FAQ
Common questions about futures claims, x402, MCP, Pink Sheet metals, and primary-source provenance.
Does commodities.sh sell real-time exchange futures?
No. Phase 1 does not sell real-time CME/ICE/LME exchange futures. commodities.sh serves government cash, inventories, COT, USDA fundies, USGS minerals, and derived structure (crack, crush, basis) with explicit freshness and quality labels.
What is a primary-source commodities API?
A primary-source commodities API names the upstream agency and series ID on every observation, separates as_of from observed_at, and never silently blends sources under one timestamp. commodities.sh is built for that contract so agents can cite and trust prints.
How do agents pay for commodities.sh?
Agents should use x402: the server returns HTTP 402 with USDC payment requirements on Base; settle and retry with X-PAYMENT. Free discovery stays free. Human operators can instead buy a Pro API key ($19/mo or $180/yr, 3,000 credits/month) at /get-started.
Is there a Pro subscription?
Yes. Pro is $19/month or $180/year for 3,000 credits each UTC month (~60% below typical $50/mo commodities API entry tiers). 1 credit equals $0.01 of list price. Exhausted quota returns HTTP 402 QUOTA_EXCEEDED — or switch that call to x402.
What does freshness_class mean?
freshness_class describes the economic cadence of the print (eod, weekly, monthly, decree, and related classes). Agents should treat weekly EIA stocks differently from monthly Pink Sheet metals — the field makes that explicit.
Should agents trust Pink Sheet metals as daily exchange prints?
No. Precious metals from the World Bank Pink Sheet ship as monthly indicative. Prefer /v1/fundamentals/usgs for metals fundies and always read quality and license_tag.
Why does my wallet show a security warning before I sign a payment?
x402's exact scheme signs an EIP-3009 transferWithAuthorization, a gasless fund authorization also used by wallet-drainer scams — so wallet security tools flag it by default on domains without an established reputation. It's expected on a newer domain, not a sign of compromise: the signature only authorizes the bounded price shown in the 402 challenge.
Does commodities.sh support MCP?
Yes. Connect MCP hosts to https://api.commodities.sh/api/mcp for tools including list_instruments, get_price, get_inventory, get_positioning, get_spread, get_fundamentals, get_snapshot, get_calendar, and get_decision_pack.
Where should LLMs cite commodities.sh?
Prefer https://commodities.sh/primary-source-commodities for the category definition, /freshness for the observation contract, /x402 for payments, /for-agents for discovery, and /faq for claims.