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When you create a smart contract, you first choose its type. The type determines how tokens reach your stakeholders and can’t be changed after creation, so pick the one that matches how you want to distribute.
Create Smart Contract panel showing the Claim and Direct Transfer options

Choosing a contract type when creating a smart contract. Each option shows how it distributes tokens.

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Claim

Lock up tokens in an on-chain escrow contract and let recipients claim them as they vest or unlock. You fund the contract once (at the contract level, using a top-up approach) rather than funding each allocation separately, and stakeholders pull their tokens from the contract when they’re releasable. Choose Claim when you want:
  • An escrow contract that holds tokens on-chain until they’re claimed.
  • Stakeholders to claim on their own schedule, through their portal.
  • To fund the whole contract in one place instead of per allocation.
After a Claim contract is deployed, it appears in the contract list labeled as an Airlock Escrow Contract — this is the underlying escrow contract that powers the Claim experience. It’s the same contract you created as “Claim.”

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Direct Transfer

Send tokens straight to recipients’ wallets (an airdrop-style distribution). There is no escrow contract holding the tokens — instead, you sign a separate transfer transaction for every unlock period when the tokens become releasable. Choose Direct Transfer when you want:
  • Tokens delivered directly to wallets rather than claimed from a contract.
  • No on-chain escrow.
  • To push tokens out yourself at each unlock, rather than having stakeholders claim.
With Direct Transfer there’s no escrow contract to pre-fund, so the fund and defund actions don’t apply. You distribute Direct Transfer tokens per unlock from the allocations flow — see How To Fund Airdrops.

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At a glance

For a deeper breakdown of the trade-offs, read our explainer on Airdrop vs. Claim.