circlefin Overview
For an overview of the Circle CLI's full capability set, see the use-circle-cli master skill. This skill is the narrower spending-policy flow.
Circle agent wallets support spending policies — per-wallet caps that the CLI enforces on every payment and transfer. There are three operations:
| Operation | Command | OTP required? |
|---|---|---|
| View current limits | circle wallet limit --address <addr> --chain BASE --output json |
No |
| Set custom limits | circle wallet limit set ... |
Yes — human OTP, run in user's own terminal |
| Reset to defaults | circle wallet limit reset ... |
Yes — human OTP, run in user's own terminal |
Spending policies are mainnet-only (testnet chains are rejected; see Troubleshooting / Rules).
Prerequisites
# Confirm session is good
circle wallet status
# Get the wallet address
circle wallet list --chain BASE --type agent --output json
If circle wallet status errors with "Not logged in" or "Terms acceptance is required", hand off to the use-agent-wallet skill — it covers install, terms, login, and wallet creation.
Viewing current limits (in-agent, no OTP)
circle wallet limit --address <addr> --chain BASE --output json
Shows the current per-tx, daily, weekly, and monthly USDC caps (null for any unset tier). Safe to call freely — read-only, no money moves, no OTP.
Setting or resetting limits (interactive terminal — handoff to user)
circle wallet limit set and circle wallet limit reset are interactive. They send a 6-digit OTP to the user's email mid-execution and wait for the code at the CLI's stdin prompt.
OTPs are password-equivalent. The agent must NOT receive, store, or relay the OTP. The agent's job here is to hand the user a verbatim command to run in their own terminal, then wait for them to report back.
Step 1 — Confirm values with the user
Limits must be monotonic: per-tx ≤ daily ≤ weekly ≤ monthly.
A typical conservative configuration:
| Tier | Suggested USDC value |
|---|---|
--per-tx |
1 |
--daily |
5 |
--weekly |
20 |
--monthly |
50 |
Adjust based on the user's stated tolerance. Get explicit yes before generating the command.
Step 2 — Hand the user the command
Tell the user:
Setting spending limits requires an OTP I shouldn't see. Please run this command in your own terminal — the CLI will email you a 6-digit code; enter it at the prompt. Let me know once it completes.
circle wallet limit set \ --address <addr> --chain BASE \ --policy-type stablecoin \ --per-tx 1 --daily 5 --weekly 20 --monthly 50
For reset, the verbatim command is:
circle wallet limit reset --address <addr> --chain BASE --yes
Omit --yes if you want the user to see a confirmation prompt before the OTP is sent.
Step 3 — Verify after the user reports done
circle wallet limit --address <addr> --chain BASE --output json
Confirms the new caps. Surface them to the user.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| User received multiple OTP emails | Command was re-run while a previous invocation was still waiting | Tell the user to use the most recent OTP only. Earlier ones are invalidated. |
| OTP rejected with "prefix mismatch" | User entered an OTP from a previous request | Restart — each set / reset invocation has a fresh prefix. |
Spending policies are mainnet-only |
Tried to set a policy on a testnet chain | Re-run with a mainnet --chain value (BASE, MATIC, etc.). |
Limits must be monotonic |
per-tx > daily, daily > weekly, etc. | Re-check the values. per-tx ≤ daily ≤ weekly ≤ monthly. |
Only agent wallets support spending policies |
Tried on a local (non-agent) wallet | Spending policies apply only to agent wallets created via circle wallet create. |
Rules
- NEVER ask the user to share the OTP with you. The OTP must go directly from the user's email to the CLI prompt in their own terminal — it should never touch the agent's context, tool calls, or any local file.
- If email- or messaging-integration tools are connected (e.g., Gmail or Slack via MCP), the OTP can also be fetched through them — note the option to the user; how to handle it is their call.
- ALWAYS hand the user a verbatim
circle wallet limit set/resetcommand for them to run in their own terminal. Do NOT try to orchestrate the OTP from chat. - ALWAYS confirm proposed limit values with the user before generating the command. Show the per-tx / daily / weekly / monthly numbers explicitly and wait for explicit yes.
- Spending policies are mainnet-only — testnet chains are rejected. Don't quote testnet examples.
- Only agent wallets support spending policies, not local wallets.
- After the user reports the change is done, run
circle wallet limit --address <addr> --chain BASE --output jsonso the user sees the new caps.
Reference Links
- Full policy walkthrough (extended examples, edge cases): https://agents.circle.com/skills/wallet-policy.md
- Circle Developer Docs: https://developers.circle.com/llms.txt
Alternatives
Trigger the use-agent-wallet skill instead when:
- The user has not yet logged in to the CLI or accepted Terms.
circle wallet statuserrors with "Not logged in" or "Terms acceptance is required".- The user is asking about wallet setup, login, or session state — not policy.
Trigger the pay-via-agent-wallet skill instead when:
- The user wants to call, pay for, or use a paid x402 service.
- Limits are already set and the user is ready to spend.
Trigger the fund-agent-wallet skill instead when:
- The user wants to add USDC before setting limits.
- The user mentions deposit, fiat on-ramp, fiat purchase, QR-code transfer, or Gateway deposit.
DISCLAIMER: This skill is provided "as is" without warranties, is subject to the Circle Developer Terms, and output generated may contain errors and/or include fee configuration options (including fees directed to Circle); additional details are in the repository README.