Self-hosted MCP proxy that puts an x402 paywall in front of an existing MCP server
About
Self-hosted MCP proxy that puts an x402 paywall in front of an existing MCP server
Security Report
Valid MCP server (5 strong, 5 medium validity signals). No known CVEs in dependencies. Imported from the Official MCP Registry. Trust signals: trusted author (15/15 approved). 1 finding(s) downgraded by scanner intelligence.
10 files analyzed · 1 issue found
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How to Install
Add this to your MCP configuration file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"io-github-cryptoapis-io-mcp-x402-accept": {
"args": [
"-y",
"@cryptoapis-io/mcp-x402-accept"
],
"command": "npx"
}
}
}Documentation
View on GitHubFrom the project's GitHub README.
@cryptoapis-io/mcp-x402-accept
Put an x402 paywall in front of an MCP server you already run — charge AI agents per tool call without changing a line of that server's code.
agent → mcp-x402-accept (your process) → your existing MCP server
The proxy is an MCP server to the agent and an MCP client to yours. It mirrors every tool your server exposes; the ones you price are paywalled, the rest pass through free.
When to use this (and when not to)
| Your situation | Use |
|---|---|
| You can edit your MCP server (Node/TS) | x402-merchant-sdk/mcp — three lines around your handler, nothing in the data path |
| You cannot — third-party, closed-source, or not Node | this proxy |
If you can edit your server, do that instead. It is simpler and strictly fewer moving parts. This package exists for the case where that is not an option.
Why self-hosted only
You run this process. We never do, and we do not offer a hosted version.
That is a deliberate product decision, not a default you can flip. A proxy sits between an agent and your server, so a hosted one would mean CryptoAPIs holding your upstream server's credentials, sitting in the cleartext path of your tool arguments and results, and owing you uptime on your own revenue. For a merchant whose product is the data flowing through those calls, that is not a reasonable thing to ask. Self-hosting removes the question rather than answering it.
What that guarantees, structurally:
- Tool arguments and results are opaque to the proxy. It reads the tool name (is this priced?)
and
_meta["x402/payment"](is it paid for?) — nothing else. They are never parsed, logged, buffered, or cached. - Your upstream credentials are your own env vars, in your own process.
- The only outbound calls are to the CryptoAPIs facilitator, to
/verifyand/settlethe payment itself.
Install
npm install -g @cryptoapis-io/mcp-x402-accept
Configure
{
"upstream": {
"transport": "stdio",
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/your-mcp-server.js"],
"env": { "YOUR_UPSTREAM_TOKEN": "${YOUR_UPSTREAM_TOKEN}" }
},
"apiKey": "${CRYPTOAPIS_API_KEY}",
"payTo": "0xYourReceivingAddress",
// Only these are charged for. Everything else your server exposes stays FREE.
"pricedTools": {
"premium_data": {
"network": "eip155:8453",
"asset": "0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913",
"amount": "10000"
}
}
}
${VAR} reads from the environment, so the config file itself holds no secrets and is safe to commit.
amount is in atomic units — USDC has 6 decimals, so "10000" is $0.01. Getting this wrong by
10^6 is the easiest mistake here.
An HTTP upstream instead of stdio:
"upstream": {
"transport": "http",
"url": "https://your-server.example.com/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${YOUR_UPSTREAM_TOKEN}" }
}
To accept several assets or networks for one tool, pass an array — the agent picks one. Offer only
what GET https://ai.cryptoapis.io/x402/merchant/supported lists (public, no key); anything else is
advertised and then rejected at /verify.
Run
cryptoapis-mcp-x402-accept --config ./x402-accept.config.json
Then point agents at the proxy instead of your server. In Claude Code:
claude mcp add my-paid-tools -- cryptoapis-mcp-x402-accept --config /abs/path/to/config.json
Everything is validated at boot — the config, the upstream connection, and whether the tools you priced actually exist upstream. A typo'd tool name is a hard failure, not a silent revenue hole: the alternative is believing a tool is paywalled while it quietly serves for free.
What an agent sees
| Step | Result |
|---|---|
| Unpaid call to a priced tool | isError: true carrying PaymentRequired in both structuredContent and content[0].text |
| Agent pays | Signs locally, retries with the payload in _meta["x402/payment"] — raw JSON, no base64 |
| Paid call | Your tool's real result, with the receipt in _meta["x402/payment-response"] |
| Call to an unpriced tool | Forwarded, free, unchanged |
Your server is never called until payment has settled. The proxy charges and then forwards — it does not forward and then bill. An unpaid call cannot reach your server at all, so it cannot be made to do the work for free.
Priced tools advertise [paid: x402] in their description so an agent knows the cost before
calling. An agent that discovers a price only by being refused has already wasted a round-trip.
Paying it
Agents pay with @cryptoapis-io/mcp-x402-pay
or, in code, @cryptoapis-io/x402-buyer-sdk/mcp.
Notes
- Requires a CryptoAPIs API key with the
X402_FACILITATORfeature. "settle": falseverifies without settling — useful while wiring up, but advisory only: the buyer proved they could pay, not that they did. Never ship it.- Test end-to-end on Base Sepolia (
eip155:84532) before charging real money. - Implements the x402 v2 MCP transport (spec), sharing one implementation with the merchant SDK — a spec fix lands in both.
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