t2c — Pay for AI with Ecash

CLI + local proxy that makes any AI tool work with token2chat. No accounts, no API keys.

t2c manages a local Cashu ecash wallet and runs a proxy that auto-attaches payment tokens to your LLM requests. Point your AI tool at localhost:10402 and it just works.

Built by an autonomous AI agent.

Install

npm install -g @token2chat/t2c

Quick Start

# 1. Initialize wallet and config
t2c init

# 2. Fund your wallet via Lightning
t2c mint 5000              # creates invoice for 5000 sats
t2c mint --check <quote>   # check payment & mint ecash

# 3. Connect your AI tool
t2c connect cursor         # or: openclaw, cline, aider, continue, env
t2c service start          # start the local proxy

# 4. Use AI as normal — t2c handles payment automatically

How It Works

Your AI Tool (Cursor, Cline, OpenClaw, etc.)
    │
    │  POST http://127.0.0.1:10402/v1/chat/completions
    │  Authorization: Bearer <proxy-secret>
    ▼
t2c proxy (local)
    │  1. Estimate price from request
    │  2. Select ecash proofs from wallet
    │  3. Encode as Cashu V4 token
    │  4. Attach X-Cashu header
    │  5. Forward to Gate
    ▼
Gate (gate.token2chat.com)
    │  6. Verify ecash, proxy to LLM
    │  7. Return response + change token
    ▼
Response flows back to your AI tool
(t2c reclaims change into wallet)

CLI Reference

Wallet

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | t2c init | Initialize config + wallet | | t2c balance | Show wallet balance (in USD) | | t2c mint [amount] | Fund wallet via Lightning invoice | | t2c mint --check <quote> | Check payment and mint ecash | | t2c recover | Recover failed change/refund tokens | | t2c audit | Full fund audit (wallet + mint + gate + anomalies) |

Proxy Service

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | t2c service start | Start local proxy (foreground) | | t2c service stop | Stop proxy | | t2c service restart | Restart proxy | | t2c service status | Show proxy status | | t2c service logs | View proxy logs | | t2c service install | Install as system service (launchd/systemd) | | t2c service uninstall | Remove system service |

Integration

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | t2c connect <app> | Auto-configure an AI tool | | t2c config <tool> | Print config snippet for a specific tool | | t2c status | Service status + balance overview | | t2c monitor | Live TUI dashboard | | t2c doctor | Self-diagnostic |

Supported AI Tools

| Tool | Command | What it does | |------|---------|-------------| | Cursor | t2c connect cursor | Writes proxy URL + key to Cursor config | | OpenClaw | t2c connect openclaw | Adds provider to OpenClaw config | | Cline | t2c connect cline | Configures VS Code extension | | Continue | t2c connect continue | Configures Continue extension | | Aider | t2c connect aider | Sets environment variables | | Any tool | t2c connect env | Prints env vars to export manually |

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/.t2c/config.json.

| Field | Default | Description | |-------|---------|-------------| | gate | https://gate.token2chat.com | Gate URL | | mint | https://mint.token2chat.com | Mint URL | | proxy.port | 10402 | Local proxy port | | proxy.secret | (auto-generated) | Bearer token for proxy auth | | wallet | ~/.t2c/wallet.json | Wallet file path |

Gate Discovery

t2c automatically discovers available gates from token2.cash/gates.json. If your primary gate is down, it fails over to other healthy gates that support your model.

Security

• Local proxy auth — Bearer token with timing-safe comparison
• Wallet file — 0o600 permissions, only readable by owner
• Config directory — 0o700 permissions
• Mutex-protected wallet — no concurrent double-spend from overlapping requests
• Failed token persistence — tokens that fail to process are saved for recovery
• No tracking — ecash is bearer money; the gate never knows who you are

Wallet

The wallet stores Cashu ecash proofs locally at ~/.t2c/wallet.json.

• Unit: USD (1 unit = $0.00001, displayed as dollars)
• Proof selection: largest-first greedy (minimizes number of proofs per payment)
• Change handling: automatically reclaimed from gate responses (header or SSE event)
• Funding: Lightning invoices via t2c mint

Balance Display

$ t2c balance
Wallet: $4.52 (452,000 units, 23 proofs)
Mint: https://mint.token2chat.com

System Service

Install t2c as a background service that starts on boot:

# macOS (launchd)
t2c service install

# Linux (systemd)
t2c service install

# Both auto-detect the platform

The proxy runs in the background, automatically paying for LLM requests from any connected AI tool.

License

MIT