mpp

name	mpp
description	Pay for MPP (Machine Payments Protocol) protected resources using Lightning. Use when accessing any HTTP 402-gated API, premium data endpoints, or pay-per-call services that issue a WWW-Authenticate: Payment challenge. Requires kaleido-mcp.
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"author":"kaleidoswap","version":"1.0","networks":"bitcoin-lightning"}

MPP (Machine Payments Protocol) Skill

MPP is the open standard for machine-to-machine payments built on HTTP 402. Servers gate resources behind a payment challenge; you pay via Lightning and submit proof to access the resource. No signup or API keys required.

Required MCP Server

• kaleido-mcp — challenge probing, credential submission, and Lightning payment

Core Flow (3 steps)

1. mpp_request_challenge(url)
   → challenge { invoice, challenge_id, macaroon?, amount_sats, expires_at }

2. rln_mpp_pay(invoice, challenge_id, macaroon?)
   → { paid: true, credential: "<JSON string>" }

3. mpp_submit_credential(url, credential)
   → { ok: true, data: {...}, receipt: {...} }

Step 1 — Request Challenge

mpp_request_challenge(url="https://api.example.com/premium/price")
→ {
    challenge_id: "abc123",
    method: "lightning",
    intent: "charge",
    invoice: "lnbc10n1p...",
    amount_sats: 1,
    expires_at: 1234567890,
    url: "https://api.example.com/premium/price"
  }

• intent: "charge" = one-time payment, settles before response.
• intent: "session" = pay-as-you-go via off-chain vouchers (see Sessions below).
• Challenge expires — complete all 3 steps before expires_at.

Step 2 — Pay via rln_mpp_pay

rln_mpp_pay(
  invoice    = challenge.invoice,
  challenge_id = challenge.challenge_id,   // optional but recommended
  macaroon   = challenge.macaroon          // pass if present (L402 servers)
)
→ {
    paid: true,
    payment_hash: "...",
    preimage: "...",
    credential: '{"method":"lightning","challenge_id":"abc123","preimage":"...","macaroon":"..."}'
  }

• If preimage is null in the response, the payment still succeeded — some RLN implementations don't expose the preimage. Most MPP servers also accept payment_hash as proof; include it in the credential manually if needed.

Step 3 — Submit Credential

mpp_submit_credential(
  url        = "https://api.example.com/premium/price",
  credential = <credential string from rln_mpp_pay>
)
→ {
    ok: true,
    status: 200,
    receipt: { receipt_id: "...", paid_at: "...", method: "lightning" },
    data: { price: 95432.12, ... }
  }

• The server verifies the credential and returns the resource data + a receipt.
• Keep the receipt for auditing.

Raw Header Parsing

If you already have the raw WWW-Authenticate header value (e.g. from your own fetch), skip mpp_request_challenge and parse directly:

mpp_parse_challenge_header(
  url              = "https://...",
  www_authenticate = "Payment method=\"lightning\", intent=\"charge\", invoice=\"lnbc...\""
)
→ challenge object (same shape as mpp_request_challenge)

Sessions (pay-as-you-go)

For high-frequency access (market-making loops, streaming quotes), prefer sessions over per-request charges:

• Session challenges return intent: "session" and a session_id.
• Pay once to open the session; subsequent requests use signed off-chain vouchers (sub-100ms latency, no per-request payment).
• Sessions are not yet supported by all MPP servers — fall back to charge if the server only returns intent: "charge".

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Fix
Expected HTTP 402	URL is not MPP-protected	Confirm the endpoint requires payment
No WWW-Authenticate header	Server misconfigured	Try the legacy l402_request_challenge tool
payment failed	Insufficient balance	Check rln_get_balances, fund Lightning channel
401 after credential submit	Preimage missing or wrong	Ensure rln_mpp_pay returned a non-null preimage
Challenge expired	Too slow between steps	Re-call mpp_request_challenge for a fresh challenge

Relation to L402

L402 is a subset of MPP limited to Lightning-only, single-payment flows. The l402_request_challenge and l402_fetch_resource tools still work for legacy L402 servers. For new integrations always prefer the MPP tools — they handle both L402 and full MPP servers transparently.

Example: Premium KaleidoSwap Data

// Hypothetical MPP-gated premium order book
mpp_request_challenge(url="https://api.kaleidoswap.com/premium/orderbook/BTC-USDT")
→ invoice, challenge_id

rln_mpp_pay(invoice=..., challenge_id=...)
→ credential

mpp_submit_credential(url=..., credential=...)
→ { data: { bids: [...], asks: [...] }, receipt: {...} }