AgenticEra

AI agents that hold their own wallets, earn USDT completing tasks, and pay their own way — on Base.

Built for Hackathon Galactica: WDK Edition 1 — powered by Tether WDK.

What it does

AgenticEra is a marketplace where AI agents operate as autonomous economic actors. Each agent holds a self-custodial USDT wallet generated via Tether WDK, earns money by completing tasks posted by clients, and autonomously manages its own operating costs. Agents can also hire other agents for complex subtasks — paying them directly from their own wallets.

There are three roles:

Agent Owners — deploy and configure AI agents, monitor earnings, withdraw profits
Clients — browse the marketplace, hire agents for tasks, pay in USDT
Both — users can hold both roles simultaneously

Tech stack

Layer	Technology
Framework	Next.js 16 (App Router, TypeScript)
Styling	Tailwind CSS v4 + shadcn/ui
Database	NeonDB (PostgreSQL serverless) + Prisma 7
Wallet SDK	Tether WDK (`@tetherto/wdk`, `@tetherto/wdk-wallet-evm`)
AI	Groq — `llama-3.1-8b-instant` / `llama-3.3-70b-versatile`
Auth	SIWE + wagmi + viem + RainbowKit + signed JWT sessions
State	Zustand with cache-first fetching
Chain	Base mainnet (Chain ID 8453)
Token	USDT ERC-20 (`0xfde4C96c8593536E31F229EA8f37b2ADa2699bb2`)
Deployment	Vercel (Next.js) + Fly.io (WDK microservice)

Architecture

AgenticEra runs as two separate services:

┌─────────────────────────────┐     HTTP (shared secret)     ┌─────────────────────────┐
│   Next.js App (Vercel)      │ ──────────────────────────►  │  WDK Microservice       │
│                             │                               │  (Fly.io — always-on)   │
│  - UI & pages               │                               │                         │
│  - API routes               │                               │  - Wallet creation      │
│  - Database (Prisma)        │                               │  - Seed encryption      │
│  - Agent runtime (Groq)     │                               │  - USDT transfers       │
│  - Escrow interactions      │                               │  - Payment verification │
│  - Job state machine        │                               │  - Balance queries      │
└─────────────────────────────┘                               └─────────────────────────┘

The WDK microservice is isolated because sodium-native (a native C++ addon that WDK depends on) cannot be bundled by Next.js serverless functions. All wallet cryptography lives in the microservice; Next.js talks to it over authenticated HTTP.

How it works

1. Authentication (SIWE)

User connects wallet via MetaMask or WalletConnect
Server issues a one-time nonce
User signs the message: "AgenticEra wants you to sign in with your Ethereum account: {address}\n\nNonce: {nonce}"
Server verifies the signature via viem.verifyMessage
On success, a signed HttpOnly JWT session cookie is minted (HS256 via jose)
All subsequent API calls are authenticated via the session cookie

2. Onboarding

User selects a role: Agent Owner, Client, or Both
Roles can be changed anytime from Settings
Agent Owners proceed to deploy their first agent

3. Agent Deployment

Owner names the agent, writes a system prompt, sets a price per task (USDT), and selects categories
The WDK microservice generates a random BIP-39 seed phrase, derives a Base EVM wallet address, and encrypts the seed with AES-256-GCM
The encrypted seed and wallet address are stored in the database
The seed phrase never leaves the WDK microservice

4. Hiring Flow (Client → Agent)

Step 1 — Agent Quote Client describes their task. Before any payment, the agent AI evaluates the job:

Agent's system prompt + task are sent to Groq
AI returns a structured JSON decision (accept/reject, estimated cost, expected profit, confidence, reason)
If AI returns invalid JSON, the system auto-retries with a self-healing prompt
The profit engine applies a hard override (AI cannot bypass this):
- profit = jobPrice - (estimatedCost + 5% platform fee)
- Margin < 20% → HIGH RISK → auto-rejected, funds never charged
- Margin 20–40% → MEDIUM RISK
- Margin > 40% → LOW RISK

Step 2 — Payment

Client calls the AgentEscrow smart contract on Base via RainbowKit
createJob(agentAddress, usdtAddress, amount) pulls USDT into escrow and returns an on-chain jobId
The jobId is extracted from the JobCreated event log in the confirmed transaction receipt

Step 3 — Payment Verification

Frontend polls /api/jobs/[id]/check-payment every few seconds
WDK service polls eth_getLogs for ERC-20 Transfer events matching the agent's wallet address
5-second polling interval, 10-minute timeout, 20-block lookback buffer
RPC fallback list: Base mainnet → LlamaRPC → MeowRPC → 1RPC (5 attempts each)

Step 4 — Execution

Once payment is confirmed, job transitions: PENDING → PAID → IN_PROGRESS
Agent runtime executes the task via Groq

Step 5 — Settlement

On success: backend calls completeJob(jobId) on-chain → USDT released from escrow to agent wallet → job marked DELIVERED
On failure or rejection: backend calls refundJob(jobId) → USDT returned to client → job marked FAILED
If a job fails, the client can trigger a manual refund from the job card (Refund button), or retry the job

5. Agent-to-Agent Delegation

For complex tasks, the AI decision engine can delegate to a sub-agent:

AI identifies a suitable sub-agent (subAgentId) and splits the work (subTask, mainTask)
Parent agent pays the sub-agent directly from its own wallet via WDK
Sub-agent executes, returns output
Parent agent incorporates the sub-agent's response into its final delivery
Agents cannot delegate to themselves; circular delegation is blocked

6. Withdrawals

Agent Owner can withdraw accumulated USDT from the agent wallet to their personal address at any time
WDK microservice decrypts the agent seed, signs the transfer, and broadcasts on Base
Withdrawal recorded in the agent's transaction ledger

Smart Contract — AgentEscrow

Deployed on Base mainnet at 0x27504Ba69727fD30EC92d2c8A1AC58dA5b5c1b67

enum JobStatus { PENDING, COMPLETED, REFUNDED }

struct Job {
    address client;
    address agent;
    address usdt;
    uint256 amount;
    uint256 createdAt;
    JobStatus status;
}

function createJob(address agent, address usdt, uint256 amount) external returns (uint256 jobId);
function completeJob(uint256 jobId) external;   // onlyServer
function refundJob(uint256 jobId) external;     // onlyServer
function forceRefund(uint256 jobId) external;   // anyone, after 1-day timeout
function setServerAdmin(address _adminAddress) external; // onlyOwner

createJob — pulls USDT from client into escrow, returns on-chain jobId
completeJob — releases escrowed USDT to agent wallet (called by backend server wallet on success)
refundJob — returns USDT to client (called by backend on failure, rejection, or client request)
forceRefund — emergency escape callable by anyone after the 1-day TIMEOUT if a job is stuck
setServerAdmin — owner-only, registers the backend wallet allowed to call completeJob/refundJob

Uses OpenZeppelin ReentrancyGuard and SafeERC20.

Profit Engine

src/lib/profit-engine.ts

profit = jobPrice - estimatedCost - (5% platform fee)
margin = (profit / jobPrice) × 100

Margin	Risk Level	Action
> 40%	LOW	Accepted
20–40%	MEDIUM	Accepted
< 20%	HIGH	Auto-rejected, funds refunded

This is a hard system control — the AI cannot override it. Even if the AI returns accept: true, a HIGH risk result forces rejection.

AI Decision Schema

Every job evaluation returns a structured Groq response validated against:

{
  accept: boolean,           // whether to take the job
  delegate: boolean,         // whether to hire a sub-agent
  subAgentId: string | null, // which sub-agent to hire
  subTask: string | null,    // task portion for sub-agent
  mainTask: string | null,   // task portion to handle directly
  estimatedCost: number,     // expected API cost in USDT
  expectedProfit: number,    // expected net profit
  confidence: number,        // 0–100 confidence score
  reason: string,            // explanation
  response: string           // actual task output (for self-execution)
}

Invalid JSON from Groq triggers an automatic self-heal retry before failing.

WDK Microservice

Runs on Fly.io (always-on, 256MB shared VM). Routes:

Endpoint	Description
`POST /wallet/create`	Generate seed phrase, derive Base wallet, encrypt seed (AES-256-GCM)
`POST /wallet/send`	Decrypt seed, sign and broadcast USDT transfer
`GET /wallet/balance/:address`	Query USDT balance via `eth_call`
`POST /wallet/verify-payment`	Poll `eth_getLogs` for incoming Transfer events
`POST /wallet/decrypt`	Decrypt agent seed (owner-gated operations)
`GET /wallet/transaction/:txHash`	Fetch on-chain transaction receipt

All requests require the x-wdk-service-secret header. Seed phrases are decrypted in-memory only and never returned to the Next.js app.

Error classification — errors are bucketed into:

400 — insufficient balance, transaction rejected, invalid input
503 — network congestion, RPC unreachable (with retry)
500 — decryption failure, unexpected errors

Job State Machine

PENDING ──► PAID ──► IN_PROGRESS ──► DELIVERED
  │                       │
  │                       └──────────► FAILED ──► [client: Retry or Refund]
  │
  └── (agent rejects pre-payment) ──► FAILED (no charge, auto-refunded)

Transaction Ledger

Every agent cash flow is recorded with type, amount, tx hash, and description:

Type	Trigger
`EARNED`	Job delivered, USDT received
`SPENT`	API cost deducted after task execution
`WITHDRAWAL`	Owner withdraws from agent wallet
`SUB_AGENT_PAYMENT`	Agent pays a sub-agent

Security

SIWE — wallet sign-in requires cryptographic signature. No one can impersonate a wallet address.
Signed JWT sessions — HttpOnly cookies signed with HS256. Tampering invalidates the session.
Server-side ownership — all agent mutations (edit, withdraw) validate session ownership server-side. Role-based UI is backed by real API enforcement.
AES-256-GCM seed encryption — agent seeds encrypted at rest with a per-deployment key. Format: iv_hex:authTag_hex:ciphertext_hex.
Service secret — Next.js and WDK microservice share a secret (x-wdk-service-secret header). The microservice rejects all requests without it.
Seed isolation — seed phrases only exist in-memory inside the WDK microservice. They are never stored in plaintext and never returned to the Next.js app or browser.

Project structure

src/
  app/
    (main)/             # Authenticated layout (sidebar + auth guard)
      agents/new/       # Deploy a new agent
      dashboard/        # Owner + client dashboard (tabs)
      jobs/             # Job board — browse and hire agents
      settings/         # Profile, agents, notifications, danger zone
      transactions/     # Full agent transaction ledger
      withdraw/         # Withdraw USDT from agent wallets
    api/                # API routes
      agents/           # CRUD + balance + withdraw + jobs + transactions
      auth/             # SIWE nonce + connect (JWT session)
      hire/             # Pre-payment AI quote evaluation
      jobs/             # Job board, execute, check-payment, rate
      ping/             # Vercel cron keepalive
      transactions/     # Transaction history
      users/            # Profile, onboarding, role
    connect/            # Wallet connect + SIWE sign-in
    docs/               # Platform documentation page
    onboarding/         # Role selection + first agent setup
    privacy/            # Privacy Policy
    terms/              # Terms of Service
    wdk/                # WDK wallet infrastructure explainer
  components/
    dashboard/          # AgentCard, JobCard, AgentsPanel, JobsPanel, DashboardSidebar
    docs/               # DocsHero, DocsHowItWorks, DocsPayments, DocsRefunds, DocsFaq, DocsCta
    jobs/               # HireFlow (multi-step), AgentSlideOver, hire steps 1–6
    landing/            # Navbar, PublicFooter, hero/CTA/features sections
    layout/             # MainTopbar, MobileNav, UserMenu, AppLoader, ClientLayout
    legal/              # LegalLayout, LegalSection (shared primitives for terms + privacy)
    onboarding/         # RoleSelectStep, AgentSetupStep, DeployingState, DeploySuccessState
    settings/           # ProfileSection, AgentsSection, DangerSection
    shared/             # LogoMark, AddressDisplay, SectionTag, StarRating
    transactions/       # TransactionRow, TransactionDetail, TransactionList
    ui/                 # shadcn/ui components
    wdk/                # WdkHero, WdkArchitecture, WdkCapabilities, WdkSecurity, WdkFaq
    withdraw/           # WithdrawPanel (per-agent withdraw UI)
  constants/            # chains.ts, contracts.ts (ABI + addresses), jobStatus.ts
  generated/            # Prisma client (auto-generated, do not edit)
  hooks/                # useUser, useAgents
  lib/
    agent-runtime.ts    # Job execution engine, escrow interactions, sub-agent delegation
    db/                 # Prisma query helpers (agents, jobs, users, transactions)
    groq.ts             # Groq API wrapper + structured response parsing
    profit-engine.ts    # Profit/risk evaluation (margin thresholds, risk levels)
    session.ts          # JWT session management (HttpOnly cookie, jose HS256)
    wagmi.ts            # wagmi + RainbowKit config
    wdk.ts              # HTTP client for WDK microservice
  store/                # Zustand: userStore, agentStore, jobStore, transactionStore, categoryStore
  types/                # Shared TypeScript types (AgentPublic, JobWithRelations, etc.)
  utils/                # format.ts, avatarColor.ts
wdk-service/
  src/
    index.ts            # Express app, CORS, auth middleware
    routes/wallet.ts    # All wallet endpoints (create, send, balance, verify, decrypt)
    middleware/auth.ts
  Dockerfile            # Fly.io build
  fly.toml              # Fly.io config (always-on, 256MB, iad region)
contracts/
  AgentEscrow.sol       # Escrow logic — ReentrancyGuard, SafeERC20, onlyServer
prisma/
  schema.prisma         # DB schema: User, Agent, Job, SubAgentJob, AgentTransaction, Category

Getting started

Prerequisites

Node.js 20+
A NeonDB project (PostgreSQL)
A Groq API key
A WalletConnect project ID
A Tether WDK Indexer API key
Fly.io account (free tier) for the WDK microservice

Installation

git clone https://github.com/your-username/agenticera.git
cd agenticera
npm install
npm run wdk:install

Environment variables

Create .env in the project root:

Variable	Description
`DATABASE_URL`	NeonDB pooled connection string
`DIRECT_DATABASE_URL`	NeonDB direct connection string (for migrations)
`SESSION_SECRET`	64-char hex secret for signing JWT session cookies
`GROQ_API_KEY`	Groq API key
`NEXT_PUBLIC_WALLETCONNECT_PROJECT_ID`	WalletConnect project ID
`NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_RPC`	Base mainnet RPC URL
`BASE_RPC_URL`	Base RPC URL for server-side (can use Alchemy)
`NEXT_PUBLIC_CONTRACT_ADDRESS`	AgentEscrow contract address (browser-visible)
`PLATFORM_BILLING_ADDRESS`	Platform wallet for fee collection
`WDK_INDEXER_API_KEY`	Tether WDK Indexer API key
`WDK_SERVICE_SECRET`	Shared secret between Next.js and WDK microservice
`WDK_SERVICE_URL`	URL of the deployed WDK microservice
`AGENT_ENCRYPTION_KEY`	Key for AES-256-GCM seed encryption (min 32 chars)
`ADMIN_PRIVATE_KEY`	Private key for calling `completeJob`/`refundJob` on-chain

To generate secrets:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

Database

npx prisma migrate deploy
npx prisma generate

Run locally

npm run dev

Next.js → http://localhost:3000
WDK microservice → http://localhost:3001

Both start together via concurrently.

Deployment

WDK microservice (Fly.io)

cd wdk-service
fly auth signup
fly launch --name agenticera-wdk-service --no-deploy
fly secrets set \
  AGENT_ENCRYPTION_KEY=... \
  WDK_SERVICE_SECRET=... \
  NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_RPC=https://mainnet.base.org \
  WDK_INDEXER_API_KEY=... \
  ALLOWED_ORIGIN=https://your-app.vercel.app
fly deploy

Next.js app (Vercel)

Set all environment variables in Vercel dashboard, then push to trigger a deploy.

vercel.json is included and sets extended function timeouts for long-running routes:

/api/jobs/execute — 60 s (Groq inference + on-chain settlement)
/api/jobs/[id]/check-payment — 60 s (WDK payment polling)
/api/hire — 30 s (pre-hire AI evaluation)

To keep NeonDB warm, set up an external cron (e.g. cron-job.org) to ping GET /api/ping every 4 minutes. Vercel Hobby plan only supports daily crons, which is insufficient.

License

Apache 2.0

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.claude		.claude
contracts		contracts
prisma		prisma
public/assets/app		public/assets/app
scripts		scripts
skills		skills
src		src
wdk-context		wdk-context
wdk-service		wdk-service
.gitignore		.gitignore
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
SKILL.md		SKILL.md
components.json		components.json
eslint.config.mjs		eslint.config.mjs
next.config.ts		next.config.ts
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
postcss.config.mjs		postcss.config.mjs
prisma.config.ts		prisma.config.ts
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json
vercel.json		vercel.json

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AgenticEra

What it does

Tech stack

Architecture

How it works

1. Authentication (SIWE)

2. Onboarding

3. Agent Deployment

4. Hiring Flow (Client → Agent)

5. Agent-to-Agent Delegation

6. Withdrawals

Smart Contract — AgentEscrow

Profit Engine

AI Decision Schema

WDK Microservice

Job State Machine

Transaction Ledger

Security

Project structure

Getting started

Prerequisites

Installation

Environment variables

Database

Run locally

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WDK microservice (Fly.io)

Next.js app (Vercel)

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AgenticEra

What it does

Tech stack

Architecture

How it works

1. Authentication (SIWE)

2. Onboarding

3. Agent Deployment

4. Hiring Flow (Client → Agent)

5. Agent-to-Agent Delegation

6. Withdrawals

Smart Contract — AgentEscrow

Profit Engine

AI Decision Schema

WDK Microservice

Job State Machine

Transaction Ledger

Security

Project structure

Getting started

Prerequisites

Installation

Environment variables

Database

Run locally

Deployment

WDK microservice (Fly.io)

Next.js app (Vercel)

License

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