agent-payment-x402
Original:🇺🇸 English
Translated
Add x402 payment execution to AI agents — per-task budgets, spending controls, and non-custodial wallets via MCP tools. Use when agents need to pay for APIs, services, or other agents.
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NPX Install
npx skill4agent add affaan-m/everything-claude-code agent-payment-x402Tags
Translated version includes tags in frontmatterSKILL.md Content
View Translation Comparison →Agent Payment Execution (x402)
Enable AI agents to make autonomous payments with built-in spending controls. Uses the x402 HTTP payment protocol and MCP tools so agents can pay for external services, APIs, or other agents without custodial risk.
When to Use
Use when: your agent needs to pay for an API call, purchase a service, settle with another agent, enforce per-task spending limits, or manage a non-custodial wallet. Pairs naturally with cost-aware-llm-pipeline and security-review skills.
How It Works
x402 Protocol
x402 extends HTTP 402 (Payment Required) into a machine-negotiable flow. When a server returns , the agent's payment tool automatically negotiates price, checks budget, signs a transaction, and retries — no human in the loop.
402Spending Controls
Every payment tool call enforces a :
SpendingPolicy- Per-task budget — max spend for a single agent action
- Per-session budget — cumulative limit across an entire session
- Allowlisted recipients — restrict which addresses/services the agent can pay
- Rate limits — max transactions per minute/hour
Non-Custodial Wallets
Agents hold their own keys via ERC-4337 smart accounts. The orchestrator sets policy before delegation; the agent can only spend within bounds. No pooled funds, no custodial risk.
MCP Integration
The payment layer exposes standard MCP tools that slot into any Claude Code or agent harness setup.
Security note: Always pin the package version. This tool manages private keys — unpinnedinstalls introduce supply-chain risk.npx
json
{
"mcpServers": {
"agentpay": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["agentwallet-sdk@6.0.0"]
}
}
}Available Tools (agent-callable)
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Check agent wallet balance |
| Send payment to address or ENS |
| Query remaining budget |
| Audit trail of all payments |
Note: Spending policy is set by the orchestrator before delegating to the agent — not by the agent itself. This prevents agents from escalating their own spending limits. Configure policy viain your orchestration layer or pre-task hook, never as an agent-callable tool.set_policy
Examples
Budget enforcement in an MCP client
When building an orchestrator that calls the agentpay MCP server, enforce budgets before dispatching paid tool calls.
Prerequisites: Install the package before adding the MCP config —withoutnpxwill prompt for confirmation in non-interactive environments, causing the server to hang:-ynpm install -g agentwallet-sdk@6.0.0
typescript
import { Client } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js";
import { StdioClientTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/stdio.js";
async function main() {
// 1. Validate credentials before constructing the transport.
// A missing key must fail immediately — never let the subprocess start without auth.
const walletKey = process.env.WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY;
if (!walletKey) {
throw new Error("WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY is not set — refusing to start payment server");
}
// Connect to the agentpay MCP server via stdio transport.
// Whitelist only the env vars the server needs — never forward all of process.env
// to a third-party subprocess that manages private keys.
const transport = new StdioClientTransport({
command: "npx",
args: ["agentwallet-sdk@6.0.0"],
env: {
PATH: process.env.PATH ?? "",
NODE_ENV: process.env.NODE_ENV ?? "production",
WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY: walletKey,
},
});
const agentpay = new Client({ name: "orchestrator", version: "1.0.0" });
await agentpay.connect(transport);
// 2. Set spending policy before delegating to the agent.
// Always verify success — a silent failure means no controls are active.
const policyResult = await agentpay.callTool({
name: "set_policy",
arguments: {
per_task_budget: 0.50,
per_session_budget: 5.00,
allowlisted_recipients: ["api.example.com"],
},
});
if (policyResult.isError) {
throw new Error(
`Failed to set spending policy — do not delegate: ${JSON.stringify(policyResult.content)}`
);
}
// 3. Use preToolCheck before any paid action
await preToolCheck(agentpay, 0.01);
}
// Pre-tool hook: fail-closed budget enforcement with four distinct error paths.
async function preToolCheck(agentpay: Client, apiCost: number): Promise<void> {
// Path 1: Reject invalid input (NaN/Infinity bypass the < comparison)
if (!Number.isFinite(apiCost) || apiCost < 0) {
throw new Error(`Invalid apiCost: ${apiCost} — action blocked`);
}
// Path 2: Transport/connectivity failure
let result;
try {
result = await agentpay.callTool({ name: "check_spending" });
} catch (err) {
throw new Error(`Payment service unreachable — action blocked: ${err}`);
}
// Path 3: Tool returned an error (e.g., auth failure, wallet not initialised)
if (result.isError) {
throw new Error(
`check_spending failed — action blocked: ${JSON.stringify(result.content)}`
);
}
// Path 4: Parse and validate the response shape
let remaining: number;
try {
const parsed = JSON.parse(
(result.content as Array<{ text: string }>)[0].text
);
if (!Number.isFinite(parsed?.remaining)) {
throw new TypeError("missing or non-finite 'remaining' field");
}
remaining = parsed.remaining;
} catch (err) {
throw new Error(
`check_spending returned unexpected format — action blocked: ${err}`
);
}
// Path 5: Budget exceeded
if (remaining < apiCost) {
throw new Error(
`Budget exceeded: need $${apiCost} but only $${remaining} remaining`
);
}
}
main().catch((err) => {
console.error(err);
process.exitCode = 1;
});Best Practices
- Set budgets before delegation: When spawning sub-agents, attach a SpendingPolicy via your orchestration layer. Never give an agent unlimited spend.
- Pin your dependencies: Always specify an exact version in your MCP config (e.g., ). Verify package integrity before deploying to production.
agentwallet-sdk@6.0.0 - Audit trails: Use in post-task hooks to log what was spent and why.
list_transactions - Fail closed: If the payment tool is unreachable, block the paid action — don't fall back to unmetered access.
- Pair with security-review: Payment tools are high-privilege. Apply the same scrutiny as shell access.
- Test with testnets first: Use Base Sepolia for development; switch to Base mainnet for production.
Production Reference
- npm:
agentwallet-sdk - Merged into NVIDIA NeMo Agent Toolkit: PR #17 — x402 payment tool for NVIDIA's agent examples
- Protocol spec: x402.org