x402 Developer Skills

x402 allows any HTTP API to accept instant per-request payments without accounts or billing systems.

Traditional payment APIs require merchant onboarding, user registration, API keys, and billing ledgers. Payment channels and token systems require off-chain state and additional infrastructure.

x402 removes all of that.

The payment happens directly in the HTTP request cycle.

Flow • Client requests a protected endpoint • Server responds 402 Payment Required with a challenge • Client pays on-chain • Client retries the request with payment proof • Server executes the request

No: • accounts • API keys • subscriptions • balance tracking • intermediaries

Just HTTP + a Bitcoin transaction per request.

Designed for: • machine-to-machine micropayments • pay-per-request AI APIs • monetized public endpoints AI developer skills enabling correct implementation of the x402 stateless settlement-gated HTTP protocol.

Purpose

Structured protocol skills for AI coding systems (Claude Code, Cursor, agent environments) to:

• Understand the x402 protocol
• Integrate x402 payment gating into HTTP APIs
• Build x402 clients
• Operate infrastructure components (gateway, delegator, nonce mint)
• Enforce protocol security invariants

Protocol Stability

The x402 wire protocol is frozen for v0.1. Challenge and proof structures, canonical hashing, delegator fields, and HTTP status semantics are stable. See Protocol Stability and Wire Format Quick Reference for details.

Authority Hierarchy

These skills are derived from:

1. x402 Protocol Specification (normative, Tier 1)
2. Reference Implementation (Tier 2)
3. Architecture and economic models (Tier 3-4)

When ambiguity exists: protocol spec > reference implementation > these skills

Repository Structure

skills/
  protocol/                          Protocol architecture and mechanics
    explain-x402-protocol/SKILL.md
    architecture-overview/SKILL.md
    protocol-flow/SKILL.md
    deterministic-binding/SKILL.md
    replay-protection/SKILL.md
  client/                            Building x402 clients
    build-x402-client/SKILL.md
    call-x402-api/SKILL.md
    construct-payment-transaction/SKILL.md
  server/                            Server-side integration
    add-x402-to-http-api/SKILL.md
    implement-gateway/SKILL.md
    verify-payment-proof/SKILL.md
  infrastructure/                    Deploying and operating components
    run-x402-gateway/SKILL.md
    run-delegator/SKILL.md
    operate-nonce-mint/SKILL.md
  security/                          Protocol invariant enforcement
    validate-proof/SKILL.md
    detect-double-spend/SKILL.md
    enforce-request-binding/SKILL.md
  discovery/                         Service discovery
    implement-x402-discovery/SKILL.md
examples/
  go/                 Go examples (client, middleware, discovery)
  node/               TypeScript examples (client, middleware, discovery)
  python/             Python examples (client, gateway, discovery)
  rust/               Rust examples (client, middleware) — requires Rust 1.75+
templates/
  gateway-template/   Go gateway project scaffold
  client-template/    TypeScript client project scaffold
docs/
  protocol-summary.md   Wire format quick reference
  integration-guide.md  Step-by-step integration guide

Install

Install the x402 developer skills into your AI coding tools with one command:

npx @merkleworks/x402-skills install

This copies skills into:

• ~/.claude/skills/x402 (Claude Code)
• ~/.cursor/skills/x402 (Cursor)

Other commands:

npx @merkleworks/x402-skills update      # Reinstall with latest version
npx @merkleworks/x402-skills uninstall   # Remove installed skills
npx @merkleworks/x402-skills doctor      # Diagnose and repair environment
npx @merkleworks/x402-skills init myapp  # Scaffold a new x402 project

Usage

Claude Code

After installing, skills are automatically available. Reference them with:

@x402/protocol/explain-x402-protocol

Cursor

Add the skills directory to your project context for AI-assisted x402 implementation.

Protocol Overview

x402 is a stateless settlement-gated HTTP protocol. Core properties:

• HTTP 402 Payment Required as the challenge mechanism
• Payment bound to request via deterministic hashing (RFC 8785 JCS)
• Replay protection enforced by UTXO single-use at consensus layer
• No accounts, no balance tracking, no subscription ledgers
• Deterministic request binding (method, path, query, headers, body)
• Payment -> proof -> execution flow

Normative References

Normative specification https://github.com/merkleworks/x402-spec

Reference implementation https://github.com/merkleworks/x402-reference

These documents define the authoritative protocol behavior. When resolving ambiguity: specification > reference implementation > these skills.

Service Discovery

Services supporting x402 should expose a discovery endpoint at:

GET /.well-known/x402

This returns a JSON document listing all payable endpoints, their prices, and acceptance policies. AI agents can fetch this endpoint to automatically discover and pay for x402-gated APIs without prior configuration.

See skills/discovery/implement-x402-discovery/SKILL.md for the full specification.

Scheme Identifier

bsv-tx-v1

Wire Headers