How to Build an Agent That Pays for Its Own API Calls (in 10 Minutes)

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Object 1: The Discoverer

Your agent starts by finding which APIs exist. This call is always free:

import requests
def discover_apis(keyword="gas"):     """Find APIs matching a keyword — free, no auth required."""     r = requests.get(f"https://minia2a.uk/api/services?q={keyword}")     data = r.json()     for svc in data['services'][:5]:         print(f"  {svc['id']}: {svc['description']} ({svc['priceCents']}¢/call)")     return data['services']
# Output: # x402-gas: Current Ethereum gas prices (0.1¢/call) # x402-gas-now: Instant gas snapshot (0.03¢/call) # x402-gas-time: Gas price history with timestamps (0.2¢/call) 

Object 2: The Trial Runner

Every endpoint comes with 5 free calls — no registration, no wallet. Your agent just calls the endpoint:

def trial_call(endpoint, params={}):
    """Make a trial call. First 5 are free per IP."""
    url = f"https://minia2a.uk/x402/{endpoint}"
    r = requests.get(url, params=params)
    
    # Check trial status from HTTP headers
    remaining = r.headers.get('x-ip-trial-remaining', 'unknown')
    max_trials = r.headers.get('x-ip-trial-max', '5')
    print(f"Trial: {remaining}/{max_trials} remaining")
    
    if r.status_code == 200:
        return r.json()
    elif r.status_code == 402:
        # Hit the payment wall — time to register
        return handle_402(r.json())
    
    return r.json()
def handle_402(error_body):     """When trials run out, auto-register to continue."""     print(f"402: {error_body.get('message', 'Payment required')}")          # Auto-register — one POST, no KYC, 500 free credits     reg = requests.post(         "https://minia2a.uk/api/v1/register-simple",         json={"name": "my-data-agent"}     )          if reg.status_code == 200:         account = reg.json()         print(f"Registered! Wallet: {account['wallet'][:10]}...")         print(f"Credits: {account['credits']} (≈{account['credits']} API calls)")         return account     else:         # IP already registered? Use register-user instead         reg2 = requests.post(             "https://minia2a.uk/api/v1/register-user",             json={"name": "my-data-agent-v2"},             headers={"X-Wallet-Signature": "auto-create"}         )         return reg2.json() 

Object 3: The Payer

def paid_call(endpoint, wallet, params={}):
    """Make a paid API call with credit auto-deduction."""
    params['wallet'] = wallet
    url = f"https://minia2a.uk/x402/{endpoint}"
    r = requests.get(url, params=params)
    
    # Check credit balance from response body
    data = r.json()
    trial_info = data.get('_trial', {})
    if 'credits_remaining' in trial_info:
        print(f"Credits remaining: {trial_info['credits_remaining']}")
    
    return data

Full Working Agent (30 Lines)

import requests
class PayingAgent:     def __init__(self, name="agent-1"):         self.name = name         self.wallet = None          def setup_wallet(self):         """Register and get 500 free credits."""         r = requests.post("https://minia2a.uk/api/v1/register-simple", json={"name": self.name})         if r.status_code != 200:             r = requests.post("https://minia2a.uk/api/v1/register-user",                              json={"name": self.name}, headers={"X-Wallet-Signature": "auto-create"})         self.wallet = r.json()['wallet']         return r.json()          def call(self, endpoint, **params):         """Call any API. Auto-registers if needed."""         params['wallet'] = self.wallet         r = requests.get(f"https://minia2a.uk/x402/{endpoint}", params=params)         if r.status_code == 402 and not self.wallet:             self.setup_wallet()             params['wallet'] = self.wallet             r = requests.get(f"https://minia2a.uk/x402/{endpoint}", params=params)         return r.json()
# Usage agent = PayingAgent("gas-tracker") agent.setup_wallet()
# Call 3 different APIs — credits auto-deduct gas = agent.call("gas", chain="ethereum") time = agent.call("time") price = agent.call("crypto-price", symbol="ETH")
print(f"Gas: {gas['gas']['price']}") print(f"Time: {time['result']['utc']}") print(f"ETH: ${price.get('price', 'N/A')}") 

What Happens When Credits Run Low

{
  "ok": true,
  "gas": {"price": "0.070 gwei"},
  "_trial": {
    "credits_remaining": 487,
    "buy_more": "POST /api/v1/buy-credits — 1 USDC = 200 credits on Base"
  }
}