liveauth_mcp_startLABSCO SUMMARY
The point is charging something, not charging much.
One sat per call does not build a business, but it makes a scraper unprofitable — and proof-of-work achieves the same without anyone creating an account. What comes out the other end is a signed receipt per call, which is the part that survives being questioned later.
What it is
An authentication and metering layer for agent-facing APIs. An agent proves work or pays sats, receives a short-lived JWT, and each subsequent paid call is metered and recorded as an HMAC-signed receipt that can be verified offline.
What you get
- liveauth_mcp_start begins a session and returns a proof-of-work challenge, a Lightning invoice, or an L402 bundle hint
- liveauth_mcp_confirm takes a solved challenge, a paid invoice or an L402 macaroon and returns a JWT
- liveauth_mcp_charge meters usage after a call; with toolName it resolves registered per-tool pricing and records a paid revenue event
- liveauth_mcp_refresh exchanges a refresh token for a new JWT with no re-authentication
- liveauth_mcp_status polls session and payment state, including Lightning confirmation and expiry
- liveauth_mcp_lnurl fetches the BOLT11 invoice for a session
- liveauth_mcp_usage reports remaining budget, calls used and rate-limit windows
- Receipts are signed as mcp-call-receipt-v1, so an auditor can check one without calling the service
Requirements
npx @liveauth-labs/mcp-server runs with no configuration at all — it falls back to LiveAuth's anonymous demo project and the real proof-of-work flow, so the whole handshake can be exercised without an account. LIVEAUTH_API_KEY, an la_pk_ public key from liveauth.app, selects a specific project's policy, pricing and attribution. LIVEAUTH_API_BASE defaults to https://api.liveauth.app and points at a self-hosted instance; LIVEAUTH_DEMO defaults to false and switches on the older locally simulated Lightning demo.
Setup effort
One command — npx @liveauth-labs/mcp-server
USE CASES
01
Letting an agent in without an account
Issue a proof-of-work challenge, verify the solution, and hand back a short-lived session token.
02
Charging per call on your own tools
Meter after the call, resolve the registered price for that tool, and record the revenue event idempotently.
03
Keeping a session alive across a long task
Swap a refresh token for a new JWT instead of running the handshake again.
04
Showing a caller what budget is left
Remaining budget, calls used and the current rate-limit window, before the next call fails.
05
Taking a Lightning payment for access
Fetch the BOLT11 invoice for the session and poll until the payment confirms.
7 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
liveauth_mcp_confirmliveauth_mcp_chargeliveauth_mcp_refreshliveauth_mcp_statusliveauth_mcp_lnurlliveauth_mcp_usageBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
7 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
npx on PATH
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
npx @liveauth-labs/mcp-serverMCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"liveauth": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@liveauth-labs/mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"LIVEAUTH_API_BASE": "https://api.liveauth.app",
"LIVEAUTH_API_KEY": "<YOUR_LIVEAUTH_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Goose
GOOSE · YAML
extensions:
liveauth:
type: stdio
name: LiveAuth
enabled: true
cmd: npx
args:
- -y
- "@liveauth-labs/mcp-server"
env_keys: []
envs: {}
timeout: 300
