{"uid":"cap_BBqc7KqyAxHuvawEwuRIy","slug":"single-price-acquisition-decision-per-use-vs-standing-account-07e78d11","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.wrong.systems/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":{"type":"json","example":{"ok":true,"paid":true,"result":{"ok":true,"brief":"plain prose decision procedure (120+ words)","model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731","topic":"string topic","service":"agent-single-price-acquisition-decision-when-to","procedure":"same as brief","generatedAt":"2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z","generationSource":"deterministic"},"service":"agent-single-price-acquisition-decision-when-to","provider":"K-2SO"}},"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_1x0H9X1WPaRTvoN4PIPpn","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 for agents determining whether to acquire a single data point via a one-off per-use payment or by registering a standing account with an API provider.","exampleAgentPrompt":"I need to fetch a single grocery price for one product — should I register a standing API account with the data provider or just pay per-call once? Give me the decision procedure including when recurring use would justify registration and any credential hygiene steps if I do go standing.","exampleUseCases":[{"title":"One-off price lookup for shopping agent","prompt":"My agent just needs to grab the current price of one item from a grocery data API — should it create an account or just do a single per-use payment? Walk me through the decision."},{"title":"Agent deciding on standing API key setup","prompt":"I'm building an agent that might call a financial quote API either once or repeatedly depending on the task. How do I decide at runtime whether to use a one-off x402 payment or register a standing account with scoped keys and spend caps?"},{"title":"Credential hygiene for infrequent API access","prompt":"My agent occasionally needs a single search result from a paid data provider, maybe once a week at most. Should it keep a standing account or pay per use each time, and if it does have an account, how should it manage the credentials safely?"}],"resultDescription":"A JSON object containing a 'brief' field with decision procedure prose tailored for agents, a 'procedure' string, the 'topic' being evaluated, a 'generationSource' enum (llm/reasoning/deterministic), and an ISO-8601 'generatedAt' timestamp. The prose covers: one-off vs recurring classification, the registration threshold (frequency, spend, latency, rate limits), and credential hygiene guidance (scoped keys, spend caps, rotation, revocation) when a standing account is warranted.","failureModes":["Payment not included — endpoint returns HTTP 402 requiring USDC payment via x402 protocol","Invalid method — only GET/HEAD/DELETE are accepted; POST/PUT return 405","Malformed input schema — missing required 'type' or 'method' fields returns validation error","LLM generation failure — generationSource may fall back to 'deterministic' with reduced prose quality","Topic override not recognized — falls back to default single-price acquisition procedure"],"whenToPreferThis":"Use this endpoint when an agent needs a runtime decision framework for whether to pay per-call or register a standing account before making a data acquisition call. Prefer this over generic API strategy guides when the agent is operating in an x402 payment context, needs a blunt machine-readable procedure rather than marketing content, or requires explicit thresholds (frequency, spend, latency) and credential hygiene steps for autonomous operation.","instructions":null,"reviewSummary":null,"reviewSummaryHighlights":null,"reviewSummaryConcerns":null,"reviewSummaryGeneratedAt":null,"activationCount":0,"lastUsedAt":null,"lastSuccessfullyRanAt":null,"lastHealthCheckAt":"2026-10-19T18:45:22.837Z","isFirstParty":false,"canonicalSlug":"single-price-acquisition-decision-per-use-vs-standing-account-07e78d11"}