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An agent is an AI actor that transacts under a parent account. This guide walks through creating one, provisioning Ed25519 credentials, and setting a wallet policy.

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1. Create the agent

const { data: agent, credentials, authKey } = await sly.agents.create({
  parentAccountId: 'acc_...',
  name: 'Payables Bot',
  description: 'Pays supplier invoices nightly',
  kyaTier: 1,
  generateKeypair: true,   // provision Ed25519 at creation
  skills: ['invoice.pay', 'statement.reconcile'],
});

// Save these immediately — shown once
process.env.AGENT_TOKEN = credentials.token;           // agent_*
process.env.AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY = authKey.privateKey;    // base64 Ed25519 private key
KYA tier 1 requires a DSD declaration. If you started at tier 0 and want to upgrade later, skip this param and declare later.

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2. File the DSD (tier 1+)

await sly.agents.declare(agent.id, {
  purpose: 'Automated supplier invoice payments',
  expected_categories: ['saas', 'business_services'],
  monthly_estimate: '1500.00',
  accountable_individual: 'jsmith@acme.example',
});

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3. Set the wallet policy

Before the agent moves any real money, define spending rules: 
await sly.agentWallets.setPolicy(agent.walletId, {
  global_limits: {
    per_tx: '100.00',
    daily: '500.00',
    monthly: '2000.00',
    currency: 'USDC',
  },
  merchant_rules: [
    { merchant_category: 'gambling', action: 'block' },
    { merchant_category: 'saas', action: 'allow' },
  ],
  velocity_rules: [
    { window: '1h', max_count: 5 },
  ],
  approval_threshold: {
    amount: '75.00',
    approver_role: 'admin',
  },
  kill_switch: {
    operators: ['ops@acme.example'],
    notification_channels: ['slack'],
  },
});

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4. Fund the agent wallet

// Sandbox — faucet
await sly.agentWallets.testFund(agent.walletId, { amount: '500.00' });

// Production — from parent account wallet
await sly.agentWallets.fund(agent.walletId, {
  from_wallet_id: 'wal_parent_...',
  amount: '500.00',
});

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5. Authenticate the agent (Ed25519)

From the agent process: 
import * as ed25519 from '@noble/ed25519';

async function authenticate() {
  const chRes = await fetch(`${API}/v1/agents/${AGENT_ID}/challenge`, { method: 'POST' });
  const { challenge } = await chRes.json();

  const sig = await ed25519.signAsync(
    new TextEncoder().encode(challenge),
    Buffer.from(process.env.AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY!, 'base64'),
  );

  const authRes = await fetch(`${API}/v1/agents/${AGENT_ID}/authenticate`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({ challenge, signature: Buffer.from(sig).toString('base64') }),
  });
  const { sessionToken } = await authRes.json();
  return sessionToken;
}
Or use the SDK’s agent client with autoReauth: true (see Node SDK).

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6. Open a push channel

const agent = new Sly({ agentId, privateKey, autoReauth: true });

await agent.connect({
  onTask: async (t) => handleTask(t),
  onTransfer: async (t) => log('transfer settled', t),
  onApproval: async (a) => notify(a),
  onAlert: async (a) => page(a),
});
The agent now receives real-time events — no polling loops needed.

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7. Register skills (optional, for A2A marketplace)

await sly.agents.registerSkill(agent.id, {
  id: 'invoice.pay',
  name: 'Pay invoice',
  description: 'Settle a received invoice against the approved vendor',
  input_schema: { /* JSON Schema */ },
  output_schema: { /* JSON Schema */ },
  pricing: { amount: '0.50', currency: 'USDC' },
});
Once skills are registered, the agent appears in the A2A marketplace and peer agents can discover and hire it.

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Recap checklist

  • Agent record created under a parent account
  • Ed25519 keypair generated and saved
  • DSD filed (for tier 1+)
  • Wallet policy configured with limits + kill-switch
  • Wallet funded
  • Ed25519 authentication tested end-to-end
  • SSE connection opened
  • Skills registered if participating in A2A

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