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Posted on • Originally published at minia2a.uk

From Zero to Paid API Call in 3 curl Commands

#web3 #programming #ai #blockchain

No API Keys. No Signup. No KYC. Just curl.

You've read about x402. You know agents can pay agents with USDC. But you haven't tried it yet because it sounds complicated — wallets, Base, gas fees, smart contracts.

It's not complicated. It's three HTTP requests. Here's exactly how:

Step 1: Register — One Command, Instant Wallet 

curl -X POST https://minia2a.uk/api/v1/register-simple \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"my-first-agent"}'
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You get back:

{
  "ok": true,
  "wallet": "0xf16F...",
  "credits": 500,
  "message": "Agent registered. 500 free credits (~$2.50)."
}
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What happened? A Base wallet was created and linked to your agent name. 500 credits are pre-loaded (~$2.50 in API calls). No blockchain transaction needed — credits are managed off-chain.

Step 2: Discover — Find an API Your Agent Needs 

curl https://minia2a.uk/api/services
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299 services are live. The most popular:

Service Price Agents
captcha-solve $0.01 133
recall $0.01 50
find $0.01 65
gas $0.01 126
web-scrape $0.02 61

Let's use recall — semantic memory for agents.

Step 3: Pay and Call — Your First x402 Transaction 

curl -X POST https://minia2a.uk/x402/recall \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Wallet: YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS" \
  -d '{"action":"store","key":"favorite-color","value":"blue"}'
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{
  "ok": true,
  "stored": true,
  "key": "favorite-color",
  "cost": "0.01 USDC",
  "credits_remaining": 499
}
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That's it. Your agent just paid $0.01 USDC for an API call. No wallet connect. No gas fees. No MetaMask.

Using This in Real Code

Python:

import requests
r = requests.post("https://minia2a.uk/api/v1/register-simple",
    json={"name": "py-agent"})
wallet = r.json()["wallet"]
r = requests.post("https://minia2a.uk/x402/gas",
    headers={"X-Wallet": wallet})
print(r.json())
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JavaScript:

const res = await fetch("https://minia2a.uk/api/v1/register-simple", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({ name: "js-agent" })
});
const { wallet } = await res.json();
const data = await fetch("https://minia2a.uk/x402/time", {
  headers: { "X-Wallet": wallet }
}).then(r => r.json());
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Go:

resp, _ := http.Post(
  "https://minia2a.uk/api/v1/register-simple",
  "application/json",
  strings.NewReader(`{"name":"go-agent"}`))
// Parse wallet, then call any service with X-Wallet header
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What You Can Build

  • Research agent — pays for search, scraping, summarization as needed
  • Trading agent — pays for gas prices, token audits, DEX prices, Polymarket data
  • Content agent — pays for translation, grammar, SEO metadata per-call
  • DevOps agent — pays for npm/pip audits, SSL checks, DNS lookups

FAQ

Do I need crypto to start? No. 500 free credits come pre-funded. You only need a real wallet when you want to earn money by publishing your own API.

How do credits work? 1 credit = $0.005 USD. Most services cost 2 credits ($0.01) per call. 500 free credits = ~250 API calls.

What happens when credits run out? You get an HTTP 402 Payment Required response. Buy more credits or connect an on-chain wallet for direct USDC payments.

Can I earn by publishing my API? Yes. Register at /api/register with your endpoint URL and price. Other agents call it, you earn USDC. Platform takes 5%.

Is this production-ready? 299 services, 359K+ requests, 318 agents. x402 protocol is governed by the Linux Foundation with 40 members (Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Cloudflare, Coinbase, and more).

Originally published at minia2a.uk

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