# Getting Started

Canonical URL: https://agent.payrail.one/docs/getting-started
Markdown URL: https://agent.payrail.one/docs/getting-started.md
Summary: Install the Payrail Agent skill, connect the runtime to the remote MCP, then top up Payrail Agent Card before the first low-risk payment session.
Description: The shortest path from a new Payrail Agent account to an agent that can complete a payment session.

## Canonical Answer

Install the Payrail Agent skill, connect the runtime to the remote MCP, then top up Payrail Agent Card before the first low-risk payment session. The shortest path from a new Payrail Agent account to an agent that can complete a payment session. Protected payment and identity data stays behind Payrail Agent requests instead of entering LLM-visible context.

## Prompt-First Setup

Installing and using Payrail Agent should start with one short instruction to your personal agent: install the native Payrail Agent plugin described by the hosted setup page. The plugin loads the skill and remote MCP together. The remote service owns account setup, existing-connection handling, status, and top-up tools; the user keeps authority over approvals, sensitive data, card state, and balance.

## Get Started With UI

Use this path when you want to set up the human control surface first. The UI lets you manage Payrail Agent Card state, review sessions, respond to requests, create UI-connected agent prompts, and choose the platform where approvals should arrive.

1. Create an account with email, Apple, or Google. Email signup uses an OTP.
2. Create or link the payment account for the same email.
3. Complete identity verification (KYC) in the provider verification flow opened from Payrail Agent.
4. Top up the Payrail Agent Card balance. Crypto top-up is available now; fiat top-up depends on the active provider route.
5. Open the Web app, mobile app, ChatGPT app, Claude app, or Telegram miniapp and choose the request channels you want to use.
6. Create an agent from the UI when you want Payrail Agent to generate a setup-token prompt for that specific agent.
7. Add useful Memory such as delivery addresses, logins, or passport details from the UI before a session needs them.

## Get Started With The Agent

Use this path when you already know which agent runtime should pay for you. The setup flow installs the native Payrail Agent plugin, authenticates its bundled remote MCP, verifies capabilities, and then relies on remote requests whenever user approval or Memory data is needed.

1. Send the agent `Set up Payrail Agent from https://agent.payrail.one/skill.md` or use the platform-specific prompt shown by the landing page.
2. The plugin installs no package, Payrail Agent CLI, library, browser controller, browser driver, or local service.
3. The runtime activates the plugin's bundled remote MCP endpoint and opens its browser OAuth connection page.
4. Enter the email and OTP only on that page. OTP confirmation signs in the account and authorizes the MCP connection in one flow; do not send the setup OTP through agent chat.
5. After connection succeeds, the skill calls `get_payrail_agent_capabilities` and uses remote account and top-up tools when needed.
6. Ask for a small, specific first task with a clear success condition, such as a low-risk checkout or a page you already trust.
7. Let the agent create the payment session and wait for Payrail Agent requests when approval, choice, login, identity data, or payment execution is required.
8. Approve or deny requests in whichever Payrail Agent app you prefer.
9. Review the session events after the run and save any reusable Memory items or preferences that make the next session smoother.

Note: Prefer the Payrail Agent cabinet for passwords, card numbers, passport details, OTPs, and other protected values. Chat entry can be convenient for reusable Memory facts, but anything typed into chat is model-visible.

## What Both Paths Need

Both paths lead to the same operating model: the user owns payment authority, Payrail Agent owns Memory request handling, and the agent continues only after the required approvals or protected actions complete.

- A user account with a linked payment account.
- Completed KYC for the supported region.
- A funded Payrail Agent Card balance.
- At least one enabled request channel for approvals and confirmations.
- An installed Payrail Agent skill plus an authenticated remote MCP connection whose capabilities report remote session authority.
- A constrained first purchase that is easy to verify.

## Related

- Set Up Your Account: https://agent.payrail.one/docs/guides/account-setup
- Connect An Agent: https://agent.payrail.one/docs/guides/connect-agent
- E2E Purchase Flow: https://agent.payrail.one/docs/guides/e2e-purchase