For AI Agents & Agent Developers

One URL. Every service.
Payment is the password.

Point your agent at the catalog and it discovers data APIs, automated services, and human-delivered work — paid with USDC on Base via x402 or pre-funded balance. No accounts, no API keys, no OAuth flows.

See the quickstart ↓ Full documentation
📖

One catalog, five service types

Data APIs (milliseconds), automated services (minutes), human work (hours/days), subscription plans, and digital products — all on the same endpoint, same payment method, same response format.

🔑

Payment IS authentication

No registration, no API keys, no OAuth flows. Your agent signs a USDC transfer via x402. The server verifies, settles, and returns the result. That's the entire auth story.

🔍

Machine-discoverable

The catalog is registered with Bazaar and discoverable via llms.txt. x402-compatible agents find the402 services automatically. You can also query the catalog directly or use the MCP server.

Fastest way in: MCP Server

Add this to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, and more):

// Claude Desktop: Settings → Developer → Edit Config
// Cursor: Settings → MCP Servers → Add
// Windsurf: Settings → MCP → Add

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "the402": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@the402/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Done. Ask your AI to search the402 marketplace.

Full setup guide →

Building a custom agent? Use the x402 SDK.

No registration required. No API keys. Just a wallet with USDC on Base.

1
Fetch the catalog (free, no auth)

Returns every service with pricing, schemas, fulfillment type, and reputation scores. Supports full-text search, category filters, and pagination.

// Free — no auth required
const resp = await fetch("https://api.the402.ai/v1/services/catalog");
const { services } = await resp.json();

// Filter by type, search by keyword
// ?service_type=data_api | automated_service | human_service
// ?q=wordpress+migration&min_reputation=75
2
Fund a wallet with USDC on Base

Your agent needs a USDC balance on Base L2. Use CDP for programmatic wallet management, or any EVM-compatible wallet. For high-frequency agents, pre-fund a balance using X-BALANCE-AUTH instead of signing per-request.

3
Purchase any service

Install the x402 SDK and call paymentFetch instead of fetch. The SDK handles the 402 → sign → retry flow automatically. Your agent gets data immediately or a job ID for async services.

// Install: npm install @coinbase/x402
import { wrapFetchWithPayment } from "@coinbase/x402/client";

const paymentFetch = wrapFetchWithPayment(fetch, wallet);

// Purchase any service — data returns immediately
const result = await paymentFetch(
  `https://api.the402.ai/v1/services/${services[0].id}/purchase`,
  { method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify(brief) }
);

// data_api: returns result directly
// automated_service / human_service: returns { job_id, status: "created" }

What your agent can buy

Data APIs

Instant

Instant lookups from third-party providers. Result returned in the same HTTP response. No job queue, no polling.

$0.001 – $1 per call Escrow with immediate release

Automated Services

Seconds – Minutes

Processing tasks with deterministic results. Returns a job ID. Auto-verifies on completion. Payment via escrow contract.

$0.50 – $10 per job Escrow — auto-verifies immediately

Human Services

Hours – Days

Expert human work with 48-hour auto-verify window. Agent verifies delivery to release escrow. Dispute resolution available.

$25 – $1,000+ per job Escrow — 48h auto-verify

Subscription Plans

Recurring

Subscribe to a plan and get access to bundled services for the billing period. Active subscriptions bypass per-request payment for covered services automatically.

Monthly / annual billing Auto-renews from balance

Digital Products

One-time

Purchase downloadable files — templates, datasets, plugins, guides. Instant download after payment. Supports optional download limits.

Fixed one-time price Instant download

Async job lifecycle

For automated and human services, your agent receives a job ID and tracks progress via polling or service threads.

1
created
Job created, payment escrowed
→
2
dispatched
Sent to provider via webhook
→
3
in_progress
Provider is working
→
4
completed
Deliverables ready
→
5
verify
Agent verifies (or auto-verify)
→
6
released
Escrow pays provider 95%
// Poll job status
const job = await fetch(`https://api.the402.ai/v1/jobs/${jobId}`, {
  headers: { "X-API-Key": agentApiKey }
});

// Verify delivery to release escrow
const verify = await paymentFetch(
  `https://api.the402.ai/v1/threads/${threadId}/verify`,
  { method: "POST" }
);

High-frequency agent? Use pre-funded balances.

Deposit USDC once. Every subsequent request uses X-BALANCE-AUTH instead of signing a per-request payment. Zero latency — no on-chain transaction per call. Balance held in a Durable Object with strong consistency to prevent double-spend.

If balance is insufficient, requests fall through automatically to x402.

// Deposit USDC to pre-funded balance
await paymentFetch("https://api.the402.ai/v1/balance/deposit?amount=50.00");

// Use balance for subsequent requests
await fetch("https://api.the402.ai/v1/services/svc_xxx/purchase", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "X-Balance-Auth": apiKey }
});

Key endpoints

Service Catalog (free, no auth) https://api.the402.ai/v1/services/catalog
API Health + Endpoint Directory https://api.the402.ai/health
Machine-Readable Discovery (RFC 8615) https://api.the402.ai/.well-known/the402.json
Bazaar Entry Point ($0.001 — full catalog + guide) POST https://api.the402.ai/v1/discover
Digital Product Catalog (free, FTS5 search) https://api.the402.ai/v1/products
Full Agent Guide → API Reference → Browse the Catalog →