# Ekx Tempo

> The Tempo chain and Machine Payments Protocol (MPP) — the tempo CLI for agent-paid web requests, pathUSDC, the Moderato testnet, sponsored transactions and wallet setup. Use when an agent needs to pay per request without API keys, or when evaluating MPP against x402.

- Skill: `ekinoxis-evm/ekx-tempo` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ekinoxis-evm/ekx-tempo`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ekinoxis-evm/ekx-tempo/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: Ekinoxis-evm (https://skillmd.com/u/ekinoxis-evm)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ekinoxis-evm/ekx-tempo

---


# Tempo / MPP

An agent-payments chain, used in our agent-payments work.

Vendored authority: [`../../vendor/tempo/`](../../vendor/tempo/), a full docs mirror.
Web: https://docs.tempo.xyz

---

## What it does

Lets a Claude Code agent make **paid web requests** from a Tempo wallet via the
Machine Payments Protocol — micropayments per request, no API key, no subscription.

```
Claude Code agent
  └── tempo request (CLI)
        └── Tempo wallet (pathUSDC)
              └── the paid API
```

Same problem as [`x402`](../ekx-x402/SKILL.md), different chain and a CLI-first ergonomics.
x402 settles on Base in USDC; Tempo settles on Tempo in pathUSDC. We have both in the
portfolio because both were being evaluated — **neither is production infrastructure yet**.

---

## Environment

```bash
NEXT_PUBLIC_TEMPO_RPC_URL=            # https://rpc.moderato.tempo.xyz
NEXT_PUBLIC_TEMPO_PATHUSDC_ADDRESS=   # 0x20c0000000000000000000000000000000000000
```

Endpoints: RPC `rpc.moderato.tempo.xyz` · sponsor `sponsor.moderato.tempo.xyz` and
`sponsor.devnet.tempo.xyz` · wallet `wallet.tempo.xyz` · keys `keys.tempo.xyz` ·
explorer `explore.tempo.xyz`.

**pathUSDC also has 6 decimals.** Same rule as USDC — see [`../ekx-circle-usdc/SKILL.md`](../ekx-circle-usdc/SKILL.md).

---

## Session check

Run this before trusting anything in a Tempo session:

```bash
tempo request --dry-run -X POST \
  --json '{"query":"test"}' \
  https://parallelmpp.dev/api/search
```

`--dry-run` prices the request without paying. Use it on every new endpoint before
letting an agent loop over it.

---

## Sponsored transactions

The sponsor endpoint pays gas so the agent wallet only needs pathUSDC, not a gas
token. That is the main ergonomic win over doing this on Base directly.

---

## Rules

1. **`--dry-run` first**, every new endpoint.
2. **Budget per agent run.** Same hazard as x402: an unbounded loop over a paid endpoint drains the wallet quietly.
3. **Moderato is a testnet.** Do not treat balances as real, and do not build a product dependency on testnet endpoints.
4. **Keep the agent wallet small.** It signs without a human.