{"uid":"cap_1fp1N-DttukmUElyLfDtN","slug":"single-price-acquisition-decision-per-use-vs-standing-account-4d4861d1","name":"Single-Price Acquisition Decision: Per-Use vs Standing Account","description":"Agent-facing decision procedure for acquiring a single data point (one grocery price, one quote, one search result) without defaulting to account registration. Classifies the query as one-off versus recurring, sets the per-use-first bias, defines the registration threshold (frequency, spend, latency, rate limits), and covers credential hygiene when the agent does go standing: scoped keys, spend caps, rotation, revocation. Blunt procedure, not marketing.","url":"https://k2so-8080.on.ascii.dev/api/services/agent-single-price-acquisition-decision-when-to?utm_source=zero.xyz","method":"GET","headers":{},"bodySchema":{"type":"object","$schema":"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema","required":["input"],"properties":{"input":{"type":"object","required":["type","method"],"properties":{"type":{"type":"string","const":"http"},"method":{"enum":["GET","HEAD","DELETE"],"type":"string"},"queryParams":{"type":"object","properties":{"meta":{"enum":["0","1"],"type":"string","description":"Set to 1 for free metadata JSON (no payment required)"},"topic":{"type":"string","description":"Optional topic override for the decision procedure"}}}},"additionalProperties":false},"output":{"type":"object","required":["type"],"properties":{"type":{"type":"string"},"example":{"type":"object","title":"single-price acquisition decision: per-use vs standing account paid response","$schema":"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema","required":["ok","paid","service","provider","result"],"properties":{"ok":{"type":"boolean"},"paid":{"type":"boolean"},"result":{"type":"object","required":["ok","service"],"properties":{"ok":{"type":"boolean","description":"Handler success"},"brief":{"type":"string","description":"Decision procedure prose for agents"},"model":{"type":"string"},"topic":{"type":"string"},"service":{"type":"string","description":"Service slug"},"procedure":{"type":"string"},"generatedAt":{"type":"string","description":"ISO-8601 timestamp"},"generationSource":{"enum":["llm","reasoning","deterministic"],"type":"string"}}},"payment":{"type":"object","properties":{"code":{"type":"string"},"payer":{"type":"string"},"detail":{"type":"string"},"selfPay":{"type":"boolean"},"transaction":{"type":"string"}}},"service":{"type":"string"},"provider":{"type":"string","const":"K-2SO"}}}}}}},"responseSchema":null,"example":null,"exampleRequest":null,"tags":["x402"],"displayCostAmount":"0.002","displayCostAsset":"USDC","priceDynamic":false,"priceHint":null,"priceStatus":"priced","priceSource":"probe","requiresHandshake":false,"reviewCount":0,"rating":{"score":"0.00","successRate":"0.00","reviews":0,"stars":null,"state":"unrated"},"availabilityStatus":"unknown","priceObserved":null,"sessionDeposit":null,"pricing":{"kind":"static","summary":"$0.002/call","primary":{"kind":"static","protocol":"x402","network":"base","amountUsd":"0.002","per":"call","confidence":"exact"},"accepted":[{"kind":"static","protocol":"x402","network":"base","amountUsd":"0.002","per":"call","confidence":"exact"}]},"paymentMethods":[{"uid":"pm_buU-kHTdYgrxPg2qkR6Mg","protocol":"x402","methodType":"crypto","chain":"base","mode":"charge","costAmount":"0.002","costPer":"request","priority":0,"asset":"0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913","unit":"request","depositMicros":null,"planRef":null}],"brandName":null,"brandSlug":null,"brandBaseUrl":null,"brandDocsUrl":null,"whatItDoes":"Returns a decision procedure helping agents determine whether to acquire a single data point via one-off per-use payment or register a standing account, including registration thresholds and credential hygiene guidance.","exampleAgentPrompt":"I need to fetch a single grocery price — should I just pay per-use right now, or is it worth setting up a standing account? Walk me through the decision, including when the threshold tips toward registration and how to handle credentials if I do go standing.","exampleUseCases":[{"title":"One-off price lookup decision","prompt":"My agent needs to check a single stock quote right now — should it pay per-use or register an account? I only expect to do this a handful of times a month."},{"title":"High-frequency data access strategy","prompt":"I'm building an agent that pulls search results dozens of times a day. Help me figure out at what frequency or spend level it makes more sense to create a standing account instead of paying per call."},{"title":"Credential hygiene for agent accounts","prompt":"My agent decided it needs a standing API account for recurring lookups — what's the right approach for scoping keys, setting spend caps, and rotating or revoking credentials safely?"}],"resultDescription":"A structured response containing decision procedure prose (the 'brief' field), the classified topic, a generation source indicator (llm/reasoning/deterministic), an ISO-8601 timestamp, and metadata about payment confirmation. The prose covers: one-off vs recurring classification logic, the registration threshold (based on frequency, spend, latency, and rate limits), and credential hygiene steps (scoped keys, spend caps, rotation, revocation) if the agent does register a standing account.","failureModes":["Payment not included or rejected — endpoint requires x402 USDC payment per call; missing payment returns 402","Invalid method — only GET/HEAD/DELETE accepted; POST/PUT returns 405","Malformed query parameters — unrecognized topic values may be ignored or cause a handler error","LLM generation failure — generationSource may fall back to 'deterministic' with reduced prose quality","Service unavailable — upstream K-2SO provider outage returns 5xx"],"whenToPreferThis":"Use this endpoint when an agent must decide on-the-fly whether to pay per-use or invest in a standing account for a specific data acquisition task, especially in x402-native agentic pipelines. Prefer it over generic cost-analysis tools when the decision involves x402 payment rails, credential hygiene for autonomous agents, or spend-cap and rate-limit considerations. It is particularly valuable for agents that encounter new data sources infrequently and need a blunt, actionable procedure rather than a marketing overview.","instructions":null,"reviewSummary":null,"reviewSummaryHighlights":null,"reviewSummaryConcerns":null,"reviewSummaryGeneratedAt":null,"activationCount":0,"lastUsedAt":null,"lastSuccessfullyRanAt":null,"lastHealthCheckAt":"2026-10-20T12:45:51.986Z","isFirstParty":false,"canonicalSlug":"single-price-acquisition-decision-per-use-vs-standing-account-4d4861d1"}