FAQ¶

Q: How do I connect Crank from Claude Code, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Gemini, or a raw MCP client?

Claude Code: run claude mcp add --transport http crank https://mcp.crank.ing/mcp. Claude Desktop or any stdio MCP client: point it at python -m crank_mcp.server, or add the streamable HTTP endpoint directly if your client supports remote MCP connectors. ChatGPT and other OpenAI function-calling runtimes: load the generated openai.json tool definitions, or import the OpenAPI 3.1 document as a GPT Action. Gemini: load the generated gemini.json functionDeclarations. LangChain or CrewAI: use their native MCP tool loader pointed at the streamable HTTP endpoint, or load the generated langchain.json StructuredTool definitions. Any other MCP-capable client: connect to the streamable HTTP endpoint at https://mcp.crank.ing/mcp. No API key or account is required to connect or to call free read tools.

Q: What does Crank cost?

Reads are free. Value-bearing actions carry a technology service fee, billed over the x402 payment rail past a daily free-tier allowance. The current schedule steps down with an agent's trailing 30-day volume: 0.75 percent up to 1 million dollars per month, 0.55 percent from 1 million to 10 million, and 0.40 percent above 10 million, with a 0.05 dollar floor per action. Every one of these figures is an admin-updatable on-chain GlobalConfig value, not a hardcoded constant; the x402 payment-required response returns the live, authoritative fee for the specific call. An action a wallet policy refuses is never billed.

Q: Does Crank ever hold my keys or my funds?

No. Crank is non-custodial by construction. No code path transmits, stores, or logs a private key or seed phrase. Every value-bearing tool call returns an unsigned transaction, or for a venue-custodied perps venue a signing payload, for the caller's own key to sign and broadcast. There is no deposit into a Crank-controlled account.

Q: What are guardrails, and who enforces them?

Guardrails are a wallet policy the owner sets once, on a wallet they still fully control, that the platform enforces server-side before every value-bearing action, including actions an autonomous agent initiates. The policy covers maximum trade size, a daily spending limit, a token allowlist and banlist, a position limit, a drawdown limit, and a kill switch. Enforcement happens before the payment step, so an action outside the policy is refused rather than executed, and is never billed.

Q: Which venues does Crank route through?

Swaps route through Jupiter aggregation, the only spot venue Crank routes through. Perpetuals route through a multi-venue adapter rather than a single hardcoded provider: Jupiter Perps, an on-chain and non-custodial venue, is the configured primary; additional venues are gated behind admin-updatable feature flags and are not always available. A venue-custodied venue requires the caller to explicitly acknowledge a custody disclosure before it will execute on that venue. The venue and route are always visible before signing.

Q: Is there a free tier before I have to pay anything?

Yes. Every read tool -- quotes, balances, market data, discovery, classification, usage reports -- is always free with no payment ever required. Each caller also gets a daily free-tier allowance of value-bearing calls before the payment gate activates; the response reports the remaining allowance while you are inside it.

Straight answers for developers connecting an agent to Crank. For the mechanics behind the non-custodial model, see How do AI agents trade on Solana non-custodially? For how Crank compares to other agent toolkits, see Compare.

Install per platform¶

Client	How to connect
Claude Code	`claude mcp add --transport http crank https://mcp.crank.ing/mcp`
Claude Desktop / other stdio MCP clients	Run `python -m crank_mcp.server` and point the client's stdio config at it (or use the streamable HTTP endpoint directly if the client supports remote MCP connectors).
ChatGPT / OpenAI function calling	Load the generated `openai.json` tool definitions, or import `reference/openapi.json` as a GPT Action.
Gemini	Load the generated `gemini.json` `functionDeclarations`.
LangChain / CrewAI	Use the framework's native MCP tool loader against the endpoint below, or load `langchain.json` `StructuredTool` definitions.
Any other MCP client	Connect to the streamable HTTP endpoint: `https://mcp.crank.ing/mcp`.

No API key or account is required to connect, or to call any free read tool. All four schema exports (openai.json, gemini.json, langchain.json, and the OpenAPI document) are generated from the same live tool registry, so no integration drifts from another. Full detail: Integration guide.

What does Crank cost?¶

Reads are free. Value-bearing actions carry a technology service fee, billed over the x402 payment rail past a daily free-tier allowance:

Monthly volume (per agent)	Rate
$0 – $1M	0.75%
$1M – $10M	0.55%
$10M+	0.40%

Floor: $0.05 per action. Every figure above is an admin-updatable on-chain GlobalConfig value — the x402 PAYMENT_REQUIRED response returns the live, authoritative fee for the specific call. An action a wallet policy refuses is never billed. Full schedule including staker discounts: Fee schedule.

Does Crank ever hold my keys or my funds?¶

No. Crank is non-custodial by construction. No code path transmits, stores, or logs a private key or seed phrase. Every value-bearing tool call returns an unsigned transaction — or, for a venue-custodied perps venue, a signing payload — for the caller's own key to sign and broadcast. There is no deposit into a Crank-controlled account. Full mechanics: How AI agents trade non-custodially.

What are guardrails, and who enforces them?¶

A wallet policy the owner sets once — max_trade_size, daily_limit, approved_tokens / banned_tokens, position_limit, drawdown_limit, kill_switch — enforced server-side before every value-bearing action, including actions an autonomous agent initiates. Enforcement happens before the payment step, so a refused action is never billed. Provisioning and the full gate order: Authentication & x402.

Paper trading vs live trading¶

Paper trading uses real mainnet quotes with simulated fills on the identical tool surface as live execution — same guardrails, same journal. A strategy or agent graduates to live execution without any code change. Live execution still requires the owner's own wallet to sign every transaction.

Which venues does Crank route through?¶

Swaps route through Jupiter aggregation. Perpetuals route through a multi-venue adapter: Jupiter Perps (on-chain, non-custodial) is the configured primary; additional venues are gated behind admin-updatable feature flags and are not always available. A venue-custodied venue requires explicitly acknowledging a custody disclosure before it will execute on that venue. The venue and route are always returned before signing. See get_venue_status in the MCP tool reference.

How do AI agents trade on Solana non-custodially with Crank?¶

An agent connects to one MCP endpoint and gets a shared tool registry: quotes, swaps, perps, strategies, portfolio state, market intelligence, and a decision journal. Mutating tools return unsigned transactions — the agent never holds a key. Every value-bearing call passes a six-layer pre-execution gate, including the owner's wallet policy, before a transaction is even built. Full answer: How AI agents trade non-custodially.

Can an agent using Crank drain my wallet?¶

An agent using Crank never holds the owner's keys, so it cannot sign anything by itself. The platform also enforces the owner's wallet policy server-side on every agent-initiated action, and a constructed transaction is checked against a known-good program allow-list with anti-drainer checks as the final gate before it is returned for signing.

How do $CRANK staking discounts work?¶

Staking $CRANK against fixed, admin-updatable thresholds reduces the technology service fee: 10,000 $CRANK staked for a 10% discount, 100,000 for 25%, 500,000 for 50%. Paying the fee in $CRANK adds a further 15% discount that stacks multiplicatively, for a maximum combined discount of 57.5%. Staking confers fee discounts and tier access only — never ownership, dividend, or profit rights. Full schedule: Fee schedule.

Is there a free tier before I have to pay anything?¶

Yes. Every read tool is always free with no payment ever required. Each caller also gets a daily free-tier allowance of value-bearing calls before the payment gate activates; the response reports the remaining allowance while you are inside it. Full flow: Authentication & x402.

Fee and threshold figures on this page are indicative displays of the current on-chain, admin-updatable configuration and can change through governance updates; the values returned at call time are authoritative. Crank is a non-custodial technology provider, not a broker-dealer or investment adviser. Nothing on this page is financial advice or a promise of any outcome.