About @p402/mcp Server
@p402/mcp Server routes AI applications and agents across models, applies session budgets, and settles requests on-chain. It offers multiple routing modes, a unified OpenAI-compatible endpoint, and MCP tools.
Key features
- 01Route by cost, quality, speed, or balance
- 02Route across 300+ models
- 03Set session spending limits
- 04Settle requests through x402
- 05View real-time cost analytics and suggestions
Use cases
- 01Cap spending for agent sessions
- 02Choose model routing by cost or latency
- 03Settle model requests in USDC
MCP support
@p402/mcp-server provides a stdio MCP server with six tools for chat, session management, model listing, and provider comparison.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
npx -y @p402/mcp-serverP402_API_KEYSecretYour P402 API key. Get one at https://p402.io/dashboard/settingsP402_ROUTER_URLP402 router base URL override. Defaults to https://p402.ioLocal servers need a runtime on your machine (e.g. Node.js 18+). Config file locations differ by client; see your client’s docs.
Tools
6Saved tool list · updated 2w ago
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| mode | enum | No | Routing mode — cost minimises price, quality maximises model capability, speed minimises latency, balanced is the defaultcost | quality | speed | balanced |
| model | string | No | Pin a specific model (e.g. gpt-4o, claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022). Omit to let the router choose. |
| system | string | No | Optional system prompt |
| message | string | Yes | The user message to send |
| session_id | string | No | Session ID for budget tracking. The cost of this call is deducted from the session budget. |
Details
From the project READMEP402 Protocol
AI payment router. Route across 300+ models, settle per request in USDC on Base or USDC.e on Tempo.
P402 sits between your AI application and every LLM provider. It handles intelligent multi-provider routing (cost / quality / speed / balanced), on-chain micropayment settlement via the x402 protocol and mppx on Base and Tempo, and spending guardrails for autonomous agents.
Why P402
| Problem | P402 Solution |
|---|---|
| Hardcoded to one AI provider | Route across 300+ models automatically |
| $0.30 payment fees kill micropayments | USDC on Base: fractions of a cent per settlement |
| No spending limits for AI agents | Session budgets + AP2 mandate governance |
| Fragmented provider APIs | One OpenAI-compatible endpoint |
| No visibility into AI costs | Real-time analytics + optimization suggestions |
Quick Start (VS Code / Cursor / Windsurf)
Install the extension — the MCP server is embedded, tools appear in Copilot agent mode immediately, no config files required:
ext install p402-protocol.p402
Then run P402: Configure API Key from the command palette.
→ VS Code Marketplace · Open VSX
Quick Start (Claude Desktop / any MCP client)
{
"mcpServers": {
"p402": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@p402/mcp-server"],
"env": { "P402_API_KEY": "p402_live_..." }
}
}
}
→ MCP docs · MCP Registry
Quick Start (SDK)
npm install @p402/sdk
import P402Client from '@p402/sdk';
const p402 = new P402Client({ apiKey: process.env.P402_API_KEY });
// Drop-in OpenAI replacement — P402 picks the best provider
const response = await p402.chat({
messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Explain x402 payments in one sentence.' }],
p402: { mode: 'cost' } // cost | quality | speed | balanced
});
console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
// p402_metadata: { provider: 'deepseek', cost_usd: 0.00031, latency_ms: 412 }
Quick Start (CLI)
# Authenticate once
npx p402 login
# Chat using the cheapest provider
npx p402 chat "What is x402?" --mode cost
# Check facilitator health
npx p402 health
Routing Modes
| Mode | Optimizes For | Typical Provider |
|---|---|---|
cost | Lowest price | DeepSeek V3, Haiku 4.5, GPT-4o-mini |
quality | Best output | Claude Opus 4.6, GPT-5, Gemini 3 Pro |
speed | Lowest latency | Groq LPU, Flash models |
balanced | Equal weight (default) | Sonnet 4.6, GPT-4o, Gemini Flash |
Session Budgets
Enforce hard spending caps for autonomous agents:
// Create a $10 session — agent cannot spend a cent more
const session = await p402.createSession({ budget_usd: 10 });
// All chat requests are deducted from the session
const response = await p402.chat({
messages,
p402: { session_id: session.id, mode: 'cost' }
});
// Check remaining budget
const { budget } = await p402.getSession(session.id);
console.log(`$${budget.remaining_usd} remaining`);
x402 Payments
x402 is a machine-native payment protocol using HTTP 402. AI agents pay for resources using gasless EIP-3009 USDC transfers on Base L2.
Client → signs EIP-3009 authorization
→ POST /api/v1/facilitator/verify
→ POST /api/v1/facilitator/settle
Facilitator → executes transferWithAuthorization
→ pays gas (user pays zero gas)
→ returns { success, txHash, receipt }
Network: Base Mainnet (Chain ID: 8453) · Asset: USDC 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913
A2A Protocol
P402 implements the Google A2A spec over JSON-RPC 2.0. Agents communicate through structured tasks, discover capabilities via /.well-known/agent.json, and settle payments via the x402 extension.
// Discover P402's capabilities
GET https://p402.io/.well-known/agent.json
// Submit a task
POST https://p402.io/api/a2a
{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tasks/send", "params": { ... } }
Packages
| Package | Description | Version |
|---|---|---|
@p402/sdk | TypeScript SDK — P402Client, types, EIP-712 mandate helpers | |
@p402/cli | CLI tool — login, chat, sessions, mandates, analytics | |
@p402/mcp-server | stdio MCP server — 6 tools over Model Context Protocol | |
@p402/mpp-method | mppx payment methods — Base EIP-3009 and Tempo TIP-20 multi-rail settlement | |
p402 VS Code extension | Embedded MCP server for VS Code, Cursor, and Windsurf — zero config |
Examples
| Example | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| 01-quickstart | Login → chat → view spend in ~20 lines |
| 02-openai-migration | Drop-in OpenAI SDK replacement |
| 03-nextjs-session-budget | Budget-capped AI in a Next.js App Router project |
| 04-a2a-agents | Two agents communicating with x402 payment gate |
Docs
| Guide | |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Account, API key, first request |
| Authentication | API keys, env vars, security |
| Routing Guide | Modes, scoring, providers, models |
| x402 Payments | EIP-3009, wire format, settlement |
| Sessions | Session lifecycle + budget enforcement |
| A2A Protocol | JSON-RPC, mandates, Bazaar |
| CLI Reference | Full CLI command reference |
| OpenAPI Spec | Machine-readable API schema |
Community
- Dashboard: p402.io/dashboard
- Docs: p402.io/docs
- Issues: GitHub Issues
- Security: See SECURITY.md for responsible disclosure
- Contributing: See CONTRIBUTING.md
License
MIT © P402 Protocol
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.