veLocker

A veLocker lets a holder lock an underlying token into independent vote-escrow positions whose voting power changes with time. In the app it is a participation capability of a token-based body, not a separately installable governance plugin: the locker exposes an IVotes-compatible token to Token Voting, while the app adds the lock and delegation experience around that token. The underlying token need not itself implement IVotes; the vote-escrow adapter supplies the voting interface used by Token Voting.

The backend recognizes a compatible vote-escrow shape behind the Token Voting token and indexes its escrow settings; the frontend exposes the supported controls on the account’s Members page for that recognized deployment.

Availability and deployment boundaryCopy Anchor Link

veLocker uses the Aragon deployment model: the team deploys the setup, and the app supports participation in the compatible installed instance. Contact the Aragon team to arrange setup. The Governance Designer has no self-service veLocker setup or no-code deployer. The public repository supplies the contracts and a deployment factory, making self-deployment technically possible; this is not a promise of a supported self-deployment runbook. This setup requires OSx v1.4 or later.

Participation through the Token panelCopy Anchor Link

For a Token Voting body backed by a recognized veLocker, the Members-page Token panel exposes Lock when indexed voting-escrow settings exist and Delegate when the token advertises delegate(address). For panel placement, allowance-dependent approval, shared form behavior, and onboarding prompts, see Token panel. The Members page defines list ordering. The veLocker-specific journey is:

1. Lock. Enter an amount of the underlying token, approve the escrow when needed, and create the lock. When the deployment has a rising curve, the form previews how that amount's voting power changes over time; it hides the chart when the curve's slope is flat.
2. View locks. Open the locks dialog to see each independent position and its current state. Every listed lock shows its own current voting power in real time.
3. Unlock and withdraw. An eligible lock can enter its exit process. When a cooldown is configured, the position moves from active to cooldown and becomes withdrawable only after the applicable waiting condition; the holder then claims the remaining underlying balance, less any applicable exit fee.
4. Delegate and vote. Delegating to oneself or another address activates the corresponding voting power. The holder or delegate can then vote on Token Voting proposals through the same application, just as with another Token Voting token.

The minimum time before a lock may enter its exit process is deployment-configurable.

Voting power and dynamic delegationCopy Anchor Link

The adapter presents an IVotes interface for governance. The supported app pairing is Token Voting, which can also serve as a body in a staged process. Another governance plugin can consume the adapter only when it is compatible with the interface operations and timestamp clock the adapter supplies. Token Voting supports that timestamp clock.

Like ordinary IVotes, a holder must assign a delegate—even when voting for themselves—to activate voting power; see the protocol’s voting-power reference for that general rule. In the app-supported default path, the veLocker adds dynamic delegation: after an account chooses a delegate, the delegate's weight tracks the holder's changing time-varying power—including changes over time, new locks, and unlocks—without requiring the holder to repeat the address-level delegation.

Withdrawal fees and position stateCopy Anchor Link

A deployment may charge a dynamic fee for early withdrawal. The client configures the fee policy, and the fee is paid to the account. The lock list and withdrawal dialog show the applicable position state and fee before the transaction.

For multiplier curves, escrow checkpointing, exit-queue calculations, delegation hooks, and the fee curve, see the aragon/ve-governance contract reference.

Different from Lock to VoteCopy Anchor Link

Both capabilities involve locking tokens, but they feed governance differently. A veLocker escrows positions, derives time-weighted power, and exposes that power through IVotes to Token Voting. Lock to Vote is a separate governance plugin in which tokens are locked directly for live voting power. The two are not compatible for the same escrowed position because the holder no longer possesses the underlying tokens that Lock to Vote would take into custody. See choosing a token voting-power mechanism for the setup decision.

Scope: gauges are separateCopy Anchor Link

Gauges are sometimes grouped with veLockers under "ve-governance," but they are not part of the veLocker capability. For gauge selection, epochs, and allocation, see Gauge voting.