ontario-protocol

# Ontario Protocol

Find out why an agent cannot discover or call your x402 API, then publish the
evidence a buyer needs to evaluate it.

[Run the free buyer-discovery audit](https://ontarioprotocol.com/tools/coinbase-bazaar-readiness?utm_source=github&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=provider_launch)
| [Provider quickstart](https://ontarioprotocol.com/docs/x402-service-listing-quickstart?utm_source=github&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=provider_launch)
| [Inspect current tools](https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/mcp.json)

## Install in your agent

[Launch multiple x402 endpoints](https://ontarioprotocol.com/tools/catalog-launch):
validate a public services manifest, select up to ten endpoints, and inspect the
0.50 USDC per-endpoint publication quote. The plan does not authorize payment.
Use your existing wallet or MCP client and retain each successful receipt.

[Catalog Watch](https://ontarioprotocol.com/static/downloads/ontario-catalog-watch.zip)
is a free customer-run Python kit for scheduled public-profile observations,
before/after webhook alerts, and gated refresh jobs after included maintenance.
It is not a hosted subscription and never signs or spends.

For API providers preparing a launch:

```bash
npx skills add TheTechDevPro/ontario-protocol --skill ontario-provider-launch
```

For agent builders checking an endpoint before spending:

```bash
npx skills add TheTechDevPro/ontario-protocol --skill ontario-x402-preflight
```

Or install both from the [Ontario x402 Toolkit pack](https://skills.sh/p/1i9kLVcmDbP4Zbhz):

```bash
npx skills add https://skills.sh/p/1i9kLVcmDbP4Zbhz
```

The pack is a public, unlisted snapshot of these two skills, published September 6,
2026. It is not a leaderboard placement, endorsement, or security certification.

Skills contain inspectable instructions. Installation does not create a wallet,
authorize a purchase, or change spending limits.

## Connect

The remote uses Streamable HTTP. No Ontario API key is required for free tools.
For clients using `mcpServers`, including Claude Code's `.mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ontario-protocol": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://ontarioprotocol.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

For VS Code, see [examples/vscode-mcp.json](examples/vscode-mcp.json). The
[official Registry record](https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0.1/servers/com.ontarioprotocol%2Fontario-protocol/versions/latest)
and [Smithery listing](https://smithery.ai/servers/thom899g/ontario-protocol)
point to the same remote. A connected MCP host still needs a compatible local
x402 wallet and explicit spend policy to use paid tools.

## Try a useful task

> Check whether my public x402 API appears in Bazaar for "return a sourced
> company filing". Report observable blockers. Do not spend or publish anything.

Or call the free HTTP diagnostic directly:

```bash
curl --fail-with-body --silent --show-error \
  https://ontarioprotocol.com/api/tools/coinbase-bazaar-readiness \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"target_url":"https://example.com/api/paid","buyer_query":"return a sourced company filing"}'
```

Replace the example URL with your own public API. The result separates indexing
preflight from sampled buyer-query retrieval, with evidence and timestamps.
It does not initiate a settlement or submit your service to another registry.

## Free checks and the paid deliverable

| Job | Tool or endpoint | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Diagnose retrieval across five buyer queries | `bazaar_buyer_intent_gap` | Free |
| Inspect x402 endpoint readiness | `x402_readiness_verify` | Free |
| Decide whether a proposed spend passes policy | `agent_can_pay` | Free |
| Find task-relevant paid API candidates | `find_x402_tool` | Free |
| Validate provider publication inputs | `ontario_validate-service` | Free |
| Publish a signed provider launch profile | `ontario_list-service` | 0.50 USDC on Base |

The optional publication includes a canonical HTML/JSON profile, readiness
evidence, a point-in-time Bazaar retrieval snapshot, a badge, and 30 days of
included automatic freshness maintenance. Providers with an MCP server can add
MCP Registry and read-only remote-contract evidence to the same purchase.

**Publication does not buy Coinbase or MCP Registry placement, ranking,
traffic, customers, a better grade, or a safety guarantee.** Use the free
diagnostic first. The paid route returns HTTP 402 before payment. A challenge
is not a receipt; sign locally only under the owner's policy.

## Publish from your agent without a browser

1. Call `ontario_validate-service` with your public service name, description,
   endpoint and its per-call price. Fix the returned field errors for free.
2. Run the free readiness and can-pay checks. Choose publication only when you
   need the public profile and approve Ontario's separate 0.50 USDC fee.
3. Call `ontario_list-service` without payment and inspect the live requirements.
4. A compatible wallet client signs locally and retries with the PaymentPayload
   in `params._meta["x402/payment"]`. Store the profile and
   `result._meta["x402/payment-response"]` receipt after success.

Ontario supports the [standard x402 MCP payment format](https://docs.cdp.coinbase.com/x402/buyer/mcp-payments).
The unpaid MCP result uses HTTP 200 with `isError: true` and `PaymentRequired`
in both structured content and JSON text. It is not a failed server or a sale.
The older `_x402_payment` argument still works. HTTP-wrapper clients can send
`X-Ontario-X402-Transport: http` for HTTP 402 signaling and retry with
`PAYMENT-SIGNATURE`. No installation or free check authorizes a payment.

Source labels, when available, are coarse client-reported hints. They do not
identify a person or prove a marketplace referred a paying customer.

## Typed responses and compatibility

All nine tools in the default catalog declare output schemas, documented input
parameters, and side-effect annotations. Clients can validate successful
structured results instead of inferring their shape from prose. The free launch
kit returns drafts only; optional live verification can create a public report;
paid publication and evidence refresh remain state-changing operations.

The September 5, 2026 Smithery refresh reports 98/100, with complete schema,
description, parameter, annotation, metadata, and configuration coverage. Its
remaining deduction is for flat tool names. Existing names and payment contracts
are retained for compatibility. This is a listing-quality measure, not a security
audit, certification, or evidence of customer demand.

## Public distribution check

On September 5, 2026, an explicitly approved, owner-funded 0.50 USDC activation
settled and the exact `/api/x402/list-service` resource appeared in CDP Bazaar and
Agentic Market. Smithery's original listing was refreshed to the current nine
tools. The [operator disclosure and transaction receipt](https://ontarioprotocol.com/static/receipts/bazaar-activation-20260905.json)
make the test independently inspectable. This was distribution setup, not a new
customer, independent revenue, a security certification, or guaranteed traffic.

## Additional catalog entries

- [Ontario on x402scan](https://www.x402scan.com/server/a2237d73-7805-4004-a4c8-5348f4175312)
  exposes 21 resources in the public catalog, checked September 6, 2026.
- [Ontario's Agent402 seller record](https://agent402.tools/api/index?seller=ontarioprotocol.com)
  exposes 20 tools, including eight paid tools. On September 6, 2026, it reported
  `routable: true` for crawl readiness but `routerDispatchEligible: false` with
  `routerDispatchReason: settlement_required`. Its paid router's settlement-history
  threshold is a separate gate; a successful registration does not satisfy it.

Catalog presence is not an endorsement, a paid call, or evidence of customer
traffic. Check each hub's current eligibility before relying on it. The direct
MCP connection and GitHub skill installation above do not depend on these hubs'
routing eligibility. Free checks never authorize a purchase; paid calls still
require a compatible wallet and the owner's spending policy.

## Machine-readable entry points

- [MCP descriptor](https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/mcp.json)
- [x402 manifest](https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/x402.json)
- [Agent buyer guide](https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/agent-buyer.json)
- [Agent payment policy](https://ontarioprotocol.com/.well-known/agent-payment-policy.json)
- [Agent discovery guide](https://ontarioprotocol.com/docs/x402-agent-discovery)

## Private review handoffs for teams

[Ontario Private Agent Handoff](https://ontarioprotocol.com/services/private-agent-handoff)
is a free self-service kit for teams operating lead-to-reviewer workflows.
The [local Python kit](private-agent-handoff/README.md) signs and encrypts selected
brief fields, checks a pinned recipient, expiry, replay and local revocation, and
returns a payload-free signed acceptance receipt. It makes no network calls and
does not execute tools or pay. Keep your own authenticated transport.

The public page includes a rule-based setup assistant, a complete guide, expected
results, troubleshooting and a synthetic policy simulator. The assistant adapts
to the customer's environment without uploading choices, keys or task data.
Unsupported deployments are not marked ready. Run `demo.py` locally for real encryption,
receipt verification and a replay-denial check. No account, wallet, application,
invoice or setup call is needed. Guided implementation is no longer offered.
No hosted messaging, independent security audit or certification is claimed.

The local kit is not an MCP tool in the public Ontario server: confidential briefs
and private keys must never be sent to that server. Read the kit's threat model
before using real data. Existing paid provider publication remains unchanged.

## Trust boundary

Ontario provides readiness and trust signals based on observabl