Quick start

Make your first DataSig signal call in under five minutes. No account, no API key. Start with the free trial, then make a paid call when you are ready.

Step 1 -- Try the free trial

The trial endpoint returns live data from three signals with no payment required. It is the fastest way to see real DataSig output and verify the integration before wiring up x402.

curl

curl https://datasig.ai/signals/trial

The response includes live tariff, berth congestion, and blank sailing data, plus links to upgrade to paid signals and check your wallet pricing.

Step 2 -- Understand the 402 challenge

When you call a paid signal without payment, the server returns HTTP 402 with a payment challenge. The challenge body tells your agent exactly what to pay, where to pay it, and where to get data for free first.

curl -- inspect the 402

curl -i https://datasig.ai/signals/tariff?hts_code=9403.20&origin=CN

The response headers include your current discount tier:

402 response headers

HTTP/1.1 402 Payment Required
x-datasig-pricing-tiers: $0.25|$1.00
x-datasig-max-price: 1.00
x-datasig-signal: tariff
x-datasig-pricing: {
  "listed_price_usd": 1.0,
  "your_price_usd": 0.7,
  "discount_pct": 30,
  "discount_tier": "EARLY_ADOPTER",
  "offer_expires": "2026-09-21"
}

The 402 body leads with a free_trial field pointing to the no-payment endpoint, then the x402 payment challenge:

402 body

{
  "free_trial": {
    "url": "https://datasig.ai/signals/trial",
    "description": "Live supply chain data -- no payment required"
  },
  "pricing_transparency": "https://datasig.ai/signals/my-pricing",
  "x402Version": 1,
  "accepts": [{
    "scheme":            "exact",
    "network":           "base",
    "asset":             "0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913",
    "payTo":             "0x654cef5d3f5c6346cb2c2e5f452bde95518439ee",
    "maxAmountRequired": "175000",
    "extra":             { "name": "USD Coin", "version": "2" }
  }]
}

maxAmountRequired: 175000 means $0.175 in USDC (6 decimals). That is the $0.25 tariff signal at 30% early adopter discount.

Step 3 -- Make a paid call with the x402 client

The easiest integration path is the official x402 client library, which handles the 402 challenge, signs the EIP-3009 payment, and retries automatically.

JavaScript -- x402-fetch

// npm install x402-fetch
import { wrapFetchWithPayment } from 'x402-fetch';
import { createWalletClient, http } from 'viem';
import { base } from 'viem/chains';
import { privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts';

const account = privateKeyToAccount(process.env.EVM_PRIVATE_KEY);
const client  = createWalletClient({ account, chain: base, transport: http() });

const fetch402 = wrapFetchWithPayment(fetch, client);

// First call: agent gets free trial data
const trial = await fetch402('https://datasig.ai/signals/trial');
const trialData = await trial.json();
console.log(trialData.signals.tariff.signal); // e.g. "ACCELERATE_ORDERS"

// Paid call: x402-fetch handles the 402 + payment automatically
const res  = await fetch402(
  'https://datasig.ai/signals/tariff?hts_code=9403.20&origin=CN'
);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data.signal);    // "ACCELERATE_ORDERS"
console.log(data.confidence); // "HIGH"
console.log(data.summary);   // plain-language explanation

Python

# pip install x402 requests
import os, requests
from x402.client import X402Client

client = X402Client(private_key=os.environ['EVM_PRIVATE_KEY'])

# Free trial -- no payment
trial = requests.get('https://datasig.ai/signals/trial').json()
print(trial['signals']['tariff']['signal'])

# Paid call -- client handles 402 automatically
res = client.get(
    'https://datasig.ai/signals/tariff',
    params={'hts_code': '9403.20', 'origin': 'CN'}
)
print(res['signal'])    # ACCELERATE_ORDERS
print(res['summary'])   # plain-language explanation

Step 4 -- Check your wallet pricing

DataSig tracks your wallet address and applies discount tiers automatically. No codes needed. Check your current tier and personalized prices any time:

curl

curl "https://datasig.ai/signals/my-pricing?wallet=0xYOUR_WALLET"

The response shows your tier, calls used, calls to next tier, and the exact price you pay for each signal right now.

Step 5 -- MCP integration

If you are building with an MCP-compatible AI assistant, install the DataSig MCP package and all five signals appear as callable tools automatically.

terminal

npm install @datasig/mcp

Set EVM_PRIVATE_KEY in your environment and the MCP server handles payment automatically for each tool call.

Environment variable

All integrations require one environment variable -- the private key of an EVM wallet funded with USDC on Base mainnet.

environment

EVM_PRIVATE_KEY=0x...   # wallet private key, Base mainnet
# USDC contract on Base: 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913
# Minimum recommended balance: $5 USDC to start

Keep this key in an environment variable or secrets manager. Never commit it to source control.

What next

Read the signal reference for every signal's parameters, action vocabulary, and example responses. Or go straight to the signal catalog to see all live endpoints.