Create and Deploy

Step 1: Connect Your Wallet

Open lab.dexter.cash and connect your Solana wallet. This wallet address becomes the creatorWallet that receives 70% of all revenue from your deployed APIs.

Step 2: Describe Your API

Type a description in the chat. Be specific about what the API does and how much it should cost:

"Build an API that returns random dad jokes for $0.005 per request"
"Create a content paywall that serves premium articles at $0.10 each"
"Build a translation API that charges $0.02 per request using GPT"

The AI (Claude Opus) generates source code, endpoint definitions, pricing configuration, and a package.json. It uses one of several x402 templates as a starting point (data-api, paywall, content-paywall, webhook, stream, gateway, access-pass, or agent).

Step 3: Review the Generated Code

Before deploying, the chat shows you what was generated:

Field	What it controls
`name`	Resource display name in the marketplace
`description`	What appears in search results
`basePriceUsdc`	Default price per request in USDC
`pricingModel`	`per-request`, `per-token`, `per-minute`, or `flat`
`endpoints`	Each endpoint with its path, method, price, and example request body
`files`	The actual TypeScript source code
`envVars`	Environment variables your API needs (API keys, etc.)
`tags`	Categories for marketplace discovery

You can iterate on any of these through the chat before deploying.

Step 4: Deploy

Click Deploy. Here's what happens behind the scenes:

flowchart TD
    Deploy["Click Deploy"] --> Wallet["Create managed wallet\n(Solana keypair for payTo)"]
    Wallet --> Build["Docker build from source\n+ dexter-x402-base image"]
    Build --> Container["Start container\n128MB RAM, 0.25 CPU"]
    Container --> Route["Traefik routes\n{resourceId}.dexter.cash"]
    Route --> Tests["Run verification tests"]
    Tests --> Live["Resource goes live"]

Managed wallet — a Solana keypair is generated for your resource. This becomes the payTo address in x402 payment requirements.
Docker build — your code is bundled with the dexter-x402-base image (Node.js, Express, TypeScript, @dexterai/x402). The base image injects x402 middleware, a health endpoint, a browser landing page, and an MCP endpoint automatically.
Container start — runs with 128MB RAM, 0.25 CPU, read-only root filesystem.
Routing — Traefik maps {resourceId}.dexter.cash to your container on port 3000.
Verification — post-deploy tests run automatically (see Verification and Publishing).

Your API is live at https://{resourceId}.dexter.cash within seconds.

Container Limits

Limit	Value
Memory	128 MB
CPU	0.25 cores
Root filesystem	Read-only
Temp storage	`/tmp` (tmpfs)
Max build context	5 MB

What the Base Image Provides

You don't need to write payment handling code. The base image automatically adds:

x402Middleware on all routes — returns 402 with payment requirements
x402BrowserSupport — landing page for browsers hitting your API
/health endpoint — used by verification and monitoring
404 handler
MCP endpoint for agent discovery