Let agents buy your API: Build a payment-gated service with x402

The digital economy is shifting from human consumers to autonomous AI agents. Yet, traditional API monetization models—built on rigid subscriptions and high maintenance API keys—are not designed for machines that think and execute tasks on their own. In this hands-on workshop, we will look past conventional SaaS billing setups and explore how to build infrastructure for the future of web commerce. We will use standard backend patterns paired with x402, the emerging standard that leverages the internet's native HTTP 402 "Payment Required" code to enable fluid, machine to machine stablecoin transactions. Through a practical example, you will transform a standard endpoint into a dynamic, pay-per-query service that requests and validates real-time cryptographic micropayments, allowing AI agents to seamlessly purchase resources on demand without complex onboarding. Expect a session that meets you where you are: practical, approachable, and focused on production-ready patterns. By the end, you will see exactly how x402 fits into your developer toolkit as a core architecture for agentic commerce.