LangChain

Start here: need to register a service and create a plan first? Follow the 5-minute setup.

Add payment protection to LangChain and LangChain.js tools using the x402 protocol. The library provides two complementary approaches:

Approach	Best for	Payment layer
`requiresPayment` wrapper/decorator	Direct tool invocation, CLI scripts, notebooks	Per-tool wrapper
Payment middleware on HTTP server	Serving the agent over HTTP	HTTP middleware

Both use the same Nevermined plan, credits, and settlement flow — choose whichever fits your deployment model.

Installation

TypeScript
Python

npm install @nevermined-io/payments @langchain/core @langchain/openai zod

The @nevermined-io/payments/langchain sub-path export provides the requiresPayment() wrapper. For the HTTP server approach, also install express.

pip install payments-py[langchain] langchain-openai

The [langchain] extra installs the LangChain dependency required for the decorator. For the HTTP server approach, also install fastapi and uvicorn.

Approach 1: Tool Decorator / Wrapper

x402 Payment Flow (decorator)

Quick Start

TypeScript
Python

In LangChain.js, requiresPayment() is a higher-order function that wraps the tool implementation:

import 'dotenv/config'
import { tool } from '@langchain/core/tools'
import { z } from 'zod'
import { Payments } from '@nevermined-io/payments'
import { requiresPayment } from '@nevermined-io/payments/langchain'

const payments = Payments.getInstance({
  nvmApiKey: process.env.NVM_API_KEY!,
  environment: process.env.NVM_ENVIRONMENT || 'sandbox',
})

const PLAN_ID = process.env.NVM_PLAN_ID!

// Protect a tool with payment — 1 credit per call
const searchData = tool(
  requiresPayment(
    (args) => `Results for '${args.query}': ...`,
    { payments, planId: PLAN_ID, credits: 1 }
  ),
  {
    name: 'search_data',
    description: 'Search for data on a given topic. Costs 1 credit.',
    schema: z.object({ query: z.string() }),
  }
)

The payment token is read from config.configurable.payment_token. Pass it when invoking the tool or agent.

In Python, @requires_payment is a decorator applied before @tool:

import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from langchain_core.runnables import RunnableConfig
from langchain_core.tools import tool
from payments_py import Payments, PaymentOptions
from payments_py.x402.langchain import requires_payment

load_dotenv()

payments = Payments.get_instance(
    PaymentOptions(
        nvm_api_key=os.environ["NVM_API_KEY"],
        environment=os.environ.get("NVM_ENVIRONMENT", "sandbox"),
    )
)

PLAN_ID = os.environ["NVM_PLAN_ID"]

# Protect a tool with payment — 1 credit per call
@tool
@requires_payment(payments=payments, plan_id=PLAN_ID, credits=1)
def search_data(query: str, config: RunnableConfig) -> str:
    """Search for data on a given topic. Costs 1 credit."""
    return f"Results for '{query}': ..."

The tool function must accept a config: RunnableConfig parameter. The decorator uses it to read the payment token from config["configurable"]["payment_token"].

Invoking with payment

TypeScript
Python

import { Payments } from '@nevermined-io/payments'

// Subscriber side — acquire token
const subscriber = Payments.getInstance({
  nvmApiKey: process.env.NVM_SUBSCRIBER_API_KEY!,
  environment: process.env.NVM_ENVIRONMENT || 'sandbox',
})

const token = await subscriber.x402.getX402AccessToken(PLAN_ID)
const accessToken = token.accessToken

// Invoke tool directly
const result = await searchData.invoke(
  { query: 'AI trends' },
  { configurable: { payment_token: accessToken } }
)

from payments_py import Payments, PaymentOptions

# Subscriber side — acquire token
subscriber = Payments.get_instance(
    PaymentOptions(
        nvm_api_key=os.environ["NVM_SUBSCRIBER_API_KEY"],
        environment=os.environ.get("NVM_ENVIRONMENT", "sandbox"),
    )
)

token = subscriber.x402.get_x402_access_token(plan_id=PLAN_ID)
access_token = token["accessToken"]

# Invoke tool directly
result = search_data.invoke(
    {"query": "AI trends"},
    config={"configurable": {"payment_token": access_token}},
)

LLM-driven tool calling

TypeScript
Python

import { HumanMessage } from '@langchain/core/messages'
import { ChatOpenAI } from '@langchain/openai'

const llm = new ChatOpenAI({ model: 'gpt-4o-mini', temperature: 0 })
const tools = [searchData, summarizeData, researchTopic]
const llmWithTools = llm.bindTools(tools)
const toolMap = new Map(tools.map((t) => [t.name, t]))

const messages = [new HumanMessage('Search for AI trends')]
const aiMessage = await llmWithTools.invoke(messages)
messages.push(aiMessage)

for (const toolCall of aiMessage.tool_calls || []) {
  const result = await toolMap.get(toolCall.name)!.invoke(
    toolCall.args,
    { configurable: { payment_token: accessToken } }
  )
}

llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o-mini", temperature=0)
tools = [search_data, summarize_data, research_topic]
llm_with_tools = llm.bind_tools(tools)
tool_map = {t.name: t for t in tools}

messages = [HumanMessage(content="Search for AI trends")]
ai_message = llm_with_tools.invoke(messages)
messages.append(ai_message)

for tool_call in ai_message.tool_calls:
    result = tool_map[tool_call["name"]].invoke(
        tool_call["args"],
        config={"configurable": {"payment_token": access_token}},
    )

LangGraph ReAct agent

The same payment-protected tools work with LangGraph’s create_react_agent:

TypeScript
Python

import { createReactAgent } from '@langchain/langgraph/prebuilt'

const agent = createReactAgent({
  llm: new ChatOpenAI({ model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }),
  tools: [searchData, summarizeData, researchTopic],
  prompt: 'You are a helpful research assistant.',
})

const result = await agent.invoke(
  { messages: [{ role: 'human', content: 'Research AI agents and summarize' }] },
  { configurable: { payment_token: accessToken } }
)

from langgraph.prebuilt import create_react_agent

graph = create_react_agent(
    ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o-mini"),
    [search_data, summarize_data, research_topic],
    prompt="You are a helpful research assistant.",
)

result = graph.invoke(
    {"messages": [("human", "Research AI agents and summarize")]},
    config={"configurable": {"payment_token": access_token}},
)

Dynamic Credits

TypeScript
Python

Three patterns for credit calculation:

// Pattern 1: Static number — always costs 1 credit
const searchData = tool(
  requiresPayment(
    (args) => `Results for ${args.query}`,
    { payments, planId: PLAN_ID, credits: 1 }
  ),
  { name: 'search_data', description: '...', schema: z.object({ query: z.string() }) }
)

// Pattern 2: Arrow function — cost scales with output length
const summarize = tool(
  requiresPayment(
    (args) => `Summary of ${args.text}`,
    {
      payments, planId: PLAN_ID,
      credits: (ctx) => Math.max(2, Math.min(Math.floor(String(ctx.result).length / 100), 10)),
    }
  ),
  { name: 'summarize', description: '...', schema: z.object({ text: z.string() }) }
)

// Pattern 3: Named function — complex logic on args + result
function calcCredits(ctx: { args: Record<string, unknown>; result: unknown }): number {
  const topic = String(ctx.args.topic || '')
  const result = String(ctx.result || '')
  const base = 3
  const keywordExtra = Math.max(0, topic.split(' ').length - 3)
  const outputExtra = Math.floor(result.length / 200)
  return Math.min(base + keywordExtra + outputExtra, 15)
}

const research = tool(
  requiresPayment(
    (args) => `Report on ${args.topic}`,
    { payments, planId: PLAN_ID, credits: calcCredits }
  ),
  { name: 'research', description: '...', schema: z.object({ topic: z.string() }) }
)

The credits function receives { args, result } after tool execution.

Three patterns for credit calculation:

# Pattern 1: Static int — always costs 1 credit
@tool
@requires_payment(payments=payments, plan_id=PLAN_ID, credits=1)
def search_data(query: str, config: RunnableConfig) -> str:
    ...

# Pattern 2: Lambda — cost scales with output length
@tool
@requires_payment(
    payments=payments, plan_id=PLAN_ID,
    credits=lambda ctx: max(2, min(len(ctx.get("result", "")) // 100, 10)),
)
def summarize_data(text: str, config: RunnableConfig) -> str:
    ...

# Pattern 3: Named function — complex logic on args + result
def calc_credits(ctx: dict) -> int:
    args = ctx.get("args", {})
    result = ctx.get("result", "")
    base = 3
    keyword_extra = max(0, len(args.get("topic", "").split()) - 3)
    output_extra = len(result) // 200
    return min(base + keyword_extra + output_extra, 15)

@tool
@requires_payment(payments=payments, plan_id=PLAN_ID, credits=calc_credits)
def research_topic(topic: str, config: RunnableConfig) -> str:
    ...

The ctx dict passed to the credits function contains:

args — the tool’s input arguments
result — the tool’s return value (evaluated after execution)

Approach 2: HTTP Server with Payment Middleware

For serving the agent over HTTP, use payment middleware on your framework. Payment is handled at the HTTP layer — tools are plain functions with no decorators or payment config.

x402 Payment Flow (HTTP)

Server: LangChain

TypeScript (Express)
Python (FastAPI)

import 'dotenv/config'
import express from 'express'
import { HumanMessage, ToolMessage } from '@langchain/core/messages'
import { tool } from '@langchain/core/tools'
import { ChatOpenAI } from '@langchain/openai'
import { z } from 'zod'
import { Payments } from '@nevermined-io/payments'
import { paymentMiddleware } from '@nevermined-io/payments/express'

const payments = Payments.getInstance({
  nvmApiKey: process.env.NVM_API_KEY!,
  environment: process.env.NVM_ENVIRONMENT || 'sandbox',
})

const PLAN_ID = process.env.NVM_PLAN_ID!

// Plain tools — no requiresPayment, no config parameter
const searchData = tool(
  (args) => `Results for '${args.query}': ...`,
  { name: 'search_data', description: 'Search for data.', schema: z.object({ query: z.string() }) }
)

const summarizeData = tool(
  (args) => `Summary: ...`,
  { name: 'summarize_data', description: 'Summarize text.', schema: z.object({ text: z.string() }) }
)

// LLM + tools
const llm = new ChatOpenAI({ model: 'gpt-4o-mini', temperature: 0 })
const tools = [searchData, summarizeData]
const llmWithTools = llm.bindTools(tools)
const toolMap = new Map(tools.map((t) => [t.name, t]))

async function runAgent(query: string): Promise<string> {
  const messages: any[] = [new HumanMessage(query)]
  for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
    const ai = await llmWithTools.invoke(messages)
    messages.push(ai)
    if (!ai.tool_calls?.length) return String(ai.content)
    for (const tc of ai.tool_calls) {
      const result = await (toolMap.get(tc.name) as any).invoke(tc.args)
      messages.push(new ToolMessage({ content: result, tool_call_id: tc.id! }))
    }
  }
  return String(messages.at(-1)?.content || 'No response.')
}

// Express app with payment middleware
const app = express()
app.use(express.json())
app.use(paymentMiddleware(payments, {
  'POST /ask': { planId: PLAN_ID, credits: 1 },
}))

app.post('/ask', async (req, res) => {
  const response = await runAgent(req.body.query)
  res.json({ response })
})

app.get('/health', (_req, res) => res.json({ status: 'ok' }))

app.listen(8000, () => console.log('Running on http://localhost:8000'))

import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

import uvicorn
from fastapi import FastAPI, Request
from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
from langchain_core.messages import HumanMessage, ToolMessage
from langchain_core.tools import tool
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
from pydantic import BaseModel
from payments_py import Payments, PaymentOptions
from payments_py.x402.fastapi import PaymentMiddleware

payments = Payments.get_instance(
    PaymentOptions(
        nvm_api_key=os.environ["NVM_API_KEY"],
        environment=os.environ.get("NVM_ENVIRONMENT", "sandbox"),
    )
)

PLAN_ID = os.environ["NVM_PLAN_ID"]
AGENT_ID = os.environ.get("NVM_AGENT_ID")

# Plain tools — no @requires_payment, no RunnableConfig
@tool
def search_data(query: str) -> str:
    """Search for data on a given topic."""
    return f"Results for '{query}': ..."

@tool
def summarize_data(text: str) -> str:
    """Summarize text into bullet points."""
    return f"Summary: ..."

# LLM + tools
llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o-mini", temperature=0)
tools = [search_data, summarize_data]
llm_with_tools = llm.bind_tools(tools)
tool_map = {t.name: t for t in tools}


def run_agent(query: str) -> str:
    """Run the LangChain agent with a tool-call loop."""
    messages = [HumanMessage(content=query)]
    for _ in range(10):
        ai = llm_with_tools.invoke(messages)
        messages.append(ai)
        if not ai.tool_calls:
            return ai.content
        for tc in ai.tool_calls:
            result = tool_map[tc["name"]].invoke(tc["args"])
            messages.append(ToolMessage(content=result, tool_call_id=tc["id"]))
    return messages[-1].content


# FastAPI app with payment middleware
app = FastAPI(title="LangChain Agent with x402 Payments")

app.add_middleware(
    PaymentMiddleware,
    payments=payments,
    routes={
        "POST /ask": {"plan_id": PLAN_ID, "credits": 1, "agent_id": AGENT_ID},
    },
)


class AskRequest(BaseModel):
    query: str


@app.post("/ask")
async def ask(body: AskRequest, request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
    response = run_agent(body.query)
    return JSONResponse(content={"response": response})


@app.get("/health")
async def health():
    return {"status": "ok"}


if __name__ == "__main__":
    uvicorn.run(app, host="0.0.0.0", port=8000)

Server: LangGraph

Replace the tool-call loop with LangGraph’s create_react_agent:

TypeScript
Python

import { tool } from '@langchain/core/tools'
import { ChatOpenAI } from '@langchain/openai'
import { createReactAgent } from '@langchain/langgraph/prebuilt'
import { z } from 'zod'

// Plain tools — no payment wrappers
const searchData = tool(
  (args) => `Results for '${args.query}': ...`,
  { name: 'search_data', description: 'Search.', schema: z.object({ query: z.string() }) }
)

const agent = createReactAgent({
  llm: new ChatOpenAI({ model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }),
  tools: [searchData, summarizeData],
})

async function runAgent(query: string): Promise<string> {
  const result = await agent.invoke({ messages: [{ role: 'human', content: query }] })
  const messages = result.messages || []
  return messages.at(-1)?.content || 'No response.'
}

from langchain_core.tools import tool
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
from langgraph.prebuilt import create_react_agent

# Plain tools — no payment decorators
@tool
def search_data(query: str) -> str:
    """Search for data on a given topic."""
    return f"Results for '{query}': ..."

llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o-mini", temperature=0)
graph = create_react_agent(llm, [search_data, summarize_data])


def run_agent(query: str) -> str:
    result = graph.invoke({"messages": [("human", query)]})
    messages = result.get("messages", [])
    return messages[-1].content if messages else "No response."

The HTTP app, middleware, and route handlers are identical to the LangChain version above.

Client: Full x402 HTTP Flow

TypeScript
Python

import 'dotenv/config'
import { Payments } from '@nevermined-io/payments'

const SERVER_URL = process.env.SERVER_URL || 'http://localhost:8000'
const PLAN_ID = process.env.NVM_PLAN_ID!

const payments = Payments.getInstance({
  nvmApiKey: process.env.NVM_SUBSCRIBER_API_KEY!,
  environment: process.env.NVM_ENVIRONMENT || 'sandbox',
})

// Step 1: Request without token → 402
const resp402 = await fetch(`${SERVER_URL}/ask`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({ query: 'AI trends' }),
})
console.log(`Status: ${resp402.status}`) // 402

// Step 2: Decode payment requirements
const pr = JSON.parse(Buffer.from(resp402.headers.get('payment-required')!, 'base64').toString())
console.log(`Plan: ${pr.accepts[0].planId}`)

// Step 3: Acquire x402 token
const token = await payments.x402.getX402AccessToken(PLAN_ID)
const accessToken = token.accessToken

// Step 4: Request with token → 200
const resp200 = await fetch(`${SERVER_URL}/ask`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'payment-signature': accessToken,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ query: 'AI trends' }),
})
const body = await resp200.json()
console.log(`Response: ${body.response}`)

// Step 5: Decode settlement receipt
const settlement = JSON.parse(
  Buffer.from(resp200.headers.get('payment-response')!, 'base64').toString()
)
console.log(`Credits charged:   ${settlement.creditsRedeemed}`)
console.log(`Remaining balance: ${settlement.remainingBalance}`)
console.log(`Transaction:       ${settlement.transaction}`)

import base64
import json
import os
import httpx
from payments_py import Payments, PaymentOptions

SERVER_URL = os.environ.get("SERVER_URL", "http://localhost:8000")
PLAN_ID = os.environ["NVM_PLAN_ID"]

payments = Payments.get_instance(
    PaymentOptions(
        nvm_api_key=os.environ["NVM_SUBSCRIBER_API_KEY"],
        environment=os.environ.get("NVM_ENVIRONMENT", "sandbox"),
    )
)

with httpx.Client(timeout=60.0) as client:
    # Step 1: Request without token → 402
    resp = client.post(f"{SERVER_URL}/ask", json={"query": "AI trends"})
    assert resp.status_code == 402

    # Step 2: Decode payment requirements
    pr = json.loads(base64.b64decode(resp.headers["payment-required"]))
    print(f"Plan: {pr['accepts'][0]['planId']}")

    # Step 3: Acquire x402 token
    token = payments.x402.get_x402_access_token(plan_id=PLAN_ID)
    access_token = token["accessToken"]

    # Step 4: Request with token → 200
    resp = client.post(
        f"{SERVER_URL}/ask",
        headers={"payment-signature": access_token},
        json={"query": "AI trends"},
    )
    print(f"Response: {resp.json()['response']}")

    # Step 5: Decode settlement receipt
    settlement = json.loads(base64.b64decode(resp.headers["payment-response"]))
    print(f"Credits charged:   {settlement['creditsRedeemed']}")
    print(f"Remaining balance: {settlement['remainingBalance']}")
    print(f"Transaction:       {settlement['transaction']}")

x402 HTTP Headers

Header	Direction	Description
`payment-signature`	Client → Server	x402 access token
`payment-required`	Server → Client (402)	Base64-encoded payment requirements
`payment-response`	Server → Client (200)	Base64-encoded settlement receipt

The settlement receipt (payment-response) contains:

Field	Description
`creditsRedeemed`	Number of credits charged
`remainingBalance`	Subscriber’s remaining credit balance
`transaction`	Blockchain transaction hash
`network`	Blockchain network (CAIP-2 format)
`payer`	Subscriber wallet address

Decorator Configuration

With Agent ID

TypeScript
Python

const myTool = tool(
  requiresPayment(
    (args) => `Result for ${args.query}`,
    {
      payments,
      planId: PLAN_ID,
      credits: 1,
      agentId: process.env.NVM_AGENT_ID,
    }
  ),
  { name: 'my_tool', description: '...', schema: z.object({ query: z.string() }) }
)

@tool
@requires_payment(
    payments=payments,
    plan_id=PLAN_ID,
    credits=1,
    agent_id=os.environ.get("NVM_AGENT_ID"),
)
def my_tool(query: str, config: RunnableConfig) -> str:
    ...

Multiple Plans (Python only)

@tool
@requires_payment(
    payments=payments,
    plan_ids=["plan-basic", "plan-premium"],
    credits=1,
)
def my_tool(query: str, config: RunnableConfig) -> str:
    ...

Scheme and Network

TypeScript
Python

const myTool = tool(
  requiresPayment(
    (args) => `Result`,
    { payments, planId: PLAN_ID, credits: 1, network: 'eip155:84532' }
  ),
  { name: 'my_tool', description: '...', schema: z.object({ query: z.string() }) }
)

# Explicit card-delegation scheme for fiat payments
@tool
@requires_payment(
    payments=payments,
    plan_id=PLAN_ID,
    credits=1,
    scheme="nvm:card-delegation",
)
def my_fiat_tool(query: str, config: RunnableConfig) -> str:
    ...

The decorator/wrapper automatically detects the payment scheme from plan metadata. Plans with fiat pricing (isCrypto: false) use nvm:card-delegation (Stripe). No code changes are needed on the agent side.

Complete Examples

Working seller/buyer agents with LangGraph — includes both Python and TypeScript variants:

TypeScript
Python

seller-simple-agent/ts — Seller with paymentMiddleware + requiresPayment demo
buyer-simple-agent/ts — Buyer CLI agent with x402 token generation

Each includes:

src/server.ts / src/agent.ts — LangGraph createReactAgent with payment-protected tools
src/demo.ts — requiresPayment wrapper demo (seller only)
src/client.ts — HTTP client with full x402 payment flow

seller-simple-agent — src/langgraph_agent.py with @requires_payment decorator
buyer-simple-agent — src/langgraph_agent.py with buyer tools

Each includes:

src/langgraph_agent.py — LangGraph create_react_agent with payment-protected tools
src/agent_langgraph.py — Interactive CLI entry point

Environment Variables

# Nevermined (required)
NVM_API_KEY=sandbox:your-api-key         # Builder/server API key
NVM_SUBSCRIBER_API_KEY=sandbox:your-key  # Subscriber/client API key
NVM_ENVIRONMENT=sandbox
NVM_PLAN_ID=your-plan-id
NVM_AGENT_ID=your-agent-id              # Optional

# LLM Provider
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-openai-key

Next Steps

Express Middleware (TS)

Deep dive into paymentMiddleware for Express

FastAPI Middleware (Python)

Deep dive into PaymentMiddleware for FastAPI

x402 Protocol

Deep dive into x402 payment flows

Payment Models

Configure credits, subscriptions, and dynamic pricing

Use Cases

Learn

Build

Nevermined Pay

Solutions

Integrations

Payment Patterns

Components

Specs

API Errors

FAQ

Installation

Approach 1: Tool Decorator / Wrapper

x402 Payment Flow (decorator)

Quick Start

Invoking with payment

LLM-driven tool calling

LangGraph ReAct agent

Dynamic Credits

Approach 2: HTTP Server with Payment Middleware

x402 Payment Flow (HTTP)

Server: LangChain

Server: LangGraph

Client: Full x402 HTTP Flow

x402 HTTP Headers

Decorator Configuration

With Agent ID

Multiple Plans (Python only)

Scheme and Network

Complete Examples

Environment Variables

Next Steps

Express Middleware (TS)

FastAPI Middleware (Python)

x402 Protocol

Payment Models

​Installation

​Approach 1: Tool Decorator / Wrapper

​x402 Payment Flow (decorator)

​Quick Start

​Invoking with payment

​LLM-driven tool calling

​LangGraph ReAct agent

​Dynamic Credits

​Approach 2: HTTP Server with Payment Middleware

​x402 Payment Flow (HTTP)

​Server: LangChain

​Server: LangGraph

​Client: Full x402 HTTP Flow

​x402 HTTP Headers

​Decorator Configuration

​With Agent ID

​Multiple Plans (Python only)

​Scheme and Network

​Complete Examples

​Environment Variables

​Next Steps

Express Middleware (TS)

FastAPI Middleware (Python)

x402 Protocol

Payment Models

Installation

Approach 1: Tool Decorator / Wrapper

x402 Payment Flow (decorator)

Quick Start

Invoking with payment

LLM-driven tool calling

LangGraph ReAct agent

Dynamic Credits

Approach 2: HTTP Server with Payment Middleware

x402 Payment Flow (HTTP)

Server: LangChain

Server: LangGraph

Client: Full x402 HTTP Flow

x402 HTTP Headers

Decorator Configuration

With Agent ID

Multiple Plans (Python only)

Scheme and Network

Complete Examples

Environment Variables

Next Steps