplier | The conversion rate from QUAI to Shares and/or Loot |
mintCap | Total Shares/Loot the navigator may ever mint (navigator-local) |
perAddressCap | The most any single address can mint |
| Allowlist | Optional — restrict joining to approved addresses (Merkle) |
| Expiry | Optional — the navigator stops minting after this time |
| Pause | A GOVERNOR (or the vault) can pause/unpause onboarding at any time |
The ERC-20 Tribute navigator takes the same shape but is paid in a chosen ERC-20, with permit support for one-transaction joins.
Configure an NFT-Gate
Gate membership on an existing ERC-721 collection — anyone who owns a token can claim a fixed amount of Shares and/or Loot:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gate collection | The ERC-721 contract address that grants eligibility |
| Shares / Loot per holder | The fixed amount minted on each successful claim |
| Mode | Free (no payment) or tribute (an exact native amount, forwarded to the treasury) |
mintCap | Mandatory — the contract refuses a zero cap |
perAddressCap | Per wallet — a sanity bound, not an anti-whale guarantee for a transferable collection |
| Allowlist / Expiry / Pause | Optional extra gating, cutoff time, and a governance pause switch |
One claim per token — and Shares are a ticket
Each token ID can onboard exactly once, ever. The minted Shares stay with whoever claimed them even if the NFT is sold — the buyer of an already-claimed token gets nothing. The app shows each token's claim status. See NFT-Gate for the full model.
Sanction a read-only navigator (Signal)
The Signal poll engine takes no permission — it only reads voting
power. So instead of a permission grant, the DAO sanctions it: the vault posts a
daoships.dao.navigators list naming the navigator (a governance action the app guides you through).
Until then, its polls are not indexed and the app hides them.
Signal is post-launch only
A Signal navigator deployed during the launch wizard is dropped — the DAO doesn't exist on the indexer yet, so there's nothing to sanction it against. Deploy Signal from the DAO's Navigators page after launch, then sanction it. Once sanctioned, the indexer backfills any polls it already created.
Enable a module navigator (Budget)
The Budget navigator spends the treasury, so it isn't a DAOShip
permission at all — it's a module on the Quai Vault. You enable it with a proposal that calls
enableModule on the vault, exactly like any Zodiac module. A deployed-but-not-enabled Budget
navigator is powerless and hidden until that proposal processes. After it's enabled, governance
approves individual budgets and a designated manager disburses within them — no proposal per payment.
How members and managers interact
Once a navigator is endorsed, people use it from the DAO's Navigators page in the app:
- Onboarder / ERC-20 Tribute — submit the tribute and receive Shares and/or Loot in the same transaction. Newly minted Shares self-delegate, so voting power is active immediately.
- NFT-Gate — pick a token you own from the gating collection and claim (paying the tribute if the navigator requires one).
- Signal — create a poll or cast a share-weighted vote during its window.
- Vesting — beneficiaries claim vested Shares or Loot as they accrue.
- Budget — the budget's manager disburses to recipients within the per-period allowance.
- Subscription — members pay their dues to stay current; anyone can collect a lapsed member.
Related
- Navigators overview & catalog — every navigator and the trust model
- Navigators — the permission model in depth
- Manage members & shares — manual membership via proposals
- Configure governance — tune the rules around onboarding