Payment Protocol
The MCP server implements a payment protocol for web browsing using HTTP 402 Payment Required responses, enabling access to paid content.
Overview
How It Works
Content Request
The client (AI agent) requests access to a URL via the mcpwallet_browse_with_payment tool.
Payment Detection
If the server receives a 402 Payment Required response, it parses the payment details from the response headers or body.
Payment Processing
The integrated wallet automatically sends the required payment to the specified address.
Content Retrieval
With payment proof, the server retries the request and receives the full content.
Response Delivery
The paid content is returned to the client, with paymentProcessed: true indicating successful payment.
Consent Flow
For transactions requiring explicit user consent, the server launches a local Express server on port 3000 displaying a consent UI.
Technical Details
402 Response Format
Servers implementing 402 payments should return payment details in the X-Payment-Required header:
HTTP/1.1 402 Payment Required
X-Payment-Required: {"mechanisms":[{"network":"eip155:1","token":"0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000","recipient":"0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e","amount":"1000000000000000000"}]}
Content-Type: application/json
{
"error": "Payment required",
"mechanisms": [
{
"network": "eip155:1",
"token": "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
"recipient": "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e",
"amount": "1000000000000000000"
}
]
}Automatic Processing
The MCP server handles:
- Gas estimation and transaction signing
- Payment verification
- Retry logic for content access
- Error handling for failed payments