Skip to main content

Getting started with Hono

Start accepting x402 payments in your Hono server in 2 minutes.
You can find the full code for this example here.

Step 1: Create a project and install dependencies

Use your favorite package manager:
npm
pnpm
bun
This is the same dependency set as the upstream Hono example.

Step 2: Set your environment variables

Create a .env file in the project root and set:
@payai/facilitator automatically connects to the PayAI facilitator β€” no URL configuration needed.

Step 3: Preview the server code

Create index.ts: It loads your env, applies the x402 payment middleware, defines example routes, and logs the server URL.

Step 4: Run the server

Your server is now accepting x402 payments!

Step 5: Test the server

You can test payments against your server locally by:
  • Following the fetch example or the axios example
  • Creating a paywall using @x402/paywall for EVM chains or x402-solana-react for Solana

Going to production

The examples above use testnets. For Mainnet, update the route’s network and any explicit scheme registrations together, use the matching asset and funded buyer, and verify the paid path. The Solana Mainnet example provides a complete tested configuration; adding credentials alone does not switch networks. This setup can serve ordinary exact mainnet payments in production within the free allowance β€” no API key or portal signup is required. Production readiness still includes normal controls such as secret management, monitoring, and failure handling. When you need paid capacity beyond the allowance, an autonomous agent can buy credits and receive an API key over x402; PayAI creates a wallet-owned agent account programmatically. You can also use the optional merchant dashboard. Add the resulting credentials to your .env:
The @payai/facilitator package automatically detects these environment variables and authenticates your requests to the facilitator. See Facilitator Pricing for tier details and Facilitator Authentication for the full protocol reference.

x402 reference

For a deeper dive into message shapes, headers, verification and settlement responses, see the x402 Reference.

Need help?

Join our Community

Have questions or want to connect with other developers? Join our Discord server.