Agent-Agnostic Spend Controls for Custom Runtimes

Paybond's recommended default when you have no agent framework SDK — or when you call Claude/Gemini tool-use, a queue worker, or a custom orchestrator directly. One paybond.instrument() call wraps { name, execute } tools with full middleware.

Default when no framework SDK

Skip framework: on instrument() unless you need a native adapter (Vercel AI, LangGraph, OpenAI Agents, Claude Agents). Generic is the right choice for most custom runtimes.

Try it

terminal

Terminal commandSwipe to inspect long lines

paybond login
paybond agent demo generic smoke \
  --operation paid-tool \
  --requested-spend-cents 100 \
  --evidence-preset cost_and_completion \
  --format table

paybond login
paybond agent demo generic smoke \
  --operation paid-tool \
  --requested-spend-cents 100 \
  --evidence-preset cost_and_completion \
  --format table

Scaffold

Terminal

terminal

Terminal commandSwipe to inspect long lines

paybond init agent-middleware --framework generic --out paybond-agent.ts
paybond policy init --preset travel --out paybond.policy.yaml

paybond init agent-middleware --framework generic --out paybond-agent.ts
paybond policy init --preset travel --out paybond.policy.yaml

Recommended wiring

paybond-session.ts

Code exampleSwipe to inspect long lines

import { Paybond } from "@paybond/kit";

const paybond = await Paybond.open({ apiKey: process.env.PAYBOND_API_KEY! });

const { tools, run } = await paybond.agent({
  policy: "travel",
  tools: {
    "travel.book_hotel": bookHotel,
    searchWeb: searchWeb,
  },
});

// Your orchestrator calls tools with PaybondGenericToolCall envelopes:
const bookHotelTool = tools.find((t) => t.name === "travel.book_hotel")!;
const result = await bookHotelTool.execute({
  toolName: "travel.book_hotel",
  toolCallId: "call-1",
  arguments: { city: "Lisbon", estimatedPriceCents: 18_700 },
});

import { Paybond } from "@paybond/kit";

const paybond = await Paybond.open({ apiKey: process.env.PAYBOND_API_KEY! });

const { tools, run } = await paybond.agent({
  policy: "travel",
  tools: {
    "travel.book_hotel": bookHotel,
    searchWeb: searchWeb,
  },
});

// Your orchestrator calls tools with PaybondGenericToolCall envelopes:
const bookHotelTool = tools.find((t) => t.name === "travel.book_hotel")!;
const result = await bookHotelTool.execute({
  toolName: "travel.book_hotel",
  toolCallId: "call-1",
  arguments: { city: "Lisbon", estimatedPriceCents: 18_700 },
});

Claude / Gemini tool-use without a framework SDK

Map model function calls to Paybond-wrapped handlers:

Parse the model's tool call (name + arguments + call id).
Find the matching entry in instrumented.tools.
Call execute with the Paybond envelope — authorization and evidence run automatically.

For the Claude Agent SDK specifically, use the Claude Agents adapter guide.

Production bind

const instrumented = await paybond.instrument({
  policy: "./paybond.policy.yaml",
  tools: { /* ... */ },
});
const runtime = await instrumented.bind({ intentId, capabilityToken });
// runtime.tools → pass to your orchestrator

Lazy binding for request-scoped sessions: pass context: () => activeRequest.paybond on instrument().

Agent middleware — registry, interceptor, evidence
Express and Fastify agent routes — HTTP servers wrapping instrument()
Mastra spend controls — planned adapter; use agent-agnostic today
Cloudflare Agents spend controls — planned adapter; use agent-agnostic today
Protect Stripe payments from agents — payment tool example

Developer reference: /docs/kit/agent-agnostic.