Creating Endpoints

Endpoints are the core of x402 Studio. They turn your APIs into paid services that accept crypto payments automatically.

Endpoint Types

Pay-Per-Request

Charge a fixed price for each API call. Best for:

High-value API responses
Compute-intensive operations
Premium data access

Credit-Based

Sell credit packs upfront. Best for:

High-volume APIs
Subscription-like access
Lighter per-call pricing

Creating a New Endpoint

Step 1: Navigate to Endpoints

Go to Dashboard → Endpoints and click New Endpoint.

Step 2: Basic Information

Field	Description
Name	A descriptive name for your endpoint
Description	What this endpoint does (shown to users)
Origin URL	Your actual API endpoint URL

Step 3: Set Your Payout Address

Enter the wallet address where you want to receive payments:

0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f2bD87

⚠️ Double-check this address. Payments are irreversible once sent.

Origin Protection (API Key Security)

Important: When you create an endpoint, x402 Studio generates an Origin Protection Key (API Key). This key is used by the x402 Gateway to authenticate requests to your origin server.

Without proper API key validation, your endpoint will not accept payments. The gateway performs a health check before allowing payments, and if your origin returns a 401/403 error, the payment button will be disabled.

How It Works

When you create an endpoint, an API key is generated and shown once
Add this key to your server's environment variables (e.g., X402_API_KEY)
Your server must validate incoming requests using this key
The x402 Gateway sends the key in the X-API-Key header

Server-Side Validation Examples

Express Middlewarejavascript

// Node.js / Express
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  const apiKey = req.headers['x-api-key'];
  if (apiKey !== process.env.X402_API_KEY) {
    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Unauthorized' });
  }
  next();
});

Flask Middlewarepython

# Python / Flask
from flask import request, jsonify

@app.before_request
def check_api_key():
    api_key = request.headers.get('X-API-Key')
    if api_key != os.environ.get('X402_API_KEY'):
        return jsonify({'error': 'Unauthorized'}), 401

Public Endpoints: If you don't want to require API key validation (e.g., your API is already public), you can disable the "Require API Key" toggle when creating the endpoint. However, this means anyone who discovers your origin URL can access it without payment.

Testing Your Endpoint

After creation, test that everything works:

Terminalbash

# Get the 402 challenge
curl https://api.x402layer.cc/api/public/endpoints/your-slug

# Expected: 402 Payment Required with payment details

Managing Endpoints

From the Dashboard, you can:

Edit – Update pricing, origin URL, or settings
Pause – Temporarily disable the endpoint
Delete – Permanently remove the endpoint
View Analytics – See payment history and usage stats

🤖 AI Integration Helper

Don't know how to use your API key? After creating an endpoint, you'll see a purple card with a "Copy AI Integration Prompt" button.

Click it to copy a pre-written prompt, then paste it into any AI assistant:

Cursor – Paste in chat to generate integration code
ChatGPT / Claude – Get step-by-step integration help
GitHub Copilot – Use as context for code suggestions

💡 This is the easiest way to integrate x402 payments into your project with zero coding knowledge!