Pay for a resource

Pay an MPP or x402 endpoint with the InFlow CLI, and get the response. The 402 response of the endpoint lists the accepted protocols and options. For the payment flow and owner approval, see Payments. To pay from your own application, see Pay from code.

How the agent pays

By default, the agent pays from its InFlow balance. It can also pay in other ways when the seller offers them.

Way to pay	MPP	x402
InFlow balance	The `balance` rail of the `inflow` payment method	The `balance` scheme
Onchain	The `tempo` payment method	The `exact` scheme
Linked card	The `instrument` rail of `inflow`, or a `card` charge	The `instrument` scheme

For x402, the CLI prefers balance, then exact, then instrument. For MPP, the seller challenge sets the rail. A card payment does not use your InFlow balance. See Rails and schemes.

Check before you pay

Do these checks before the first payment to a new endpoint.

Read the endpoint

inspect reports the ODP, AEP, MPP, and x402 capabilities of a URL. It does not enroll and it does not pay.

inflow inspect https://api.example.com/paid-resource

For the full payment options of one protocol, use the protocol command. It sends a request to the endpoint, but it does not pay.

inflow mpp inspect https://api.example.com/paid-resource

inflow x402 inspect https://api.example.com/paid-resource

Check what you can pay with

inflow mpp supported

inflow x402 supported

mpp supported lists your payment methods by intent, settlement rail, and currency. x402 supported lists your buyer capabilities by scheme and network.

Check your balance

inflow balances list
inflow deposit-addresses list

deposit-addresses list shows where to send stablecoins. Always copy a deposit address in full. A shortened address does not work.

Pay in one command

One command probes the endpoint, prepares the payment, and waits for approval. Then it sends the credential to the seller and returns the response body.

inflow mpp pay https://api.example.com/paid-resource --interval 5 --max-attempts 180

inflow x402 pay https://api.example.com/paid-resource --interval 5 --max-attempts 180

The result contains outcome, transaction_id, response_status, settled, and the seller’s response body. With --format json or --format toon, the agent sees only the final result. To show the approval_url to the owner earlier, stream the frames with --format jsonl.

inflow mpp pay https://api.example.com/paid-resource --interval 5 --max-attempts 180 --format jsonl

The default --timeout is 900 seconds, the same as the approval expiry on the server.

Pay in two steps

Use this path when your agent host cannot block on one long command.

Start the payment

Run pay without --interval.

inflow mpp pay https://api.example.com/paid-resource

The result contains transaction_id, approval_id, approval_url, and a _next object.

Show the approval URL

Give the approval_url to the owner at once. Save the transaction_id at once. You need it to resume.

Complete the payment

Run the command in _next.command at once, with inflow before it. Do not wait for the owner to reply first.

inflow mpp fetch <transaction_id> https://api.example.com/paid-resource --interval 5 --max-attempts 180

fetch polls until the owner approves. Then it sends the credential to the seller and returns the body.

For x402, replace mpp with x402 in each command.

Resume an interrupted payment

Run fetch with the saved transaction_id. Do not start a new payment for the same request.

inflow mpp fetch <transaction_id> https://api.example.com/paid-resource --interval 5 --max-attempts 180

inflow x402 fetch <transaction_id> https://api.example.com/paid-resource --interval 5 --max-attempts 180

Check or cancel a payment

Command	What it does
`inflow mpp status <transactionId>`	Shows the buyer state of an MPP transaction.
`inflow x402 status <transactionId>`	Shows the signing state of an x402 transaction.
`inflow mpp cancel <approvalId>`	Tries to cancel an MPP approval.
`inflow x402 cancel <approvalId>`	Tries to cancel an x402 approval.

A cancel is a best-effort request.

Send a body or headers

The seller request uses GET by default. Use --method, --data, and --header for other requests.

inflow mpp pay https://api.example.com/upload --method POST --data '{"name":"report"}' --header "X-Request-Id: 42" --interval 5

With --data, the content type is application/json. A --header value can change it. --header repeats.

Select one payment option

These flags limit the seller options that the CLI considers.

Protocol	Flag	Example
MPP	`--payment-method`	`inflow`
MPP	`--intent`	`charge`
MPP	`--currency`	`USDC`
MPP	`--rail`	`balance` or `instrument`
x402	`--scheme`	`balance`, `exact`, or `instrument`
x402	`--network`	`eip155:84532`
x402	`--asset`	An ERC-20 address or an SVM mint
x402	`--asset-name`	`USDC`

To pay with a specific linked card, use --instrument-id with MPP or x402. Without it, the CLI uses your primary card. If the outcome is verification-required, give the verification_url to the owner. Do not start a new payment. For x402, --payment-id sends your own payment identifier. It must have 16 to 128 characters from a-z, A-Z, 0-9, _, and -.

Keep content and secrets out of chat

Flag	What it does
`--output-file`	Writes the response body to a file. Use it for PDFs, images, and other binary content.
`--no-show-body`	Removes the response body from the result.
`--credential-file` (MPP)	Writes the `Authorization: Payment` credential to a file with mode `0600`.
`--payload-file` (x402)	Writes the signed payload to a file with mode `0600`.

Recurring offers are MPP challenges with the intent subscription.

Find the option

inflow mpp inspect https://api.example.com/pro

Copy the option ID of the subscription offer.

inflow mpp subscribe https://api.example.com/pro --option-id <option_id> --interval 5

The owner reviews and approves the recurring terms. InFlow then settles the first period.

Use the subscription

inflow subscriptions fetch <subscription_id> https://api.example.com/pro

Command	What it does
`inflow subscriptions list`	Lists your subscriptions. `--status` filters by `active`, `cancelled`, `expired`, `failed`, `past_due`, `pending`, or `revoked`.
`inflow subscriptions get <subscriptionId>`	Shows the details of one subscription.
`inflow subscriptions cancel <subscriptionId>`	Cancels the subscription at once.

An agent must get explicit approval from the owner before it cancels a subscription.

Decode a header

decode reads a raw payment header.

inflow mpp decode "<WWW-Authenticate value, credential, or receipt>"
inflow x402 decode "<PAYMENT-REQUIRED value>"

Rules for agents

Never print OAuth tokens or API keys.
Use fetch to complete an approved payment. fetch attaches the credential to the seller request, so the credential stays out of chat.
On the fast path, the credential in the result is for reference only. Do not send it again.
Save the transaction_id as soon as you get it.

Troubleshooting

The payment never settles

The owner did not approve it. Approval expires after 900 seconds. Check the state with inflow mpp status or inflow x402 status.

The command finds no matching option

Your filters exclude every option from the seller. Remove --currency, --rail, --scheme, --network, or --asset-name. Then run inflow inspect again.

The balance is too low

Run inflow deposit-addresses list. Send stablecoins to the full address. Then run inflow balances list again.

Overview

Pay as an agent

Integrate your service

Concepts

Reference

Pay for a resource

How the agent pays

Check before you pay

Pay in one command

Pay in two steps

Resume an interrupted payment

Check or cancel a payment

Send a body or headers

Select one payment option

Keep content and secrets out of chat

Decode a header

Rules for agents

Troubleshooting

​How the agent pays

​Check before you pay

​Pay in one command

​Pay in two steps

​Resume an interrupted payment

​Check or cancel a payment

​Send a body or headers

​Select one payment option

​Keep content and secrets out of chat

​Subscribe to an MPP resource

​Decode a header

​Rules for agents

​Troubleshooting

How the agent pays

Check before you pay

Pay in one command

Pay in two steps

Resume an interrupted payment

Check or cancel a payment

Send a body or headers

Select one payment option

Keep content and secrets out of chat

Subscribe to an MPP resource

Decode a header

Rules for agents

Troubleshooting