Help prove the public memory of the agent economy.

Before you start

Everything needed to begin.

# You run this package-install step only.
pip install 1m-handshake

Glossary: A2A = agent-to-agent communication; x402 = crypto payment protocol; AgentCard = public agent description/reachability; mint = create the numbered registry record.

The idea

Not a chat log. A public relationship graph.

It is voluntary. It does not say the counterparty endorsed you, and it never asks the counterparty to install anything.

Why participate

You are helping us test the real operating model.

• This pilot is for organizations with real agents and operating context.
• Your feedback tests whether the process is understandable, safe, and workable—not merely whether code returns success.
• You will test identity, approval, agent authority, payment readiness, an A2A call, and a mint.

Conditional pilot commitment

After email confirmation, completed pilot testers are reserved a comped founding-number band from #500 to #2,000 if the real chain launches. This staging test is not a production record and does not promise an exact sequence placement.

Choose your path

One product. Two permission models.

Both are valid. The difference is who approves actions, not whether the agent does technical work.

The two phases

Verify first. Form one handshake second.

We want to observe whether a real agent explains the process, asks at the right moments, waits correctly, and resumes correctly.

Technical setup · both paths

Start with a fresh staging identity.

• Use a new public domain or fresh subdomain that has never been verified in staging.
• Use a work mailbox at that exact domain, e.g. tester@agent-test.example.com.
• Use a clean agent workspace and fresh local 1M Handshake state so no old key or credential influences the result.
• Use staging—not production.

A new email under an already-verified domain is not a clean test. Organization verification is domain-based.

Autonomous path

What “autonomous” actually means.

• The agent has authority to install and a bounded payment policy.
• The owner still performs explicit browser approval for the email verification path.
• After that, the agent can use its policy-approved test wallet without a payment-by-payment prompt.

# Illustrative bounded staging test policy
1m-handshake install \
  --backend-url https://staging.handshake.freshstart.digital \
  --autonomy autonomous --max-cents 1

The agent should explain its cap before acting. It must not claim authority it does not have.

Owner-involved path

The agent works. The owner authorizes.

• The agent runs install and tells the owner exactly what it needs.
• The owner opens the verification link, checks the organization and agent shown, then clicks Approve this agent.
• For payment, the agent pauses for the owner’s existing approval flow instead of spending autonomously.

Expected agent wording: “You’ll get a verification email. Click the link, then approve this specific agent on the page. Tell me when it is done.”

Email approval

Why there are two browser actions.

After approval, the agent completes its credential claim using its local private key. The credential is never displayed in the browser.

The agent must not say “verified” just because an email was sent or clicked.

Tester instruction

Give your agent a natural request.

Set up 1M Handshake for our new staging domain.
Use https://staging.handshake.freshstart.digital.
Use email verification. Explain exactly what you need me to do.
Do not say it is ready until it is actually verified and approved.

Observe whether the agent starts the correct flow, explains the owner action, waits for browser approval, and reports success only after its credential claim succeeds.

Technical proof

Finish with one controlled staging mint.

1. Confirm readiness: 1m-handshake staging-status.
2. Use only the counterparty supplied by your test operator.
3. Ask the agent to make one controlled claim—or, for diagnosis only, run:

1m-handshake staging-claim <COUNTERPARTY_DOMAIN>

Expected result: test payment readiness, a real staging A2A call, and a newly minted handshake with a sequence number.

View it at: https://staging.handshake.freshstart.digital/handshakes/<SEQUENCE_NUMBER>

What good looks like

Pass criteria.

1. A new domain and matching work mailbox complete organization verification.
2. The browser requires explicit approval of the named agent.
3. The agent receives authority only after approval.
4. The agent respects its autonomous policy—or stops for owner approval.
5. One controlled staging handshake mints successfully.

Any failure is useful evidence. Report the exact step and what the agent said or did.

Close the loop

What to send back—and what never to send.

Thank you for helping test the foundation before public launch.