x402 on Solana Mainnet: Express merchant and buyer

This guide runs one Solana-only Express merchant and one guarded buyer with the PayAI facilitator and @x402/svm. GET /health is free; GET /premium advertises an x402 v2 exact payment in native USDC on Solana Mainnet. The runnable example pins the versions tested on 29 September 2026:

Package	Version
`@payai/facilitator`	`2.4.4`
`@solana-program/token`	`0.9.0`
`@solana/kit`	`5.5.1`
`@x402/core`	`2.27.0`
`@x402/express`	`2.27.0`
`@x402/svm`	`2.27.0`
`express`	`5.1.0`

Two isolated historical pilot implementations used this network, asset and facilitator to settle one 0.001 USDC payment each, reach finalization and recover the funds. They are evidence that the integration is feasible, not live-payment validation of the example below. This example is currently verified by deterministic tests. A real payment happens only when you deliberately run the guarded payment command with a funded buyer.

Configuration

Use these values together:

export const SOLANA_MAINNET =
  "solana:5eykt4UsFv8P8NJdTREpY1vzqKqZKvdp";
export const NATIVE_USDC =
  "EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v";
export const FACILITATOR_URL = "https://facilitator.payai.network";

The x402 network is a CAIP-2 identifier. An RPC returns the longer 5eykt4UsFv8P8NJdTREpY1vzqKqZKvdpKuc147dw2N9d genesis hash. See Solana Mainnet network identifiers before writing a cluster check.

Get the runnable example

The complete source is in PayAINetwork/docs.

git clone https://github.com/PayAINetwork/docs.git payai-docs
cd payai-docs/examples/solana-mainnet-express
npm ci
npm run typecheck
npm run build
npm test

The build and tests make no payment. They cover the unpaid 402, paid 200, malformed and mismatched requirements, amount caps, failed or uncertain settlement, the persistent attempt guard and finalization failures. Export the configuration in the shell that runs the example. The example does not load .env automatically:

export MERCHANT_ADDRESS=YOUR_SOLANA_MERCHANT_WALLET
export SOLANA_RPC_URL=YOUR_SOLANA_MAINNET_RPC_URL
export BUYER_KEYPAIR_FILE=/absolute/path/to/dedicated-buyer.json
export MAX_AMOUNT_ATOMIC=1000

Use Node.js 20.18 or newer; the tested environment uses Node.js 24. Use a dedicated buyer keypair with only the funds you intend to test. Do not commit the keypair or print its contents. MAX_AMOUNT_ATOMIC is an integer in USDC base units: 1000 is 0.001 USDC because native USDC has six decimals.

Prepare the merchant account

The merchant wallet needs an associated token account for native USDC before payment. With the official SPL Token CLI installed, create the deterministic associated token account using a separate setup keypair that holds enough SOL for rent and the setup transaction:

export USDC_MINT=EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v
export SETUP_KEYPAIR_FILE=/absolute/path/to/setup-fee-payer.json
MERCHANT_ATA="$(spl-token address --token "$USDC_MINT" --owner "$MERCHANT_ADDRESS")"
solana account "$MERCHANT_ATA" --url "$SOLANA_RPC_URL" >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
  spl-token create-account "$USDC_MINT" \
    --owner "$MERCHANT_ADDRESS" \
    --fee-payer "$SETUP_KEYPAIR_FILE" \
    --url "$SOLANA_RPC_URL"

This command targets the merchant’s associated token account, so it does not create a different recipient on a rerun. If the account already exists, keep it and continue. Account creation consumes SOL for the rent-exempt balance and its setup transaction fee. The setup signer pays those costs. This is separate from the live facilitator fee payer that sponsors the x402 settlement transaction. npm run payment:preflight checks that the account exists without paying.

Run the merchant

The server creates a standard HTTPFacilitatorClient from @x402/core/server, using the config exported by @payai/facilitator, then registers ExactSvmScheme from @x402/svm/exact/server:

import { facilitator } from "@payai/facilitator";
import { HTTPFacilitatorClient } from "@x402/core/server";
import { paymentMiddleware, x402ResourceServer } from "@x402/express";
import { ExactSvmScheme } from "@x402/svm/exact/server";

const facilitatorClient = new HTTPFacilitatorClient(facilitator);
const resourceServer = new x402ResourceServer(facilitatorClient).register(
  SOLANA_MAINNET,
  new ExactSvmScheme(),
);

app.use(
  paymentMiddleware(
    {
      "GET /premium": {
        accepts: {
          scheme: "exact",
          network: SOLANA_MAINNET,
          payTo: process.env.MERCHANT_ADDRESS!,
          price: {
            amount: "1000",
            asset: NATIVE_USDC,
            extra: { decimals: 6 },
          },
        },
        description: "Premium API content",
        mimeType: "application/json",
      },
    },
    resourceServer,
  ),
);

Start the server, then confirm the free and protected routes:

MERCHANT_ADDRESS="$MERCHANT_ADDRESS" npm start
curl http://127.0.0.1:3000/health
curl -i http://127.0.0.1:3000/premium

The second request should return 402 Payment Required with a PAYMENT-REQUIRED header.

Read live facilitator support

GET https://facilitator.payai.network/supported is the authority for capabilities that can change. Abridged to the relevant shape, a response contains:

{
  "kinds": [
    {
      "x402Version": 2,
      "scheme": "exact",
      "network": "solana:5eykt4UsFv8P8NJdTREpY1vzqKqZKvdp",
      "extra": {
        "feePayer": "CURRENT_FEE_PAYER_ADDRESS",
        "recentBlockhash": "CURRENT_BLOCKHASH",
        "lastValidBlockHeight": "CURRENT_BLOCK_HEIGHT"
      }
    }
  ],
  "extensions": ["bazaar"],
  "signers": {
    "solana:*": ["CURRENT_FEE_PAYER_ADDRESS"]
  }
}

The placeholder values change and must never be hardcoded. Select the current exact Mainnet capability before signing:

const facilitatorClient = new HTTPFacilitatorClient(facilitator);
const supported = await facilitatorClient.getSupported();

const capability = supported.kinds.find(
  (kind) =>
    kind.x402Version === 2 &&
    kind.scheme === "exact" &&
    kind.network === SOLANA_MAINNET,
);
if (!capability?.extra?.feePayer) {
  throw new Error("PayAI does not currently advertise sponsored exact Solana Mainnet settlement");
}

This selects an operational network and scheme. @payai/facilitator adds merchant authentication when PAYAI_API_KEY_ID and PAYAI_API_KEY_SECRET are configured. Query capabilities through the same helper and credentials used by the merchant so the advertised fee-payer lane matches the generated payment requirement. A public unauthenticated /supported response may use a different lane. The response is not an exhaustive token list. The static metadata names native USDC as the asset tested by this example; it does not claim support for every Solana token.

Preflight and make one payment

The buyer first verifies the full RPC genesis hash, fetches the unpaid 402, and rejects any unexpected scheme, network, mint, recipient or amount. It checks the buyer balance and merchant USDC account, discovers the current fee payer through /supported, then signs and submits at most once. Keep the merchant running. In a second shell, enter the example directory and export the same four variables before running:

npm run payment:preflight
npm run payment:once

PREMIUM_URL defaults to http://127.0.0.1:3000/premium. PAYMENT_ATTEMPT_FILE defaults to payment-attempt.json; set an absolute path if you want the durable guard elsewhere. If the merchant uses PayAI API-key authentication, export the same PAYAI_API_KEY_ID and PAYAI_API_KEY_SECRET in both shells for this merchant-operated smoke test. Never distribute the merchant secret to independent buyers. The payment runner preserves a persistent attempt record before submission. If the HTTP result is missing or uncertain, do not delete that record and do not submit another payment. Use the read-only reconciliation command to inspect the saved signature or transaction fingerprint:

npm run payment:reconcile

After success the runner decodes PAYMENT-RESPONSE, waits for finalized confirmation and checks exact integer USDC balance deltas.

Facilitator credits and fees

New receiving wallets have 1,000 lifetime free credits for ordinary exact settlements. One credit is $0.001. After the free allowance, the settlement charge is the facilitator’s measured on-chain gas plus 30%, converted to credits. Current rates can change; read facilitator pricing or the pricing object returned by /supported. Ordinary exact payments can use the free allowance without an API key. For production, configure the PayAI merchant credentials described in facilitator authentication. The facilitator charge is separate from the USDC price paid to your API.

Static integration metadata

solana-mainnet-integration.json is a versioned, stable companion for tooling. Schema version 1 contains:

kind: the metadata document type;
testedOn: the date the example and versions were validated;
generatedFrom: the canonical example metadata path and source URL;
network: the x402 CAIP-2 identifier and full RPC genesis hash;
asset: the tested native USDC mint, decimals and token program;
facilitator: the base URL and capability path;
packages: exact tested package versions;
prerequisites: the runtime, wallet, token-account and RPC requirements;
authority: the live endpoint that takes precedence for operational capabilities;
urls: canonical guide, identifier reference, metadata and example URLs.

Use the static file for integration constants and discovery links. Use the live /supported response for current networks, schemes, fee payer, blockhash and pricing.

PayAI

x402

x402 Merchants

x402 Clients

x402 Facilitator

x402 Reference

Guides

X402 Echo Merchant

Project Info

x402 on Solana Mainnet: Express merchant and buyer

Configuration

Get the runnable example

Prepare the merchant account

Run the merchant

Read live facilitator support

Preflight and make one payment

Facilitator credits and fees

Static integration metadata

​Configuration

​Get the runnable example

​Prepare the merchant account

​Run the merchant

​Read live facilitator support

​Preflight and make one payment

​Facilitator credits and fees

​Static integration metadata

Configuration

Get the runnable example

Prepare the merchant account

Run the merchant

Read live facilitator support

Preflight and make one payment

Facilitator credits and fees

Static integration metadata