# Patron documentation

Patron pays every website you and your AI agents read, $0.001 per page, privately. Sites do nothing to earn.

Reader → pays → Patron → credits → Site → claims → Owner

### Choose a path

| You want to…                  | Start here                                |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| Pay the sites you read        | [Patron for readers](/docs#patron-for-readers) |
| Have your agents pay too      | [Patron for agents](/docs#patron-for-agents)   |
| Collect what your site earned | [Patron for sites](/docs#patron-for-sites)     |
| Collect as an X creator       | [X creators](/docs#x-creators)                 |
| Know what Patron can see      | [Privacy](/docs#privacy)                       |
| See who earns and gives most  | [Leaderboard](/leaderboard)               |

### Built on

| Part      | Uses                                                                                                             |
| --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Money     | [OUSD](https://explore.tempo.xyz/token/0x20c0000000000000000000006a37da5c996874be) on [Tempo](https://tempo.xyz) |
| Payments  | [MPP](https://mpp.dev)                                                                                           |
| Tokens    | [Privacy Pass](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc9578/)                                                        |
| Transport | [Oblivious HTTP relay](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc9458/)                                                |

## Installation

```sh
npx @tempoxyz/patron
```

Sign in with [Tempo Wallet](https://wallet.tempo.xyz), approve a budget and pick your agents.

| Also            | How                                             |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Browser         | Chrome extension, same sign-in                  |
| Agent skill     | `npx skills add tempoxyz/patron --skill patron` |
| Agent reference | [SKILL.md](https://trypatron.com/SKILL.md)      |

## Patron for readers

1. Set a budget
2. Read as usual
3. Sites get paid

### Settings

| Setting            | Default                  | Change it       |
| ------------------ | ------------------------ | --------------- |
| Monthly budget     | $5, purchases stop there | `patron budget` |
| Per page           | $0.001 (up to $0.01)     | `patron rate`   |
| How pages are paid | Charge                   | `patron mode`   |
| Leaderboard name   | None                     | `patron name`   |

### When a page is paid

| Where   | Paid when                                   |
| ------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Browser | After about 10 seconds of active reading    |
| Agent   | See [Patron for agents](/docs#patron-for-agents) |

### Ways to pay

| Mode             | How it works                           | On chain              |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------- | --------------------- |
| Charge (default) | Each page pays with its own MPP charge | One transfer per page |
| Session          | One deposit, then off-chain vouchers   | Open, top-ups, close  |
| Packs            | [Prepaid pages](/docs#packs)                | One transfer per pack |
| Link or card     | Packs, paid through Stripe Link        | None                  |

### Packs

A pack is 1,000 prepaid pages for $1, kept on your device. Agents spend from it instantly, Link and card pay only this way, and Patron refills it within your budget.

### Exclusions

* Incognito windows, IP addresses, localhost and link shorteners are never paid.
* Mail, chat, private documents, sign-in, banking and health sites are excluded by default. You can change these categories in extension settings.

## Patron for agents

Each agent gets a hook that pays from your budget.

| Agent       | Pays for                                      |
| ----------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| Claude Code | Each site a fetch reads or a search returns   |
| Cursor      | Each site a fetch reads or a search returns   |
| Amp         | Each site a fetch reads or a search returns   |
| Codex       | Each site it opens or cites, once per session |

Only 2xx pages with a body count. Full agent reference: [llms-full.txt](https://trypatron.com/llms-full.txt).

## Patron for sites

1. Find your domain on [Claim your site](/claim)
2. Sign in with [Tempo Wallet](https://wallet.tempo.xyz)
3. [Prove ownership](/docs#prove-ownership)
4. Claim

### Prove ownership

| Your site is on…                      | Add                                            |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Your own domain                       | TXT `_patron.example.com` = `patron-claim=0x…` |
| A shared host (github.io, vercel.app) | `/.well-known/patron-claim`, same value        |
| X                                     | [Public claim post](/docs#x-creators)               |

### Payouts

| Payout            | Detail                                                       |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Paid in           | OUSD, the whole balance, to your wallet                      |
| Unclaimed balance | Never expires                                                |
| Leaderboard       | Listed after $0.01 earned on the [leaderboard](/leaderboard) |
| Seal              | Marks a claimed site on the leaderboard                      |

### What counts as a site

| Page read              | Pays              |
| ---------------------- | ----------------- |
| `blog.example.co.uk`   | `example.co.uk`   |
| `alice.github.io`      | `alice.github.io` |
| `x.com/alice/status/…` | `x.com/alice`     |

A site is its registrable domain on the [Public Suffix List](https://publicsuffix.org).

### X creators

Reads of your profile and posts earn for `x.com/yourhandle`. Post `patron-claim=0x…` from your profile and paste its link.

## Privacy

Patron knows you paid, never where.

| Party          | Sees                                 | Never sees        |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------- |
| Patron gateway | Tokens bought; tokens spent per site | Who spent them    |
| Relay          | Your IP address                      | The site or token |
| Sites          | Earnings, in 15-minute windows       | Who paid          |
| Tempo chain    | Purchases and charges to Patron      | Which site        |

### How

| Guarantee                                        | By                                                          |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| A spent token can't be linked to its purchase    | [Privacy Pass](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc9578/)   |
| Patron never sees your IP when you spend a token | [Oblivious HTTP](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc9458/) |
| Pages stay off chain                             | `patron mode session`                                       |

## CLI reference

| Command            | What it does                          |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------- |
| `patron status`    | Balance, budget and pages paid        |
| `patron budget`    | Change the monthly budget             |
| `patron rate`      | Price per page, $0.001 to $0.01       |
| `patron mode`      | Pay by charge or session              |
| `patron tip`       | Tip a site or X handle                |
| `patron name`      | Set your leaderboard name             |
| `patron stop`      | Pause paying                          |
| `patron start`     | Resume paying                         |
| `patron close`     | Close the session, refund the deposit |
| `patron uninstall` | Remove hooks and local data           |