Quickstart

From zero to a signed contract

Pick a side. Both paths assume you already have an AT Protocol identity — a DID and a PDS that will hold your records. The fastest way is with the CLI tools — request-vm-ssh for the requester side and hono-bidder for the provider side — each automates the full flow in one process.

I need compute I have machines

Don't want to run a PDS and watch the firehose yourself? The Gateway service does steps 1–4 behind one XRPC call. See the gateway →

Automated path (recommended)

Run the requester CLI

One command provisions the machine, collects bids, signs the accept, waits for SSH readiness, and drops you into a shell — everything steps 1-4 below, automated.

$ deno run -A jsr:@publicdomainrelay/request-vm-ssh \
    --bid-window-sec 60 \
    --vm-ready-timeout-sec 300

# Or with OAuth (Bluesky handle login):
$ deno run -A jsr:@publicdomainrelay/request-vm-ssh \
    --atproto-oauth \
    --atproto-handle user.bsky.social \
    --bid-window-sec 60

# Or QR-based OAuth (headless, scan with phone):
$ deno run -A jsr:@publicdomainrelay/request-vm-ssh \
    --atproto-oauth-qr \
    --bid-window-sec 60

Options: --bid-window-sec (default 30), --vm-ready-timeout-sec (default 300), --keep-vm (skip cleanup), --exec (run program instead of shell), --user-data (custom cloud-init), --policy-mode only-me|mutuals|tangled-vouch|dynamic, --bidder-dids (allowlist), --deny-bidder-dids (blocklist), --relay-url. Config: CONFIG_PATH_REQUEST_VM_SSH env or config.json.

Step 1 (manual)

Describe the machine

Write a compute.vm record — cpus, mem, disk, network, a role and, if you need it, cloud-init user data.

$ atproto record create \
    --collection com.publicdomainrelay.temp.compute.vm \
    --record vm.yaml

cpus: 2
mem: 4G
disk: 40G
role: ml-inference-worker

Step 2 (manual)

Publish the RFP

Wrap a strong reference to the VM record in a market.rfp and publish it. The firehose carries it to every provider watching.

$ atproto record create \
    --collection com.publicdomainrelay.temp.market.rfp \
    --record rfp.yaml

payload:
  uri: at://did:plc:you/compute.vm/3mm3d
  cid: bafyrei...vm

Step 3 (manual)

Wait, score, accept

Let the bid window run, apply your policy (lowest cost by default), then sign a market.accept and call the winning provider's endpoint.

$ atproto record create \
    --collection com.publicdomainrelay.temp.market.accept \
    --record accept.yaml

$ curl -X POST https://bob.example/xrpc/submitAccept \
    -d @accept.yaml

Step 4 (manual)

Get your receipt

The provider provisions the machine and mints a market.receipt anchoring the whole chain. That's your proof of settlement.

Verify any receipt yourself — check the NSID, the author DID, and that the CIDs bind straight through.

Automated path (recommended)

Run the bidder CLI

One process subscribes to the firehose, watches for RFPs, places bids, accepts winning contracts, and provisions VMs — everything steps 1-4 below, automated.

# Local container provider (default)
$ deno run -A jsr:@publicdomainrelay/hono-bidder \
    --compute-provider-local \
    --policy-mode only-me

# DigitalOcean provider
$ deno run -A jsr:@publicdomainrelay/hono-bidder \
    --compute-provider-digitalocean-token $DO_TOKEN \
    --policy-mode only-me

# Deno worker provider (no VM, run untrusted code)
$ deno run -A jsr:@publicdomainrelay/hono-bidder \
    --compute-provider-deno-worker \
    --policy-mode only-me

# OAuth login (Bluesky handle)
$ deno run -A jsr:@publicdomainrelay/hono-bidder \
    --atproto-oauth \
    --atproto-handle provider.bsky.social \
    --compute-provider-local

Options: --policy-mode only-me|mutuals|tangled-vouch|dynamic, --compute-provider-local-mode vm|container, --compute-provider-local-vm-image, --serve-port (default 0=random), --offering-refresh-sec (default 300), --no-qr. Config: CONFIG_PATH_HONO_BIDDER env or config.json.

Step 1 (manual)

Pick a policy, then watch the firehose

Choose who's even allowed to reach you — only_me, a Bluesky-mutual or Tangled-vouch network, or a remote policy server — then subscribe to the relay and filter commits for market.rfp records that match your fleet.

ws.subscribe('com.atproto.sync.subscribeRepos')
  .filter(nsid === 'market.rfp')
  .on('commit', (rfp) => considerBidding(rfp))

Step 2 (manual)

Price it, bid it

Publish a market.bids.x402 payload, then a market.bid that binds it to the RFP.

$ atproto record create \
    --collection com.publicdomainrelay.temp.market.bids.x402 \
    --record pricing.yaml
$ atproto record create \
    --collection com.publicdomainrelay.temp.market.bid \
    --record bid.yaml