pay-for-service

name	pay-for-service
description	Make a paid API request to an x402 endpoint with automatic USDC payment. Use when you or the user want to call a paid API, make an x402 request, use a paid service, or pay for an API call. Use after finding a service with search-for-service.

Making Paid x402 Requests

Use the npx awal@latest x402 pay command to call paid API endpoints with automatic USDC payment on Base.

Confirm wallet is initialized and authed

npx awal@latest status

If the wallet is not authenticated, refer to the authenticate-wallet skill.

Command Syntax

npx awal@latest x402 pay <url> [-X <method>] [-d <json>] [-q <params>] [-h <json>] [--max-amount <n>] [--json]

Options

Option	Description
-X, --method <method>	HTTP method (default: GET)
-d, --data <json>	Request body as JSON string
-q, --query <params>	Query parameters as JSON string
-h, --headers <json>	Custom HTTP headers as JSON string
--max-amount <amount>	Max payment in USDC atomic units (1000000 = $1.00)
--correlation-id <id>	Group related operations
--json	Output as JSON

USDC Amounts

X402 uses USDC atomic units (6 decimals):

Atomic Units	USD
1000000	$1.00
100000	$0.10
50000	$0.05
10000	$0.01

IMPORTANT: Always single-quote amounts that use $ to prevent bash variable expansion (e.g. '$1.00' not $1.00).

Examples

# Make a GET request (auto-pays)
npx awal@latest x402 pay https://example.com/api/weather

# Make a POST request with body
npx awal@latest x402 pay https://example.com/api/sentiment -X POST -d '{"text": "I love this product"}'

# Limit max payment to $0.10
npx awal@latest x402 pay https://example.com/api/data --max-amount 100000

Prerequisites

• Must be authenticated (npx awal@latest status to check, see authenticate-wallet skill)
• Wallet must have sufficient USDC balance (npx awal@latest balance to check)
• If you don't know the endpoint URL, use the search-for-service skill to find services first

Error Handling

• "Not authenticated" - Run awal auth login <email> first, or see authenticate-wallet skill
• "No X402 payment requirements found" - URL may not be an x402 endpoint; use search-for-service to find valid endpoints
• "Insufficient balance" - Fund wallet with USDC; see fund skill