FAQ

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Is Discovery the same as the gateway?

No. Discovery is the editorial source-selection layer. The Registry v2 catalog is the runtime authority for executable routes.

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Does a listed source mean PubFi can call it?

No. A Discovery listing can be public context, requestable, or under review. A route is callable only when the current GET /v1/capabilities catalog lists its exact path and method as ready.

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Can agents use PubFi through MCP?

Yes, through pubfi.capabilities.list, pubfi.capabilities.get, and pubfi.route.execute. The catalog reads and public MCP handshake and introspection methods are available without a PubFi API key. On the authenticated root, pubfi.route.execute accepts a PubFi API key or OAuth access token. Accountless x402 payment uses the separate /x402 endpoint, which rejects Bearer credentials. An agent with a wallet-capable x402 MCP client can pay directly through the official MCP metadata flow on that endpoint. It does not need a separate paid HTTP call.

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Why does my agent see only three PubFi tools?

This is the intended provider-neutral interface. Subscan and DeGov are exact provider_key filters in pubfi.capabilities.list, not tool namespaces. The agent lists current capabilities, gets one exact contract, and then calls pubfi.route.execute with its exact path and method. It should not look for subscan.* or degov.*. Use MCP Client Guides for client configuration and safe verification prompts.

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Do all gateway routes support x402?

No. x402 is enabled per exact Registry route. Inspect the current catalog and the route’s 402 Payment Required response before you sign. For endpoint and credential separation, see the Staging guide.

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Does x402 require an account or API key?

No. An eligible HTTP or MCP request uses a wallet authorization instead. It creates no PubFi account, API key, Credits balance, invoice, or anonymous dashboard.

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How does an accountless caller see a balance or receipt?

The wallet’s USDC balance on the network in the accepted challenge is the available payment balance. PubFi does not mirror it as an account or Credits balance. A settled HTTP response carries PAYMENT-RESPONSE; a settled MCP result carries the decoded response at result._meta["x402/payment-response"]. Both include the official Ed25519 Signed Receipt. The receipt is verifiable payment and execution evidence, not proof of an account balance, Credits purchase, top-up, or deposit. An exact paid replay returns the same response and receipt without a second charge. SIWX wallet-history lookup is not part of the current release.

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Does Production x402 use Base Sepolia?

No. Staging permits Base Sepolia eip155:84532. Production permits Base mainnet eip155:8453 only when x402 is enabled for the exact route. This policy does not prove that a Production x402 route or offer is currently available. Inspect the Production catalog and the exact route’s unsigned 402 challenge before you sign. The historical Production health acceptance on 2026-07-27 used canonical Base USDC and 0.001 USDC per request. That route and price are not current authority. Refresh the catalog and require a new unsigned challenge before every new payment.

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Are the free starter requests Credits?

No. The starter allocation provides 1,000 free requests. PubFi uses Credits only for eligible purchase-origin request_count units.

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Can a registered account buy Credits?

The public API and dashboard support provider-neutral purchase offers and purchase status. Purchase creation requires an authenticated Owner or Admin. Availability is data-driven: if the current offer response is empty, no purchase offer is open for sale.

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What is Auto Top-Up?

Auto Top-Up is an optional registered-account policy for buying a fixed whole-Credit quantity when the available Credit balance falls below a chosen threshold. It is off by default. An Owner or Admin must provide an active shared payment method, accept the current Service Credit Terms, choose a current eligible offer, and set a finite UTC monthly limit. The dashboard name is Auto Top-Up; the API route name remains credit-auto-reload.

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Do Stripe and x402 debit the same balance?

No. A registered purchase can create a purchase-origin allocation after verified settlement. x402 buys one eligible response directly and never creates or consumes Credits. Quantro remains the common accounting-fact authority behind both entry modes. One request selects one authority, so it cannot debit both.

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Should upstream provider keys be sent to agents?

No. Upstream provider credentials stay server-side.

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Does this docs repo prove SEO/GEO success?

No. Public docs improve crawlable context, but ranking, traffic, and AI citation success require separate live external evidence.

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Why not put all docs only on GitHub?

GitHub is useful for source indexing and contribution, but a canonical docs site gives better navigation, sitemap control, metadata, product trust, and conversion routing.

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Why not mirror everything on pubfi.ai/docs?

Full mirroring can create duplicate-content and canonical ambiguity. docs.pubfi.ai is the canonical docs site; legacy pubfi.ai/docs/... paths should redirect there instead of carrying a second copy of the same docs pages.