inflowpayai Agentic Enrollment
Discover Agent Enrollment Protocol Services, enroll an Agent, manage Service credentials, and retrieve protected resources. Let the CLI own protocol discovery, signing, approvals, credential storage, expiration, and authenticated replay. Do not construct AEP assertions or authentication headers yourself.
Setup
Install the signed native CLI through one of these channels:
| Channel | Command |
|---|---|
| macOS Homebrew | brew tap inflowpayai/tap && brew install --cask inflow |
| macOS/Linux hosted installer | curl -fsSL https://inflowcli.ai/install.sh | bash |
| Windows PowerShell installer | irm https://inflowcli.ai/install.ps1 | iex |
| Cross-platform shell compatibility | curl -fsSL https://inflowcli.ai/cli | bash |
Current install instructions live at https://inflowcli.ai/.
InFlow runs as a standalone CLI or an MCP server. MCP exposes each CLI command as a tool with underscores replacing
spaces, such as aep_fetch. Call tools/list for the authoritative inventory.
Use structured output when acting programmatically:
inflow aep <command> ... --format json
Credential-bearing commands require the encrypted local vault. If the CLI reports that the vault is uninitialized or
locked, tell the user to run inflow vault unlock themselves in a terminal, then retry. Never ask for or accept the
vault PIN or passphrase through chat, an MCP tool, a command-line flag, or an environment variable.
Use inflow aep <command> --schema for exact arguments and flags. Use inflow --llms-full for the complete command
reference.
Choose the command
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| Detect AEP alongside MPP and x402 for an exact resource | inflow inspect <resource-url> |
| Inspect one AEP Service or resource | inflow aep inspect <service-or-resource> |
| Retrieve a resource anonymously or with AEP authentication | inflow aep fetch <resource-url> |
| Establish Service enrollment | inflow aep enroll <service-or-resource> |
| Check enrollment and non-secret local credentials | inflow aep status <service-or-resource> |
| Request and store a Service credential explicitly | inflow aep grant <service-or-resource> |
| Revoke Service credentials | inflow aep revoke <service-or-resource> |
fetch is the resource-access workflow. Use the lifecycle commands only for their named purpose; they do not produce
credentials that can be copied into a protected-resource request.
Inspect before acting
For an exact resource URL, start with the combined inspection command when you do not already know which protocol is in use:
inflow inspect https://service.example/api/resource --format json
If detected includes aep, use aep fetch. A resource that returns successfully without authentication is not an
error; return its content without enrolling or requesting approval.
Use AEP-specific inspection for Service discovery and resource authentication details:
inflow aep inspect https://service.example/api/resource --format json
Inspection is unauthenticated. It accepts a DID, hostname, origin, or full resource URL. Query parameters do not define the resource authentication policy. The Service's OpenAPI metadata may provide the exact operation policy; otherwise the CLI uses the live authentication challenge. Do not infer support from a failed or unrelated endpoint.
If inspection reports service_identity_mismatch, stop. Do not enroll, request an assertion, or send credentials to
that Service. Directory membership does not override this failure.
Fetch a resource
Prefer fetch for normal resource access:
inflow aep fetch https://service.example/api/resource --format json
The command performs one logical operation through anonymous access, stored-credential selection, Grant when needed, InFlow approval, and authenticated replay. Keep the invocation alive while approval is pending. Do not start a second fetch or Grant to continue the same request.
If authenticated access reaches a payment 402, aep fetch returns a successful payment_required frame with the
matching mpp pay or x402 pay command. Switch to inflow --skill agentic-payments for the payment step instead of
retrying AEP authentication.
For non-GET resources, preserve the caller's request:
inflow aep fetch https://service.example/api/widgets \
--method POST \
--data '{"sku":"widget-1"}' \
--header 'X-Request-ID: request-1' \
--format json
Use --grant-type or --credential-id only when the caller needs a specific advertised method or stored credential.
Otherwise the CLI selects a usable credential or the first compatible advertised method. Expired credentials are
removed and never selected.
Use --output-file <path> --no-show-body for binary or sensitive response bodies. The JSON result reports the requested
and final URLs, response status and size, authentication outcome, non-secret credential metadata, and either an inline
body or output_saved_to.
Enroll and check status
An InFlow login is required before enrollment or an operation that needs the user's permission:
inflow auth status --format json
inflow auth login --client-name '<agent-name>' --interval 5 --timeout 300 --format json
Enroll once per Service:
inflow aep enroll service.example --interval 5 --timeout 900 --format json
The CLI presents the InFlow approval and polls it inside the same invocation. A declined approval, cancellation, or timeout is terminal for that enrollment attempt. Do not resume or reuse an interrupted enrollment; start a new Enroll only when the user asks again. Existing enrollment is detected and must not create a duplicate registration.
Check current state without treating missing enrollment as a hard failure:
inflow aep status service.example --format json
Status reports the Service lifecycle state plus non-secret summaries of usable local credentials. It does not reveal credential values.
Request or revoke credentials
Use explicit Grant when the task is credential management rather than immediate resource access:
inflow aep grant service.example --grant-type api-key --scope read:resource --interval 5 --timeout 900 --format json
Grant requires an existing enrollment. Missing enrollment is a normal state: enroll first only with the user's intent.
Grant stores the returned secret locally and reports non-secret metadata. fetch can request Grant automatically when
accessing a resource and no usable credential exists.
Without a selector, Revoke invalidates every Service credential:
inflow aep revoke service.example --format json
Narrow revocation only when requested:
inflow aep revoke service.example --grant-type oauth-bearer --format json
inflow aep revoke service.example --credential-id credential-123 --format json
User approval
An approval is an asynchronous request for the user to authorize an Agent action. InFlow may notify the user through their configured channels, such as the mobile app or email, and the CLI can present a dashboard link where they can approve or decline. The CLI waits for that decision and continues the original command after approval.
Enrollment, credential issuance, and protected-resource authentication may require approval. Status checks and credential revocation do not prompt the user for approval.
When an approval is pending:
- Present the approval URL when returned and keep polling in the original command.
- On decline, report the decline and stop.
- On interruption, allow the CLI to cancel its wait; do not create a replacement request automatically.
- On timeout, ask whether the user wants to try a new operation.
- Never expose signed authentication material, API keys, bearer tokens, Basic credentials, or internal approval data in chat.
InFlow account logout clears user-owned AEP identities and credentials. Public discovery documents are cached separately and contain no user credentials.