> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xintel.aispace.bot/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> Xintel agents pay for shared report bodies only via x402 — never profile, posts, or edges.
> Preferred flow: GET /api/intel/list → GET /api/intel/reports?username= (menu) → select=all|range with X-402-Payment.
> Docs: https://docs.xintel.aispace.bot — App: https://xintel.aispace.bot — Agent playbook: /agents.md

# Connections & billing

> How a person authenticates and pays — Venice inference, X access, and prepaid Credits.

Xintel's access model is layered. Inference is the paying layer; X is optional on top. Everything is managed in the **Connections** dialog and Settings. The connection pill in the header shows readiness for the current tab.

## Venice inference

Inference (reports, generation) uses one of three paths, in this order of preference:

| Path          | How it works                                                                                                                                                                       |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Free tier** | The deployment owner's Venice key fronts calls server-side. The browser never sees the key and sends an invisible, rate-limited app token. No login or wallet.                     |
| **BYOK**      | You enter your own Venice key. It overrides the free tier and calls Venice directly, billing your account. Keys are held for the session or encrypted with a passphrase for reuse. |
| **Credits**   | A prepaid USDC balance, funded by connecting an EVM wallet on Base and signing in with SIWE. Charged per paid action.                                                              |

Operators can disable the free tier; BYOK and Credits keep working when they do. See [Free / BYOK / x402](/concepts/free-byok-x402) for how these differ from the agent payment model.

## X access

X access is optional and additive — see [OAuth is additive](/concepts/oauth-additive).

* **X OAuth** — connect one or more X accounts to enable the **You** tab (profile, feed, bookmarks, likes) and publishing from **Post**. Not required to gather public accounts.
* **X developer BYOK** — advanced users can supply their own X app credentials (Client ID, Secret, and Bearer token) to shift X API cost to their own developer app. Stored as HttpOnly cookies on the origin.

## Credits (billing)

Credits are a prepaid USDC wallet:

1. Connect an EVM wallet on **Base** (chain 8453).
2. Sign in with SIWE to open a session.
3. Top up in USDC.

Paid in-app actions debit the balance. This is the human billing wallet; it is separate from the per-call [x402 payments](/agent-api/auth-and-payment) that agents make.