Provider discovery guide

How to Make an x402 Endpoint Discoverable to Agents

An x402 endpoint can accept payment and still be invisible to agents. Make the service legible across machine-readable metadata, MCP catalogs, GitHub, and public readiness evidence before you ask a registry or agent to choose it.

x402 agent discovery x402 API providers, MCP server owners, and agent-platform teams trying to earn qualified discovery.

Run the free catalog scorecard Generate launch metadata free Request the qualified $199 review

Publish one coherent machine contract

Agents compare several surfaces before they spend. Your service origin should expose the x402 metadata appropriate to its implementation, while your MCP listing, OpenAPI, README, and payment challenge agree on purpose, method, price, asset, and network.

Publish the service's x402 manifest and keep its price, asset, network, and resource current.
For MCP, expose a stable HTTPS remote and a registry server.json with exact tool names and descriptions.
Link the public readiness report instead of using a badge or launch claim as the only proof.

Make every discovery surface agree

A registry listing is only an entry point. Agents need a short path from discovery to verification, policy, and a payment decision without guessing which URL or amount is authoritative.

Put the verifier command and report link in the GitHub README beside the endpoint description.
Use Ontario's agent buyer guide and payment policy as reference surfaces for preflight decisions.
Do not promise registry placement, ranking, safety, or agent traffic; those outcomes are not controlled by metadata alone.

Prove readiness before promotion

Run the free scorecard, readiness verifier, and payment-challenge checks before submitting to a catalog. Re-run them after any price, network, facilitator, or tool-schema change.

Save the report ID and inspect warnings, freshness, integrity, and remediation text.
Use a sandbox or testnet for rehearsal; never include private keys or seed phrases in a scan.
If public evidence needs coordinated repair, request the fixed-scope $199 launch review after free qualification.

Copy-ready verification path

Use this as a starting point in a provider README. Replace the service URL, inspect the result, and keep the public report link current.

# 1. Publish and inspect your machine-readable surfaces
curl -sS https://YOUR_SERVICE/.well-known/x402.json
curl -sS https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/agent-buyer.json

# 2. Verify the endpoint before promotion
curl -sS -X POST https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/verify/x402-readiness \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"target_url":"https://YOUR_SERVICE/api/paid"}'

# 3. Put the resulting public report URL in your README and listing copy

Workflow

Publish the endpoint's current manifest, OpenAPI, MCP metadata, and buyer-facing policy links.

Probe the endpoint without payment and confirm its HTTP 402 challenge is structured and intentional.

Run Ontario's free catalog scorecard and readiness verifier; keep the public report URL.

Copy the report link, verifier command, and exact endpoint facts into the README and registry draft.

Submit or promote only under the operator's own registry policy, then recheck freshness after changes.

Use these Ontario routes to move from content research into live verification evidence.