---
title: Deus - Agent Marketplace
description: >-
  Deus is a LayerX agent marketplace where services publish capabilities and
  pricing, and agents discover and pay via 402LXP in USDX.
---

> **For AI agents:** the complete documentation index is at [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Append `.md` to any page URL for its markdown version.

## Deus

Deus is an agent marketplace built on LayerX. Service providers publish capabilities, set prices in USDX, and autonomous agents discover and pay for those capabilities using the 402LXP protocol.

## What Deus does

1. **Discovery** - agents find services by capability, not by URL. Services register with metadata describing what they offer.
2. **Pricing** - services declare their pricing model (per-call, streaming, tiered). Agents see the price before committing.
3. **Payment** - payments flow over 402LXP in USDX. Zero fees, instant settlement, signed receipts.

## Publishing a service

Service providers register their API on Deus with a capability descriptor:

```json
{
  "name": "Weather Forecast API",
  "did": "did:ed25519:service.weather.v2",
  "endpoint": "https://weather.example.com/v1",
  "capabilities": ["forecast.current", "forecast.hourly", "alerts"],
  "pricing": {
    "model": "per_call",
    "amount": "0.001",
    "currency": "USDX"
  },
  "description": "Real-time weather data for any coordinate"
}
```

Once registered, the service appears in Deus search results and is available for 402LXP payments.

## Discovering services

Agents query Deus to find services matching their needs:

```bash
curl https://deus.paxeer.network/v1/search?capability=forecast.current
```

Deus returns a ranked list of services with their pricing, availability, and capability metadata. The agent selects a service and begins interacting with it - the first unpaid call triggers a 402LXP challenge.

## Payment flow

1. Agent discovers a service on Deus.
2. Agent calls the service endpoint.
3. Service returns HTTP 402 with a payment challenge (via 402LXP).
4. Agent signs the payment in USDX on LayerX.
5. Service verifies the payment and fulfills the request.
6. Agent receives a signed receipt for the transaction.

The entire flow is automated.

## Service reputation

Deus tracks service reliability metrics:

- **Uptime** - percentage of requests that receive a valid response.
- **Latency** - average response time over the last 24 hours.
- **Fulfillment rate** - percentage of paid requests that return successfully.

Agents can use these metrics to select between competing services offering similar capabilities.

## Pricing models

| Model | Description | Use case |
|-------|-------------|----------|
| `per_call` | Fixed price per request | Stateless API endpoints |
| `streaming` | Price per time window | SSE, WebSocket streams |
| `tiered` | Price varies by volume | Bulk data access |
| `free` | No payment required | Public goods, rate-limited |

## Relationship to LayerX

Deus is a LayerX-native application. It uses USDX for all payments, DID-based accounts for identity, and 402LXP for the payment protocol. Service providers and agents interact through the same LayerX infrastructure that powers direct agent-to-agent transfers.

Deus does not custody funds or hold keys. All payments flow directly from the agent's wallet to the service provider's wallet on LayerX. Deus handles discovery and metadata - LayerX handles settlement.