Pay-Per-Deploy with x402

What is x402?

HTTP has had a 402 "Payment Required" status code since 1997. No one standardized what comes after it. Coinbase's x402 protocol does. A server returns 402 with a response containing the price, the recipient wallet, and the network. The client signs a USDC authorization, retries the request, and the server settles the payment on-chain.

Two seconds, start to finish. The client signs a gasless authorization. The server-side facilitator settles on-chain.

A Third Auth Path

DartUp supports API key auth and dashboard sessions. x402 adds a third path: pay-per-use. Sometimes creating an account is more friction than the deploy itself.

Your AI agent can deploy infrastructure mid-conversation by paying 50 cents. You can push a test project live without signing up. A script can deploy 20 services and pay for each one on the spot.

How It Works

Four steps, one HTTP round trip with a payment in the middle:

{
  "x402Version": 2,
  "accepts": [{
    "scheme": "exact",
    "network": "eip155:8453",
    "amount": "500000",
    "asset": "0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913",
    "payTo": "0xDA47486F39efEddeB0d6ac819310831721676F26",
    "maxTimeoutSeconds": 60
  }],
  "resource": {
    "url": "/api/deploy",
    "description": "Deploy a project on DartUp"
  }
}

{
  "success": true,
  "deployment": {
    "subdomain": "app-x7k2",
    "url": "https://app-x7k2.dartup.dev",
    "status": "pending"
  },
  "x402": {
    "transaction": "0xabc123...",
    "network": "eip155:8453",
    "payer": "0xYourWallet..."
  }
}

Using x402 with @x402/fetch

The @x402/fetch wrapper catches 402 responses, signs the payment, and retries for you:

import { wrapFetch } from "@x402/fetch";

const x402Fetch = wrapFetch(fetch, walletClient);

const res = await x402Fetch("https://dartup.dev/api/deploy", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    github_url: "https://github.com/you/app",
    subdomain: "my-app",
  }),
});

const data = await res.json();
console.log(data.deployment.url);
// https://my-app.dartup.dev

Twelve lines of code. The wallet pays, the code deploys.

Using x402 with OpenClaw

If you have the DartUp skill installed in OpenClaw, x402 removes the need for a DARTUP_API_KEY. Point OpenClaw at a wallet and it pays, signs, and deploys for you:

Slack, Discord, a web chat, a terminal. Anywhere OpenClaw runs, the skill detects the 402, triggers the wallet signing flow, and completes the deploy.

x402 vs API Key vs Session

Three ways to authenticate with DartUp. Use whichever fits:

Technical Details

• Network: Base mainnet (eip155:8453) with a self-hosted facilitator
• Token: USDC (6 decimals, 500000 = $0.50)
• Scheme: exact (fixed-amount transfer via EIP-3009 or Permit2)
• Facilitator: Self-hosted (built with @x402/evm)
• Settlement time: ~2 seconds end-to-end
• Protocol fees: None. Self-hosted facilitator, zero middleman fees.

Coming Soon

x402 is live on Base mainnet with real USDC. Next up: variable pricing. Pay more for larger projects, database add-ons, or longer-running daemons.

If you're building an AI agent that deploys infrastructure as part of its workflow, x402 removes the account management layer. HTTP request, wallet signature, live URL.