okx-agent-payments-protocol

name	okx-agent-payments-protocol
description	Use when an agent hits HTTP 402 / payment-required, or the user mentions x402, x402Version, X-PAYMENT, PAYMENT-REQUIRED, PAYMENT-SIGNATURE, WWW-Authenticate: Payment, permit2, upto, metered billing, a payment channel / voucher / session, channelId / channel_id, opening / closing / topping up / settling / refunding a channel, a paymentId or a2a_ link, creating / checking a payment link, A2MCP / an A2MCP endpoint, or sending a request to / calling an Agent's endpoint with a concrete endpoint URL. Covers x402 (exact, exact+Permit2, upto, aggr_deferred), MPP (charge / session), and a2a-pay paymentId flows. Any close / topup / settle / voucher / refund near a channel_id or session is an MPP mid-session op. The full bilingual trigger list (including Chinese) lives in the skill body.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"okx","version":"4.2.3","homepage":"https://web3.okx.com"}

OKX Agent Payments Protocol (Dispatcher)

⚠️ READ FIRST — ZERO-TEXT-ON-TRIGGER + NEVER-SKIP-USER-GATES.

Between detecting a 402 (or any trigger word) and emitting the first user-facing card — the Step A3.5 recommendation card, or the Step A4 confirmation card — output ZERO user-visible text. No "received 402", no "triggered OKX Agent Payments Protocol", no "detected N schemes", no enumeration of schemes / networks / tokens / amounts, no "loading skill" — in any language (the same prohibition applies to the equivalent phrases in any other language). The skill-load tool call may run but emits no surrounding prose.

Exactly one confirmation card runs per payment: A3.5's recommendation card (2+ candidates and user picks yes) OR A4's confirmation card (single candidate, OR user picked an alternative from A3.5's expanded list). Do NOT skip the applicable card under the pretext of "past user preference" / "streamlining" / "already confirmed once" — those preferences do not exist. Do NOT render both cards back-to-back with the same info — after yes on A3.5.5, go straight to Step A5. The next user-visible text after detection MUST be one of the two cards.

Three payment paths, distinguished by HTTP signature: accepts-based 402 (challenge in body for v1 or PAYMENT-REQUIRED header for v2), WWW-Authenticate: Payment 402 (channel-capable, intent="charge" or "session"), and a2a-pay (paymentId-based, no 402). Shared steps below (detect → decode → confirm → wallet check), then dispatch to a reference.

User-facing terminology — IMPORTANT

Rule 1 — Always call it "OKX Agent Payments Protocol", and always render it bolded. Use the exact English term OKX Agent Payments Protocol in user-visible messages regardless of the user's language, and always wrap it in markdown bold (**OKX Agent Payments Protocol**) so the user sees it emphasized. Keep it as a fixed English noun phrase even inside otherwise-Chinese sentences. Reserve protocol literals and internal identifiers for CLI invocations, HTTP headers, JSON payloads, and code — never speak them to the user.

Rule 2 — Do not narrate internal protocol detection. The dispatch logic (which header was detected, which reference is being loaded, which scheme/intent was selected, TEE vs local-key path) is internal — keep it internal. The user only needs to see: (a) what is being paid, (b) what they need to confirm, (c) the result.

Rule 2 carve-out — narrow, alternatives list only. Inside Step A3.5, the literals exact / aggr_deferred / charge may be exposed to the user only in the expanded alternatives list (the list rendered after the user picks "show others"), because at that point the user is explicitly choosing between schemes. They MUST NOT appear in: the default recommendation card, the "N other methods" summary line, status narration, error displays, post-payment summaries, or anywhere else. The recommendation card shows network / token / amount / recipient only — never the scheme name.

Rule 3 — Externally-defined protocol literals stay byte-for-byte exact. The JSON field x402Version, the HTTP headers X-PAYMENT / PAYMENT-SIGNATURE / PAYMENT-REQUIRED / WWW-Authenticate: Payment, and the reference URL https://x402.org MUST appear verbatim wherever the protocol/server requires them — these are externally defined and changing them breaks interop. CLI subcommand names (onchainos payment pay / pay-local / charge / session ... / a2a-pay ...) are this CLI's own surface and may evolve; refer to them by their current name in CLI invocations and code, but never speak them to the user (Rule 2).

Example

(EN) Preparing a payment via the **OKX Agent Payments Protocol**. Here are the charge details — please confirm before I proceed… When narrating in another language, translate this lead line but keep OKX Agent Payments Protocol as a bolded English noun phrase.

Progress narration counts as user-visible — Rules 1-3 still apply.

Long-running flows (decode → confirm → wallet check → sign → replay) tempt status updates. Every progress line ("I'm now…", or its Chinese equivalent) is user-facing; Step labels and reference/scheme names are internal — do NOT echo them. The anchors:

❌ Don't say	✅ Say
"Detected HTTP 402, triggering OKX Agent Payments Protocol" / "Detected PAYMENT-REQUIRED, loading exact"	(silent — detection / routing is internal)
"CLI selected exact, assembling the PAYMENT-SIGNATURE header" / "taking the TEE path"	"Signing done, replaying the request"
"Detected 2 schemes: exact (USD₮0), aggr_deferred (USDG)" / "checking balance to filter candidates"	(silent — enumeration + balance check are internal; only the recommendation card is user-visible)
"Entering session / charge mode"	"Channel opened" — describe the user-visible effect, not the internal mode
"Per past preference, paying without re-confirming"	(forbidden — no such preference; the gate is mandatory every time)

The same rules apply when narrating in any other language — match the intent of these ❌/✅ phrasings, not just the English wording.

These rules are authoritative and always in force — when unsure whether a status line leaks internals, match it against the rows above and default to silence.

Triggers (full list)

• EN: 402, payment required, x402, x402Version, X-PAYMENT, PAYMENT-REQUIRED, PAYMENT-SIGNATURE, WWW-Authenticate: Payment, permit2, upto, metered billing, open / close / topup / settle channel, voucher, session payment, channelId, channel_id, paymentId, a2a_, create payment link, payment link, payment status
• subscribe / subscription / recurring payment / recurring charge / "pay every month" / cancel subscription / upgrade plan / downgrade plan → period scheme (see references/subscription.md)
• The same trigger vocabulary applies to its equivalents in any other language (e.g. Chinese subscription / recurring-billing terms route to the period scheme the same way).

Any close / topup / settle / voucher / refund near a channel_id or session context = MPP mid-session op → references/session.md.

Pre-flight Checks

Read ../okx-agentic-wallet/_shared/preflight.md (fallback: _shared/preflight.md).

Command Routing & Reference map

Each 402 signal (or paymentId) → CLI command → reference. Detailed gating + decode/confirm steps are in Path A / Path B below.

Signal	Command	Reference
402 + PAYMENT-REQUIRED (v2) / body x402Version (v1)	payment pay --payload [--selected-index]	Success (v2): none — replay the returned authorization_header directly (Step A6). On error / legacy v1, load references/accepts-schemes.md (covers exact / aggr_deferred / upto + Permit2; the CLI-output field tells you which scheme — permit2Authorization = upto / exact+Permit2, sessionCert = aggr_deferred, authorization = exact)
402 offer with an accepts[] entry whose scheme == "period" (a.k.a. permit2_subscription) — recurring/subscription billing	payment subscription subscribe/access/change/cancel/cancel-pending/my-subscriptions/allowance-status	references/subscription.md
402 + WWW-Authenticate: Payment, intent="charge"	payment charge --challenge	references/charge.md
402 + WWW-Authenticate: Payment, intent="session" (or mid-session channel_id)	payment session open/voucher/topup/close	references/session.md
paymentId / a2a_… link / create-or-check payment link	payment a2a-pay create/pay/status	references/a2a_charge.md

Don't load a reference on the success path. When onchainos payment pay returns an authorization_header (x402 v2 — the normal exact / aggr_deferred / upto outcome), replay directly per Step A6 and skip references/accepts-schemes.md entirely. Load it only on a failure / legacy path: Permit2 allowance insufficient → references/accepts-schemes.md (one-time approve), or a legacy x402 v1 raw proof → its "Legacy: x402 v1" section. charge / session / a2a_charge are always loaded — those are multi-phase flows.

Channel mid-session ops (close / topup / settle / voucher / refund mentioned with an active channel_id, regardless of fresh 402) → stay here, jump straight into references/session.md at the matching phase. Do NOT search for a separate close-channel / topup-channel / settle-channel tool — they're all onchainos payment session ... subcommands.

---

Path A: HTTP 402

Step A1: Start from the original response

You already have the original HTTP response. If it is not 402, return the body directly. Otherwise → Step A2.

Capture any request parameters the user's prompt supplies (e.g. "weather in San Francisco" → city=San Francisco, token=0x…; "translate to Chinese" → lang=zh). Record each as name → value for the Step A3-Params plan — values given here are never re-asked, just shown in the confirmation card. Keep them even if the first request didn't need them; the seller may require them on the paid replay.

Step A2: Detect the protocol

Priority 1: response.headers['WWW-Authenticate']
  starts with "Payment "        → continue at Step A3-WWW-Authenticate
Priority 2: response.headers['PAYMENT-REQUIRED']
  base64-encoded JSON           → continue at Step A3-Accepts (v2)
Priority 3: response body JSON has "x402Version"
                                → continue at Step A3-Accepts (v1)
Otherwise                       → not a supported payment protocol, stop

Both indicators present — branch on the WWW-Authenticate intent:

• intent="session" offered alongside accepts-based options → STOP and ask the user:

  The server offers two payment styles via the OKX Agent Payments Protocol:

  1. Session (multi-request) — open a channel and issue vouchers per request
  2. One-shot purchase

  Which would you like to use?

  Option 1 → continue at Step A3-WWW-Authenticate (session path). Option 2 → drop the session intent and continue at Step A3-Accepts with the accepts options.

• intent="charge" offered alongside accepts-based options → all options are one-shot; do not show the session-vs-one-shot prompt. Decode both protocol families (Step A3-Accepts AND Step A3-WWW-Authenticate), merge the candidates, and let Step A3.5 handle the recommendation.

Step A3-Accepts: Decode

Decode the 402 payload yourself for display + recommendation only — no CLI round-trip:

raw_402 = response.headers['PAYMENT-REQUIRED']   // v2 (base64-encoded JSON)
       or response.body                          // v1 (already plain JSON)

decoded = JSON.parse(atob(raw_402))              // v2; for v1 it's already JSON: JSON.parse(response.body)

Extract for display:

accepts = decoded.accepts
option  = decoded.accepts[0]       // for display only

Keep raw_402 verbatim — Step A6 passes it straight to onchainos payment pay --payload (the CLI re-decodes and signs). The local decode is display-only; never re-encode or assemble anything.

Step A3-WWW-Authenticate: Decode

Parse the WWW-Authenticate header:

Payment id="...", realm="...", method="evm", intent="...", request="<base64url>", expires="..."

base64url-decode request to get the JSON body. Save:

intent              charge | session
amount              base units string (e.g. "1000000")
currency            ERC-20 contract address
recipient           merchant payee address
methodDetails:
  chainId           EVM chain ID (e.g. 196 for X Layer)
  escrowContract    REQUIRED for session, ABSENT for charge
  feePayer          true (transaction mode) | false (hash mode)
  splits            optional, charge only, max 10 entries
  minVoucherDelta   optional, session only
  channelId         optional, session topUp/voucher only — pre-existing channel
suggestedDeposit    optional, session only — suggested initial deposit
unitType            optional — "request" | "second" | "byte" etc.

Method check — only method="evm" is supported here. If method is "tempo", "svm", "stripe", etc. → stop and tell the user this dispatcher cannot handle it.

Challenge expiry — if expires=... (ISO-8601) is in the past, the challenge is dead: re-send the original request to get a fresh 402 before signing. Stale challenges fail with 30001 incorrect params.

Convert amount from base units to human-readable (see _shared/amount-display.md).

Step A3-Params: Build the request-parameter plan

Runs after Step A3 decode, before any confirmation card. Beyond payment terms, the seller may declare which parameters the paid replay must carry and how. Build a param plan so the user confirms params alongside payment and the replay attaches them correctly.

A param plan is a list of { name, value, carrier, required, source }, carrier ∈ {query, body, header, path}. No seller-declared params and none named by the user → empty plan; replay unchanged.

Source 1 — Bazaar outputSchema.input (preferred)

If the decoded 402 (or any accepts[i]) carries outputSchema.input, parse it:

Field	Use
input.type	"http" → handle here. "mcp" → out of scope, skip param assembly.
input.method	Method to replay with (may differ from the original). GET/HEAD/DELETE → params go in query; POST/PUT/PATCH → in body (input.bodyType: json/form-data/text).
input.queryParams / input.body / input.pathParams / input.headers	Params for that carrier (query / body / path / header).

The JSON Schema properties + required give each param's type and whether it's mandatory. One plan entry per declared param.

Source 2 — non-Bazaar (conservative)

No outputSchema.input → add a param only on an explicit seller signal; never invent one:

• response body lists requirements (required / params / parameters / fields / inputSchema), OR
• an error message names a missing param (e.g. missing required query param "city"), OR
• a documented response header asks for one.

Ambiguous → add nothing, replay unchanged.

Fill values

Per entry, resolve value: (1) user's prompt (Step A1) → source=prompt, don't re-ask; (2) conversation context → source=context; (3) still missing and required → ask the user, one grouped question for all of them (a legitimate gate, not narration — ZERO-TEXT-ON-TRIGGER doesn't forbid it). Optional + unresolved → drop.

Step A3.5: Multi-scheme recommendation (when applicable)

Applies only when the combined candidate pool contains 2 or more of {exact, aggr_deferred, charge, period}. Otherwise skip straight to Step A4 with the single available candidate.

When the 402 accepts[] contains 2 or more of {exact, aggr_deferred, charge, period}, load references/multi-scheme.md. Treat period as the recurring-billing option: recommend it only when the user intent is an ongoing subscription, not a single call.

When it applies → load references/multi-scheme.md and follow it end to end. It returns the selected candidate and tells you where to resume: Step A4 (user picked an alternative) or straight to Step A6 (user accepted with yes — A5's wallet check already satisfied).

Step A4: Display payment details and STOP

🟢 Skip this step entirely if the user accepted the recommendation in A3.5.5 with yes (the card already showed network / token / amount / recipient). Go straight to Step A5 (a no-op if A3.5.2 already handled login) → A6.

🔴 Run this step normally if either:

• Step A3.5 did not run (single-candidate path), OR
• The user picked an alternative from A3.5's expanded list (the picked candidate still needs full-detail confirmation).

⚠️ MANDATORY (when run): Display details and STOP to wait for explicit user confirmation. Do NOT call onchainos wallet status or any other tool until the user confirms.

For accepts-based 402 (PAYMENT-REQUIRED header v2 / x402Version body v1):

This resource requires payment via the OKX Agent Payments Protocol:

• Network: <chain name> (<option.network>)
• Token: <token symbol> (<option.asset>)
• Amount: <human-readable amount> (from option.amount for v2, or option.maxAmountRequired for v1; convert from minimal units using token decimals)
• Pay to: <option.payTo>
• Request parameters (omit this line entirely if the Step A3-Params plan is empty): one row per param as <name> = <value> → <carrier: query | body | header | path>

Proceed with payment? (yes / no)

For WWW-Authenticate: Payment 402:

This resource requires payment via the OKX Agent Payments Protocol:

• Payment type: <one-shot payment | session (multiple requests)> (render as "one-shot payment" / "session (multiple requests)" — never "single purchase"; keep the same distinction when translating to another language)
• Network: <chain name> (eip155:<chainId>)
• Token: <symbol> (<currency address>)
• Amount per request: <human-readable> (atomic: <amount>)
• Pay to: <recipient>
• Who pays gas: <server (transaction mode) | you broadcast it yourself (hash mode)>
• Split recipients (one-shot only, if present): <N other parties also receive a share>
• Suggested prepaid balance (session only, if present): <human-readable>
• Request parameters (omit this line entirely if the Step A3-Params plan is empty): one row per param as <name> = <value> → <carrier: query | body | header | path>

Proceed with payment? (yes / no)

• User confirms → Step A5.
• User declines → stop. No payment, no wallet check.

Step A5: Check wallet status (only after the user explicitly confirms)

onchainos wallet status

• Logged in → Step A6.
• Not logged in (accepts-based path) → ask the user to choose between (1) wallet login (TEE signing) or (2) local private key (onchainos payment pay-local, supports exact + EIP-3009, exact + Permit2, and upto — aggr_deferred not supported, requires TEE session key). Don't read files or check env vars until the user picks.
• Not logged in (WWW-Authenticate: Payment path) → ask the user to log in via email OTP or AK. TEE-only — no local-key fallback for this path (only the accepts-based path has one).

Step A6: Hand off to the scheme/intent reference

Path

Action

accepts-based (PAYMENT-REQUIRED header v2 / x402Version body v1)

Run onchainos payment pay --payload '<raw_402 from Step A3>'. If Step A3.5 ran and the user picked an accepts-based candidate, add --selected-index <index in decoded.accepts> so the CLI signs exactly that entry; omit it for a single candidate (CLI auto-selects). The CLI decodes, signs from the selected account, and returns {authorization_header, header_name, scheme, wallet} — no hand-assembly. Success (normal path) — authorization_header present → go straight to Replay below; do NOT load any scheme reference. If the user picked the local-key fallback, run onchainos payment pay-local --payload '<raw_402>' instead (same success rule; supports exact + EIP-3009, exact + Permit2, and upto — aggr_deferred is TEE-only). Permit2 allowance insufficient error (upto / exact+permit2, first payment for that token) → load references/accepts-schemes.md for the one-time approve, then retry the pay. Legacy v1 — CLI returns a raw proof (signature+authorization, no authorization_header) → load references/accepts-schemes.md and follow its "Legacy: x402 v1" section to assemble the X-PAYMENT header.

| period (subscription / permit2_subscription) | Load references/subscription.md at "Decide operation" (subscribe vs access vs change vs cancel). First-time offer → payment subscription subscribe; already-active resource → payment subscription access (never re-subscribe); upgrade/downgrade → change; teardown → cancel / cancel-pending. | | WWW-Authenticate: Payment, intent="charge" | Load references/charge.md at "Decide mode". | | WWW-Authenticate: Payment, intent="session" | Load references/session.md at "Phase S1: Open Channel" (or jump to S2 / S2b / S3 if the user is mid-session with an active channel_id). |

Replay (success path — no reference needed): resend the original request with the returned header (<header_name>: <authorization_header>, or the X-PAYMENT you assembled for legacy v1), expect HTTP 200, and decode any PAYMENT-RESPONSE header locally (echo '<value>' | base64 -d | jq .) to read status / transaction / amount / payer. Surface the settlement details to the user; suggest follow-ups conversationally — never expose internal field names or skill IDs.

---

Path B: a2a-pay (paymentId-based, no 402)

The user invokes this path explicitly — by mentioning a paymentId / a2a_... link, asking to "create a payment link", or asking to check a2a payment status.

Step B1: Identify the role

User says…	Load	Role
"create payment link" / "generate payment" / --amount/--recipient	references/a2a_charge.md → "Seller — Create"	Seller
Provides a paymentId / a2a_... to pay	references/a2a_charge.md → "Buyer — Pay"	Buyer
Provides a paymentId and asks for status	references/a2a_charge.md → "Status — Query"	Either

If the user says only "I want to pay" without a paymentId — STOP and ask the user to provide the seller-issued paymentId. Do not attempt anything else.

Step B2: Wallet status

Both create and pay require a live wallet session. Run onchainos wallet status:

• Logged in → proceed (load the reference and follow it).
• Not logged in → ask the user to log in via onchainos wallet login or onchainos wallet login <email>. Do NOT sign without a live session.

Step B3: Hand off to references/a2a_charge.md

The reference has the full create/pay/status flow (incl. auto-poll and the trust-delegation note). Buyer-side trust is delegated upstream — the buyer signs whatever the on-server challenge declares.

---

Cross-cutting

Reading seller errors (WWW-Authenticate: Payment / a2a-pay)

When the seller rejects, do NOT show raw JSON or just the numeric code. Extract the human-readable explanation in priority order, use the first non-empty match:

1. body.reason (mppx, OKX TS Session)
2. body.detail (RFC 9457 ProblemDetails)
3. body.message
4. body.msg (OKX SA API)
5. body.error
6. body.title (RFC 9457 short title — fallback only)
7. fallthrough — format the whole body and add the HTTP status

Format:

❌ Seller rejected: <reason text> (code <code if present>, HTTP <status>)

Amount display

All user-facing amounts in BOTH human and atomic form: <human> (<atomic>), e.g. 0.0004 USDC (400). Decimals table + unknown-symbol fallback → _shared/amount-display.md.

Suggest next steps

After a successful payment + response, suggest conversationally:

Just completed	Suggest
Successful HTTP 402 replay	Check balance impact via okx-agentic-wallet; or make another request to the same resource
Successful a2a payment	Verify post-payment balance via okx-agentic-wallet
402 on replay (expired)	Retry with a fresh signature
Channel session in progress	Issue another voucher when the next request arrives; close the channel when done