# Can AI agents buy from Pizza Ex Machina? Yes. An agent can buy from Pizza Ex Machina without a person, but it buys an account, not a call: one purchase of Credits, from $0.50, creates a standing account and a `pxm_live_` API key, and runs then draw $0.01 plus the oven (model) token rates from that credit, with no further payment until it runs out. Start with the [buyer skill](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/SKILL.md), and have a human claim the agent credential with a verified email so the account outlasts the credential's first few days. ## At a glance - **What you buy:** prepaid credit on the Credits plan, which creates a standing Pizza Ex Machina account. There is no per-call payment. - **Purchase:** `POST https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/plans/{planId}/purchase`, with the Credits plan's id from `https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/manifest.json` and an `amountUsd` of at least $0.50 ($0.50 by card). - **Identity:** a registered agent credential sent as `Authorization: Bearer `. Registering is free and needs no email to start. - **Payment:** x402 (Base USDC), MPP (Tempo USDC) or card. The purchase 402 lists the rails. - **Usage price:** $0.01 plus token rates, for example forno-1 at $1.05 per million tokens in and $5.25 per million tokens out. Creating agents is free. - **Calls:** `https://api.pizzaexmachina.com` with the `pxm_live_` key as the Bearer token. - **Free trial:** free starting credit, one per human, for a credential a human has claimed with a verified email. - **Where to start:** the [buyer skill](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/SKILL.md) has the full purchase flow, and `GET https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb` returns the storefront overview as Markdown. ## Buy API credits and get a key 1. Get an agent credential: reuse a stored ZeroClick credential, or register an anonymous one with [Identity](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/auth.md). 2. Send the purchase with the bearer and a whole-cent amount of at least $0.50: ```http POST https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/plans/{planId}/purchase Authorization: Bearer Content-Type: application/json {"amountUsd": ""} ``` The storefront answers with one 402, the price quote, which you pay and then retry with the proof. The [buyer skill](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/SKILL.md) covers each rail and the success response. 3. Redeem the key at `POST https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/keys/redeem` with the bearer. A `503` with `retryAfterSeconds` means the account is still being set up. Wait, then retry the redeem, not the purchase. The `apiKey` is returned once, so store it immediately. 4. Claim the credential through the Claim step in [Identity](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/auth.md). An unclaimed credential expires after a few days, and the account it bought expires with it. Then call `https://api.pizzaexmachina.com` with the key as the Bearer token; each run returns its cost under `billed`. ## Ways to pay for the credit | Rail | How the 402 is paid | | --- | --- | | x402 (Base USDC) | Sign the challenge from the `payment-required` header and retry with it in `x-payment`. | | MPP (Tempo USDC) | Retry with `Authorization: Payment `, and move the bearer to `ZC-Agent-Authorization: Bearer `. | | Card | Add `"checkout": true` to get a hosted checkout URL that a human or a browser agent pays, then poll its `statusUrl`. A shared payment token answers the 402's `method="stripe"` challenge instead. | ## What is charged, and when - Registering, creating and listing agents are free. Nothing is charged until the purchase 402 is paid. - The purchase amount is captured once Pizza Ex Machina reports the account ready. When an account cannot be created, the wallet hold is dropped or the card authorization voided, and nothing is charged. - A purchase without a bearer answers `401 bearer_required` before any price is quoted. - When credit can no longer cover the run fee, runs answer `402 insufficient_credit`. Top up at `POST https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/extend` with `amountUsd`, using the same one-402 flow. The existing key keeps working. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does buying from Pizza Ex Machina need a signup or an API key first? No. The agent credential is free and needs no email to start. The purchase itself creates the Pizza Ex Machina account, and the storefront issues the `pxm_live_` key for it. The bearer credential buys and recovers on the storefront. The key calls the seller API. Neither works in the other's place. ### Can an agent pay per run instead of buying credit? No. The storefront sells plans only. Every run draws prepaid credit through the `pxm_live_` key, and the only payment is the 402 when you buy or top up credit on the storefront. ### What happens if the agent credential is never claimed? It expires after a few days, and the account and credit bought with it expire too. Claiming anchors the credential to a human's verified email. It then gains a refresh token, and its purchases become recoverable. ### Can an agent use the Free trial on its own? Only after a human has claimed its credential with a verified email. Otherwise the purchase answers `403 verified_email_required`. The trial is one per human and is claimed at the same purchase endpoint with an empty body. A second claim answers `409 free_plan_already_claimed` with the existing `accessId`. ### What if the API key is lost? You do not need to buy again. Redeem a fresh key from the same account at `https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/keys/redeem`, which replaces the old key. If the purchase carried a verified email, the human can also sign in at pizzaexmachina.com and generate a new key, which revokes the previous one. ## Keep reading - [Buyer skill](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/SKILL.md): the full purchase and recovery flow - [Identity](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/auth.md): register, claim and exchange a credential - [Standing accounts](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/accounts.md): provisioning, keys and top-ups - [How to pay](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/payment.md): each payment rail - [Catalog](https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/manifest.json): plans and live prices --- Updated 2026-10-12. All Pizza Ex Machina guides: https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/guides.md. Storefront: https://agents.pizzaexmachina.com/zcj/x59nyjolnmpb/llms.txt.