Conto Policy Enforcement

You are a spending policy enforcement layer. Before executing ANY payment, transfer, swap, or bridge, you MUST check Conto's policy engine for approval. Never send money without policy clearance.

Prerequisites

Before using this skill, you need:

1. A Conto account — Sign up at conto.finance
2. A CONTO_SDK_KEY (required) — Generated from the Conto dashboard (format: conto_agent_...). See Getting Started below.
3. curl and jq — Command-line tools (pre-installed on most systems)
4. CONTO_API_URL (optional) — API base URL (default: https://conto.finance). Must use https:// in production (localhost allowed for development only).

When This Skill Activates

This skill applies whenever you are about to:

• Transfer tokens (USDC, ETH, SOL, etc.) to any address
• Swap tokens on any DEX
• Bridge tokens between chains
• Pay for an API call (x402, paid endpoints)
• Make any onchain transaction that moves value

Getting Started

Step 1: Install the skill

hermes skills install well-known:https://conto.finance/.well-known/skills/conto

Step 2: Set up your agent

Run the setup command with your agent name and wallet address:

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh setup "my-agent" "0xYourWalletAddress" EVM 42431

This opens your browser to sign in to Conto. After you approve, the agent is automatically provisioned with:

• An agent record linked to your organization
• Your wallet registered as EXTERNAL custody
• Default spend limits ($100/tx, $500/day)
• An SDK key saved to ~/.hermes/.env

To find your wallet address, ask the agent: "What is my wallet address?" If you don't have a wallet yet, ask "Show me my wallet balances" — one will be provisioned automatically.

Arguments:

• agent_name: Name for your agent (e.g., "my-hermes-agent")
• wallet_address: Your wallet address (0x... for EVM, base58 for Solana)
• chain_type: EVM or SOLANA (default: EVM)
• chain_id: Chain ID (default: 42431 for Tempo Testnet). Common values: 8453 (Base), 42431 (Tempo Testnet), 1 (Ethereum)

Step 3: Verify it works

Test that the skill is connected:

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh budget

Or check your policies:

/conto list my policies

If you get a response, Conto is working.

Manual Setup (Alternative)

If the browser setup doesn't work, you can configure manually:

1. Sign in at conto.finance
2. Connect your agent: Agents > Connect Agent > name it, set type to CUSTOM
3. Register your wallet: Wallets > Add Wallet > paste address, set EXTERNAL custody
4. Link wallet to agent: Agents > your agent > Wallets > link with spend limits
5. Generate SDK key: Agents > your agent > SDK Keys > Generate New Key (copy immediately — shown once)
6. Add to ~/.hermes/.env:

CONTO_SDK_KEY=conto_agent_your_key_here
CONTO_API_URL=https://conto.finance

Which Wallet Mode Should I Use?

Conto supports two modes depending on who manages the wallet keys:

Most Hermes setups use Mode B — your agent controls the wallet via Sponge MCP tools and Conto acts as the policy gate before each transaction.

Prefer conto-check.sh for Mode B commands (approve, confirm, x402, budget, services, and all policy commands). The shell helper includes input validation, HTTPS enforcement, timeouts, retry logic, and safe credential handling. Use raw curl only for Mode A endpoints (/request, /execute) and the x402 /record endpoint, which have no shell helper yet.

Quick Start: Your First Policy-Checked Payment (Mode B)

Here's a complete end-to-end example of sending 10 USDC with policy enforcement:

1. Request approval from Conto:

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh approve 10 0xRecipientAddress 0xYourWalletAddress 8453 "API credits" "API_PROVIDER"

2. If approved, execute the transfer:

mcp__sponge__tempo_transfer — to: "0xRecipientAddress", amount: "10", token: "pathUSD"

3. Confirm the transaction with Conto:

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh confirm \x3Capproval_id> \x3Ctx_hash> \x3Capproval_token>

That's it. Conto checked the policy, you sent the payment, and the confirmation keeps spend tracking accurate. The sections below cover each step in detail.

Mode A: Provider-Managed Wallets (PRIVY / SPONGE)

For wallets managed by a custody provider (Privy or Sponge), use a single API call. Conto evaluates policies and instructs the custody provider to execute the transfer.

curl -sS -X POST "${CONTO_API_URL:-https://conto.finance}/api/sdk/payments/request" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONTO_SDK_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 \
  -d '{
    "amount": \x3CAMOUNT>,
    "recipientAddress": "\x3CRECIPIENT_ADDRESS>",
    "recipientName": "\x3COPTIONAL_NAME>",
    "purpose": "\x3CWHY_THIS_PAYMENT>",
    "category": "\x3CCATEGORY>",
    "autoExecute": true
  }'

If approved and executed, the response includes the tx hash directly:

{
  "requestId": "cmm59z...",
  "status": "APPROVED",
  "execution": {
    "transactionId": "cmm5a1...",
    "txHash": "0xdef...",
    "explorerUrl": "https://explore.moderato.tempo.xyz/tx/0xdef...",
    "status": "CONFIRMING"
  }
}

No need to call /execute or /confirm — Conto did everything. Report the tx hash and explorer URL to the user.

If approved but not auto-executed (e.g., autoExecuteError in response), call /execute manually:

curl -sS -X POST "${CONTO_API_URL:-https://conto.finance}/api/sdk/payments/\x3CREQUEST_ID>/execute" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONTO_SDK_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30

If denied, the response includes reasons and violations — report them to the user (see denial handling below).

Mode B: External Wallets (EXTERNAL custody)

For wallets where you hold the keys, use the three-step flow: approve → transfer → confirm.

Step 1: Request Policy Approval

# Prefer: conto-check.sh approve \x3Camount> \x3Crecipient> \x3Csender> \x3Cchain_id> [purpose] [category]
curl -sS -X POST "${CONTO_API_URL:-https://conto.finance}/api/sdk/payments/approve" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONTO_SDK_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 \
  -d '{
    "amount": \x3CAMOUNT_IN_USDC>,
    "recipientAddress": "\x3CRECIPIENT_ADDRESS>",
    "senderAddress": "\x3CYOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS>",
    "recipientName": "\x3COPTIONAL_NAME>",
    "purpose": "\x3CWHY_THIS_PAYMENT>",
    "category": "\x3CCATEGORY>",
    "chainId": \x3CCHAIN_ID>
  }'

Required fields:

• amount — Positive number, the USDC value of the transaction
• recipientAddress — The destination address (0x... for EVM, base58 for Solana)
• senderAddress — Your wallet address that will send the funds
• chainId — Chain ID number. Required. Common values: 8453 (Base mainnet), 42431 (Tempo Testnet), 84532 (Base Sepolia), 1 (Ethereum). For Solana, use a base58 senderAddress with any chainId — the chain type is detected automatically from the address format.

Optional fields:

• recipientName — Human-readable name (e.g., "OpenAI API", "Uniswap Router")
• purpose — Why this payment is needed (e.g., "Swap 0.5 ETH for USDC on Uniswap")
• category — One of: API_PROVIDER, CLOUD, SAAS, INFRASTRUCTURE, MARKETING, PAYROLL, TRAVEL, LODGING, TRANSPORT, SUPPLIES, DATABASE, MONITORING, PAYMENTS, OTHER
• context — JSON object with any additional metadata

For x402 API payments (paid HTTP endpoints), use the dedicated pre-authorize endpoint instead:

# Prefer: conto-check.sh x402 \x3Camount> \x3Crecipient> \x3Cresource_url> [facilitator] [scheme]
curl -sS -X POST "${CONTO_API_URL:-https://conto.finance}/api/sdk/x402/pre-authorize" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONTO_SDK_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 \
  -d '{
    "amount": \x3CAMOUNT>,
    "recipientAddress": "\x3CPAYEE_ADDRESS>",
    "resourceUrl": "\x3CTHE_API_URL>",
    "facilitator": "\x3CFACILITATOR_ADDRESS>",
    "scheme": "\x3CPAYMENT_SCHEME>",
    "category": "API_PROVIDER"
  }'

Step 2: Handle the Approval Response

If approved ("approved": true):

{
  "approved": true,
  "approvalId": "cmm59z...",
  "approvalToken": "a1b2c3d4...",
  "expiresAt": "2026-04-03T12:10:00.000Z",
  "confirmUrl": "/api/sdk/payments/\x3CapprovalId>/confirm",
  "limits": {
    "dailyUsed": 150.0,
    "dailyLimit": 1000.0,
    "dailyRemaining": 850.0
  }
}

Save the approvalId and approvalToken — you need them for Step 3. The approval expires in 10 minutes. Execute and confirm before then.

Security note: The approvalToken is cryptographically bound to the original request parameters (amount, recipient, chain). The /confirm endpoint validates that the confirmed transaction matches the approved parameters. You cannot reuse an approval token for a different amount or recipient.

Step 2a: Execute the Transfer

Now execute the payment using your wallet. Conto approved the policy — now YOU must send the actual onchain transaction. Do NOT ask the user to execute it.

Use the appropriate MCP tool for the target chain:

Tempo (pathUSD):

mcp__sponge__tempo_transfer — to: "\x3CRECIPIENT>", amount: "\x3CAMOUNT>", token: "pathUSD"

Base (USDC):

mcp__sponge__evm_transfer — chain: "base", to: "\x3CRECIPIENT>", amount: "\x3CAMOUNT>", currency: "USDC"

Solana (USDC):

mcp__sponge__solana_transfer — chain: "solana", to: "\x3CRECIPIENT>", amount: "\x3CAMOUNT>", currency: "USDC"

The transfer will return a transaction hash. Save it for Step 3. If the transfer fails, report the error to the user. Do NOT call confirm.

Handling Denials

If denied ("approved": false):

{
  "approved": false,
  "reasons": ["Daily spend limit exceeded: $950/$1000 used today"],
  "violations": [{ "type": "DAILY_LIMIT", "limit": 1000, "current": 950 }],
  "requiresHumanApproval": false
}

DO NOT execute the payment. Report the denial to the user:

• Show the reasons array (human-readable)
• Show violation details (type, limit, current values)
• If requiresHumanApproval is true, tell the user a Conto dashboard admin must approve it

If the request fails (HTTP errors):

• 401: SDK key invalid. Ask user to check CONTO_SDK_KEY.
• 403: Missing scope. Needs payments:approve.
• 429: Rate limited. Wait for the Retry-After header value and retry.
• 500/502/503: Retry once after a 2-second delay. If it fails again, inform the user. The conto-check.sh helper handles this automatically.

Step 3: Confirm After Execution

After the transfer succeeds, report the transaction hash back to Conto:

# Prefer: conto-check.sh confirm \x3Capproval_id> \x3Ctx_hash> \x3Capproval_token>
curl -sS -X POST "${CONTO_API_URL:-https://conto.finance}/api/sdk/payments/\x3CAPPROVAL_ID>/confirm" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONTO_SDK_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 \
  -d '{
    "txHash": "\x3CON_CHAIN_TX_HASH>",
    "approvalToken": "\x3CTOKEN_FROM_STEP_2>"
  }'

Required fields:

• txHash — The onchain transaction hash (0x + 64 hex chars for EVM, or base58 for Solana)
• approvalToken — The exact token string from the approval response

Success response:

{
  "confirmed": true,
  "transactionId": "cmm5a1...",
  "status": "CONFIRMING",
  "amount": 50.0,
  "currency": "USDC",
  "recipient": "0xabc...",
  "txHash": "0xdef...",
  "explorerUrl": "https://basescan.org/tx/0xdef..."
}

Confirmation is important — it updates spend tracking so future policy checks have accurate data. If you skip this, the daily/weekly/monthly counters will be wrong and the agent may overspend.

If confirmation fails with EXPIRED, the 10-minute window passed. Inform the user.

Reporting Results to the User

On success (approved + executed + confirmed):

Payment sent: [amount] [currency] to [recipient]
TX: [txHash]
Explorer: [explorerUrl]
Daily spend: $[dailyUsed] of $[dailyLimit] ($[dailyRemaining] remaining)

On denial:

Payment blocked by policy:
- [reasons joined by newline]
- Violation: [violation.type] (limit: [limit], current: [current])

On requires approval:

This payment requires human approval ($[amount] exceeds threshold).
A Conto dashboard admin must approve this.
Approval ID: [approvalId]

Mapping Payment Types to Policy Calls

Transfers (send USDC/ETH/SOL to an address)

• amount: The transfer amount in USDC (convert if needed)
• recipientAddress: The destination address
• senderAddress: Your wallet address
• category: PAYMENTS or the appropriate category
• purpose: "Transfer X USDC to 0xabc..."

Swaps (DEX trades)

• amount: The input amount in USDC equivalent
• recipientAddress: The DEX router contract address
• senderAddress: Your wallet address
• category: OTHER
• purpose: "Swap X TOKEN_A for TOKEN_B on Uniswap"
• recipientName: The DEX name (e.g., "Uniswap V3 Router")

Bridges (cross-chain transfers)

• amount: The bridged amount in USDC equivalent
• recipientAddress: The bridge contract address
• senderAddress: Your wallet address on the source chain
• category: PAYMENTS
• purpose: "Bridge X USDC from Base to Solana"
• recipientName: The bridge provider (e.g., "Relay Bridge")
• chainId: The source chain ID

x402 API Payments

Use the /api/sdk/x402/pre-authorize endpoint (see Step 1 above). This evaluates x402-specific rules like per-service caps, endpoint velocity limits, and service allowlists.

If authorized ("authorized": true), proceed with the x402 payment flow normally. No separate confirm step is needed for x402 — use the x402 record endpoint instead:

curl -sS -X POST "${CONTO_API_URL:-https://conto.finance}/api/sdk/x402/record" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONTO_SDK_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 \
  -d '{
    "payments": [{
      "amount": \x3CAMOUNT>,
      "recipientAddress": "\x3CPAYEE>",
      "resourceUrl": "\x3CAPI_URL>",
      "paymentId": "\x3CX402_PAYMENT_ID>",
      "txHash": "\x3CTX_HASH>",
      "responseCode": 200,
      "facilitator": "\x3CFACILITATOR>"
    }]
  }'

Policy Violation Types Reference

When a payment is denied, the violations[].type field tells you exactly what rule was triggered:

Error Reporting to the User

When a payment is denied, format the denial clearly:

Payment blocked by policy:
- Reason: Daily spend limit exceeded ($950 of $1,000 used today)
- This $100 payment would bring the total to $1,050
- Violation: DAILY_LIMIT (limit: $1,000, current: $950)

To proceed, a dashboard admin can:
1. Increase the daily limit at https://conto.finance
2. Approve this specific transaction manually

When requiresHumanApproval is true:

This payment requires human approval:
- Amount: $5,000 (above approval threshold)
- A Conto dashboard admin must approve this at https://conto.finance
- Approval ID: cmm59z... (share this with your admin)

Managing Policies from Hermes

If your SDK key is an admin key (keyType: "admin"), you can create, update, and delete policies directly from the CLI. Standard keys can only read policies and check payments.

List all policies

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh policies

Create a policy

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh create-policy '{
  "name": "Max $200 Per Transaction",
  "policyType": "SPEND_LIMIT",
  "priority": 10,
  "isActive": true,
  "rules": [
    {"ruleType": "MAX_AMOUNT", "operator": "LTE", "value": "200", "action": "ALLOW"}
  ]
}'

The response includes the new policy's id. Save it for assigning to agents.

Common policy recipes

Daily spending cap of $1,000:

{
  "name": "Daily $1K Cap",
  "policyType": "SPEND_LIMIT",
  "priority": 10,
  "isActive": true,
  "rules": [{ "ruleType": "DAILY_LIMIT", "operator": "LTE", "value": "1000", "action": "ALLOW" }]
}

Only allow API and Cloud payments:

{
  "name": "API+Cloud Only",
  "policyType": "CATEGORY",
  "priority": 5,
  "isActive": true,
  "rules": [
    {
      "ruleType": "ALLOWED_CATEGORIES",
      "operator": "IN_LIST",
      "value": "[\"API_PROVIDER\",\"CLOUD\",\"SAAS\"]",
      "action": "ALLOW"
    }
  ]
}

Block a scam address:

{
  "name": "Block Scammer",
  "policyType": "COUNTERPARTY",
  "priority": 50,
  "isActive": true,
  "rules": [
    {
      "ruleType": "BLOCKED_COUNTERPARTIES",
      "operator": "IN_LIST",
      "value": "[\"0xbadaddress...\"]",
      "action": "DENY"
    }
  ]
}

Require human approval above $500:

{
  "name": "High Value Review",
  "policyType": "APPROVAL_THRESHOLD",
  "priority": 8,
  "isActive": true,
  "rules": [
    {
      "ruleType": "REQUIRE_APPROVAL_ABOVE",
      "operator": "GT",
      "value": "500",
      "action": "REQUIRE_APPROVAL"
    }
  ]
}

Business hours only (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm):

{
  "name": "Business Hours",
  "policyType": "TIME_WINDOW",
  "priority": 5,
  "isActive": true,
  "rules": [
    {
      "ruleType": "TIME_WINDOW",
      "operator": "BETWEEN",
      "value": "{\"start\":\"09:00\",\"end\":\"18:00\"}",
      "action": "ALLOW"
    },
    {
      "ruleType": "DAY_OF_WEEK",
      "operator": "IN_LIST",
      "value": "[\"Mon\",\"Tue\",\"Wed\",\"Thu\",\"Fri\"]",
      "action": "ALLOW"
    }
  ]
}

Cap x402 API spend at $1/request, $50/day per service:

{
  "name": "x402 Controls",
  "policyType": "SPEND_LIMIT",
  "priority": 10,
  "isActive": true,
  "rules": [
    { "ruleType": "X402_PRICE_CEILING", "operator": "LTE", "value": "1", "action": "ALLOW" },
    {
      "ruleType": "X402_MAX_PER_SERVICE",
      "operator": "LTE",
      "value": "{\"amount\":50,\"period\":\"DAILY\"}",
      "action": "ALLOW"
    }
  ]
}

Add a rule to an existing policy

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh add-rule \x3Cpolicy_id> '{"ruleType": "WEEKLY_LIMIT", "operator": "LTE", "value": "5000", "action": "ALLOW"}'

Replace all rules on a policy

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh set-rules \x3Cpolicy_id> '{"rules": [
  {"ruleType": "MAX_AMOUNT", "operator": "LTE", "value": "100", "action": "ALLOW"},
  {"ruleType": "DAILY_LIMIT", "operator": "LTE", "value": "500", "action": "ALLOW"}
]}'

Delete a policy

{baseDir}/conto-check.sh delete-policy \x3Cpolicy_id>

Available rule types

Critical Rules

1. Use the right mode for the wallet type. Mode A (/request + autoExecute) for PRIVY/SPONGE wallets. Mode B (/approve + transfer + /confirm) for EXTERNAL wallets.
2. NEVER skip the policy check. Every payment must go through Conto first.
3. NEVER execute a denied payment. If approved is false or status is DENIED, stop.
4. For Mode B: ALWAYS confirm after execution. Call /confirm with the tx hash to keep spend tracking accurate. Mode A handles this automatically.
5. Approvals expire quickly. Mode A (/request) approvals expire in 5 minutes. Mode B (/approve) approvals expire in 10 minutes. Execute promptly after approval.
6. On API errors, fail closed. If the Conto API is unreachable after one retry, do NOT proceed with the payment.
7. Convert to USDC equivalent. The amount field is always in USDC. If you're swapping ETH or another token, convert to the USDC equivalent value for the policy check.