Mandate SKILL Reference

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Quick Reference

Key	Value
Base URL	`https://app.mandate.md/api`
Auth header	`Authorization: Bearer <MANDATE_RUNTIME_KEY>`
Content-Type	`application/json`
Live key prefix	`mndt_live_...` (mainnet)
Test key prefix	`mndt_test_...` (testnet)
Credential file	`~/.mandate/credentials.json`
Non-custodial	Private keys never leave your machine

Mandatory Security Rules

These rules are non-negotiable. Violating any of them is a security breach, not a simplification.

Call /validate before EVERY transaction. No exceptions.
If allowed: false, do NOT execute. Display the blockReason to the user.
If the API is unreachable, do NOT execute. Do NOT fall back to the wallet directly.
Display validation results to the user BEFORE any wallet call.
Even with custodial wallets, validate with Mandate BEFORE calling the wallet API.
Skipping validation bypasses spend limits, allowlists, and approval workflows the owner configured.

Fail-Safe Behavior

When the Mandate API is unreachable:

Do NOT execute the transaction.
Do NOT fall back to calling the wallet API directly.
Display: Mandate: policy server unreachable, transaction halted for safety
Retry up to 3 times at 30-second intervals.
If all retries fail: Cannot execute until policy server recovers. No funds were spent.

Primary Endpoint: POST /validate

Policy check before every transaction. Works with any wallet type (custodial or self-custodial).

curl -X POST https://app.mandate.md/api/validate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MANDATE_RUNTIME_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"action":"swap","reason":"Swap 0.1 ETH for USDC","amount":"50","to":"0xAlice"}'

Parameters

Field	Required	Description
`action`	Yes	What you are doing: `transfer`, `swap`, `buy`, `bridge`, `stake`, `bet` (free text)
`reason`	Yes	Why you are doing it (max 1000 chars). Scanned for prompt injection.
`amount`	No	USD value (assumes stablecoins)
`to`	No	Recipient address (checked against allowlist)
`token`	No	Token address

Response

{ "allowed": true, "intentId": "...", "action": "swap", "requiresApproval": false }

All policy checks apply: circuit breaker, schedule, allowlist, spend limits, daily/monthly quotas, reason scanner. Every call is logged to the audit trail. For full endpoint documentation, see POST /validate.

Registration: POST /agents/register

No auth required. Creates an agent identity and returns credentials.

curl -X POST https://app.mandate.md/api/agents/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"MyAgent","evmAddress":"0xYourAddress","chainId":84532}'

Response

{
  "runtimeKey": "mndt_test_...",
  "agentId": "...",
  "claimUrl": "https://app.mandate.md/claim/..."
}

Display the claimUrl to the human owner so they can link the agent to their dashboard. Store runtimeKey in ~/.mandate/credentials.json with chmod 600. Agents use POST /agents/register, not dashboard login. Dashboard login is for humans only. For details, see Register an Agent.

Activation: POST /activate

Set the EVM address for a registered agent. Call once after registration. Requires auth.

curl -X POST https://app.mandate.md/api/activate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MANDATE_RUNTIME_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"evmAddress":"0xYourAddress"}'

Status Polling: GET /intents/{id}/status

Poll the state of a validated intent.

curl https://app.mandate.md/api/intents/{intentId}/status \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MANDATE_RUNTIME_KEY"

For approval flows, poll until approved, then proceed. See Handle Approvals.

Validation Flow

POST /validate with action + reason        (policy check)
Execute via your wallet (Bankr, Locus, etc.)  (only if allowed: true)
Done.

Error Handling

HTTP Status Codes

Status	Meaning	Common Cause
400	Bad Request	Missing or invalid fields
401	Unauthorized	Missing or invalid runtime key
403	Forbidden	Circuit breaker active
404	Not Found	Intent not found
409	Conflict	Duplicate intentHash or wrong status
410	Gone	Approval expired
422	Policy Blocked	Validation failed (see `blockReason`)
429	Rate Limited	Too many requests, back off and retry
500	Server Error	Transient, retry later

All errors return JSON: { "error": "message" } or { "allowed": false, "blockReason": "..." } For error handling guidance, see Handle Errors and Common Errors.

SDK Error Types

import {
  PolicyBlockedError,      // err.blockReason, err.detail, err.declineMessage
  ApprovalRequiredError,   // err.intentId, err.approvalId
  CircuitBreakerError,     // Agent circuit-broken, reset via dashboard
  RiskBlockedError,        // err.blockReason -> "aegis_critical_risk"
} from '@mandate.md/sdk';

Block Reason Values

Value	Meaning
`circuit_breaker_active`	Agent is circuit-broken (dashboard to reset)
`no_active_policy`	No policy set (visit dashboard)
`intent_hash_mismatch`	Client hash does not match server recompute (raw validate only)
`gas_limit_exceeded`	Gas too high per policy
`value_wei_exceeded`	Native ETH value too high
`outside_schedule`	Outside allowed hours/days
`address_not_allowed`	Recipient not in allowlist
`selector_blocked`	Function selector is blocked
`per_tx_limit_exceeded`	Amount exceeds per-tx USD limit
`daily_quota_exceeded`	Daily USD limit reached
`monthly_quota_exceeded`	Monthly USD limit reached
`reason_blocked`	Prompt injection detected in reason field
`aegis_critical_risk`	Transaction flagged as CRITICAL risk by security scanner

For the full reference, see Block Reasons.

Intent States

State	Description	Expiry
`allowed`	Validated via `/validate`	24 hours
`reserved`	Raw validated, waiting for broadcast	15 min
`approval_pending`	Requires owner approval via dashboard	1 hour
`approved`	Owner approved, broadcast window open	10 min
`broadcasted`	Tx sent, waiting for on-chain receipt	none
`confirmed`	On-chain confirmed, quota committed	none
`failed`	Reverted, dropped, policy violation, or envelope mismatch	none
`expired`	Not broadcast in time, quota released	none

For the full lifecycle, see Intent Lifecycle and Intent States.

Chain Reference

Test keys (mndt_test_*): Sepolia (11155111), Base Sepolia (84532). Live keys (mndt_live_*): Ethereum (1), Base (8453).

Chain	Chain ID	USDC Address	Decimals
Ethereum	1	`0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48`	6
Sepolia	11155111	`0x1c7D4B196Cb0C7B01d743Fbc6116a902379C7238`	6
Base	8453	`0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913`	6
Base Sepolia	84532	`0x036CbD53842c5426634e7929541eC2318f3dCF7e`	6

For the full reference, see Chain Reference.

Default Policy

After registration, every agent gets:

Setting	Default
Per-transaction limit	$100
Daily limit	$1,000
Address restrictions	None (all allowed)
Approval required	No

Adjust policies via the dashboard or Policy Builder.

Tool-to-Endpoint Map

CLI Command	Method	Path
`mandate login`	POST	`/api/agents/register`
`mandate activate <address>`	POST	`/api/activate`
`mandate validate`	POST	`/api/validate`
`mandate validate-raw`	POST	`/api/validate/raw` (deprecated)
`mandate event <id> --tx-hash 0x...`	POST	`/api/intents/{id}/events`
`mandate status <id>`	GET	`/api/intents/{id}/status`
`mandate approve <id>`	GET	`/api/intents/{id}/status` (poll)
`mandate scan [dir]`	local	Scan codebase for unprotected wallet calls
`mandate --llms`	local	Machine-readable command manifest
`mandate --mcp`	local	Start as MCP stdio server

For CLI installation and usage, see CLI Overview.

The reason Field

Every validation call requires a reason string (max 1000 chars). This is what session keys cannot capture: the intent behind a transaction. Mandate uses the reason to:

Scan for prompt injection (18 hardcoded patterns + optional LLM judge)
Return a declineMessage on block to counter manipulation
Show it to the owner on approval requests (Slack, Telegram, dashboard)
Log it in the audit trail permanently

For details, see The reason Field and Prompt Injection Defense.

Integration Plugins

For platforms with hook support, use the plugin instead of raw API calls. Plugins enforce validation automatically.

Platform	Install	Docs
OpenClaw	`openclaw plugins install @mandate.md/mandate-openclaw-plugin`	OpenClaw
Claude Code	`claude plugin:install claude-mandate-plugin`	Claude Code
GOAT SDK	`@mandate.md/goat-plugin`	GOAT SDK
AgentKit	`@mandate.md/agentkit-provider`	AgentKit
ElizaOS	`@mandate.md/eliza-plugin`	ElizaOS

For all integrations, see Integrations Overview.

Raw Source

The canonical machine-readable version of this reference is available at:

https://app.mandate.md/SKILL.md

Compatible with any agent framework that consumes SKILL.md files.

Reference Tables

More

Mandate SKILL Reference

Quick Reference

Mandatory Security Rules

Fail-Safe Behavior

Primary Endpoint: POST /validate

Parameters

Response

Registration: POST /agents/register

Response

Activation: POST /activate

Status Polling: GET /intents/{id}/status

Validation Flow

Error Handling

HTTP Status Codes

SDK Error Types

Block Reason Values

Intent States

Chain Reference

Default Policy

Tool-to-Endpoint Map

The reason Field

Integration Plugins

Raw Source

Reference Tables

More

​Quick Reference

​Mandatory Security Rules

​Fail-Safe Behavior

​Primary Endpoint: POST /validate

​Parameters

​Response

​Registration: POST /agents/register

​Response

​Activation: POST /activate

​Status Polling: GET /intents/{id}/status

​Validation Flow

​Error Handling

​HTTP Status Codes

​SDK Error Types

​Block Reason Values

​Intent States

​Chain Reference

​Default Policy

​Tool-to-Endpoint Map

​The reason Field

​Integration Plugins

​Raw Source

Quick Reference

Mandatory Security Rules

Fail-Safe Behavior

Primary Endpoint: POST /validate

Parameters

Response

Registration: POST /agents/register

Response

Activation: POST /activate

Status Polling: GET /intents/{id}/status

Validation Flow

Error Handling

HTTP Status Codes

SDK Error Types

Block Reason Values

Intent States

Chain Reference

Default Policy

Tool-to-Endpoint Map

The reason Field

Integration Plugins

Raw Source