Glossary of Terms
Definitions and explanations of indie.money platform terminology
Written By pvdyck
Last updated 6 days ago
indie.money - Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition | Context/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Builder | A developer who builds, registers, and monetizes agents. | Supply side. "Build Agents". |
| Producer | A business operator who deploys Builder agents, configures them for a niche, and publishes them as AI services — consumable by humans or other agents via x402. | Demand side. "Produce AI Services". |
| Agent | An autonomous task executor (e.g., Sales, Ops, Support) built by a Builder. Synonymous with "Workflow" in technical contexts. | "Tasks That Run Themselves". Marketing term for user-facing communications. |
| Workflow | Technical term for an Agent. The n8n automation definition containing nodes and connections. | Used in code and technical documentation. Equivalent to "Agent" in business contexts. |
| Node | An individual n8n component within a workflow (e.g., Set, If, Code, HTTP Request). NOT an Agent. | Technical building block. Multiple nodes compose a workflow/agent. |
| Publish | The process of a Builder publishing an agent on the blockchain marketplace via a single EIP-712 signature. The worker atomically stores the workflow YAML in KV and deploys the ServiceNFT contract. | "Publish Your Agent". Previously called "Register", originally "Mint". |
| Deploy | The action taken by a Producer to acquire an agent for their business (purchase). | "Deploy proven agents". |
| Turn On | Activate a deployed agent instance so it can receive triggers and run. Registers webhooks at external providers. | "Turn on your agent". |
| Turn Off | Deactivate a running agent instance. Deregisters webhooks at external providers. Reversible — turn on again anytime. | "Turn off your agent". |
| Go Live | Connect an agent to the outside world by registering a webhook endpoint. External services (Telegram, Slack, etc.) can then trigger the agent automatically. | "Go live — connect your agent to the world". |
| Run | A single execution of an agent. | "Every execution". |
| Purchase Price | A one-time flat fee set by the Builder that a Producer pays to acquire the agent. | e.g. "$19 one-time". |
| Run Fee | A recurring royalty fee set by the Builder, paid by the Producer for each execution. | e.g. "$0.02/run". |
| API Cost | The direct cost of underlying AI inference (e.g., OpenAI). Subject to API Cost Multiplier when using Builder-provided credentials (0-300%). | "AI tokens at cost — zero markup" (for pass-through). See CREDENTIALS.md for multiplier system. |
| Platform Fee | A fixed fee charged by indie.money per run to cover infrastructure and service. | Currently $0.0001/run (flat fee, NOT percentage-based). |
| Withdrawal Fee | A percentage fee deducted from a Builder's earnings upon withdrawal. | "10% on withdrawal". |
| Protocol | The underlying system and standard ("indie.money") that facilitates the marketplace and execution. | "Protocol indie.money". |
| n8n-compatible | A technical standard indicating that agents can be built using n8n and imported. | "Compatible with n8n". |
| Instance | A purchased copy of a workflow, represented by an NFT (ERC-721). | "Your Agent". |
| inUSD | Platform stablecoin (pegged 1:1 to USDC on entry) used for all internal transactions. | "Credits". |
| Circuit Breaker | Safety mechanism that stops execution if costs exceed the user-defined maximum. | "Cost Protection". |
| Batch Settlement | Gas-saving mechanism that aggregates many execution payments into single blockchain transactions. | "Optimized Billing". |
| Budget | Prepaid inUSD balance used to pay for workflow executions. Debited per run. | "Fund your budget to run agents." |
| Max Run Fee | Cost ceiling set by Builder at registration. Circuit breaker stops execution if exceeded. | maxExecutionPrice in contracts. |
| API Cost Multiplier | Percentage (0-300%) Builders apply to API costs when using BYOK. 0%=absorb, 100%=pass-through, 300%=maximum markup. | Configured per credential. |
| BYOK | Bring Your Own Keys. Producer provides their own API credentials instead of using Builder's. | Reduces dependency on Builder keys. |
| Revenue Share | Builders receive 100% of execution revenue. On withdrawal to USDC, 10% platform fee applies. | Compare: Apple 70/30, indie.money 100% creator revenue + 10% withdrawal fee only. |
| Service Composition | A caller workflow invoking a callee workflow via Execute Workflow node. Callee runs through full billing pipeline independently. | "Workflow-to-workflow calls". |
| Caller | A workflow that uses the Execute Workflow node to invoke another workflow (callee). | The outer workflow in service composition. |
| Callee | A workflow invoked by a caller via its registered webhook URL. Uses ExecuteWorkflowTrigger as entry point. | The inner workflow in service composition. |
| Webhook Registry | KV reverse index mapping instance:{chainId}:{address}:{tokenId} to webhook paths. Written during credential activation (/credentials/complete), read by Execute Workflow node to resolve callees and by webhook handler for registration lookup. | WEBHOOK_REGISTRY_KV binding. |
| x402 | HTTP payment protocol enabling per-request USDC payments. Agents deployed by Producers can be consumed externally via x402 — by humans or other AI agents. Webhooks without prepaid billing automatically require x402 (HTTP 402 response with payment requirements). | "Pay-per-request". |
| Prepaid | Billing path where the webhook owner funds a budget via EIP-712 signature. All callers are served from the owner's budget. | "Owner-pays billing". |
| webhook | An HTTP callback triggered by specific events. Used to start agents automatically when external services send data to a registered URL. | "Trigger your agent from any service". |
| API | Application Programming Interface. A set of protocols for building and integrating software. In indie.money, APIs enable external services (OpenAI, Telegram) to communicate with agents. | "Service integration layer". |
| USDC | USD Coin. A regulated stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US Dollar on the Base blockchain. Used for withdrawals and external transactions. | "Real dollars out". |
| EIP-712 | Ethereum Improvement Proposal 712. A standard for typed structured data signing that enables users to sign human-readable messages instead of raw hexadecimal. Used for budget funding and authentication. | "Safer transaction signing". |
| ERC-721 | Ethereum Request for Comment 721. The standard for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Each agent instance is represented as an ERC-721 token proving ownership. | "NFT standard for ownership". |
| NFT | Non-Fungible Token. A unique digital token on a blockchain that represents ownership. Each deployed agent is an NFT. | "Proof of ownership". |
| KV | Key-Value Storage. Cloudflare's fast distributed storage system used for workflow data, execution logs, and credential references. | "Off-chain data storage". |
| QuickJS | A lightweight JavaScript engine running in a WebAssembly sandbox. Executes user code in Code/Function nodes with strict security constraints. | "Secure code execution". |
| Durable Object | Cloudflare's stateful compute primitive that provides coordinated, consistent storage with real-time updates via Server-Sent Events (SSE). | "Real-time data broadcasts". |
| SSE | Server-Sent Events. A browser API enabling servers to push real-time updates to clients. Used for live execution status and balance updates. | "Live updates in your browser". |
| Gasless | Transactions that don't require users to hold cryptocurrency or pay gas fees. The platform relayer handles gas costs; users only sign the transaction intent. | "No crypto needed". |
| EIP-3009 | Ethereum Improvement Proposal 3009. A standard for payment streaming and delegated transfers that allows gasless token spending via authorization signatures. | "Gasless payments". |
| Credential Priority | Resolution order for API keys: Producer (Tier 1) → Builder (Tier 2) → Platform (Tier 3). Producer keys always override. | "Your keys first, then Builder's, then Platform's". |
| Sandbox | An isolated execution environment that restricts what code can do (no network, no file access, limited memory). Protects the platform from malicious workflows. | "Security isolation". |
| Testnet | A blockchain network for testing that uses tokens with no real value. Allows risk-free experimentation. | "Practice mode". |
| Mainnet | The production blockchain network with real value. | "Live with real money". |
| Base | A Layer 2 blockchain network by Coinbase built on Ethereum. indie.money uses Base Sepolia (testnet) and Base (mainnet). | "Fast, low-cost transactions". |
| Solidity | The programming language used for writing smart contracts on Ethereum and compatible blockchains like Base. | "Smart contract language". |
| Subscription | Recurring 30-day payment model where Producers pay a fixed monthly fee for unlimited agent executions. Alternative to per-execution billing. | "Monthly access". |
| ERC-5643 | Subscription NFT standard. Adds renewSubscription(), cancelSubscription(), and expiresAt() to ERC-721 tokens. Built into ServiceNFT. | "Subscription standard". |
| ERC-6551 | Token Bound Accounts standard. Each NFT gets a deterministic smart contract wallet address via CREATE2, used to hold agent budget. | "NFT wallet standard". |
| Token Bound Account (TBA) | A smart contract wallet scoped to a specific NFT tokenId. On indie.money, each agent instance's budget (InUSD) is held in its TBA. | "Agent Wallet". |
| Agent Wallet | User-facing name for the ERC-6551 Token Bound Account that holds an agent instance's InUSD budget. Displayed on service cards. | "Your agent's balance". |
| ERC-8004 | Machine-readable agent card standard. A JSON endpoint declaring an agent's skills, pricing, and input/output modes for agent-to-agent discovery. | "Agent discovery standard". |
| Agent Card | A JSON document served at /api/v1/services/:address/agent-card.json that exposes an agent's capabilities in ERC-8004 format. Enables autonomous agent-to-agent discovery. | "Machine-readable agent profile". |
| Cover Image | Optional image (PNG, JPEG, or WebP, min 200×200px) that Builders upload when publishing an agent. Displayed on marketplace cards and service detail pages. Stored in R2. | "Agent thumbnail". |
| ServicePass | ERC-1155 multi-pass NFT. Builders burn passes to list or boost agents. Types: Listing Pass (list on marketplace) and Feature Pass (featured row). | "Marketplace access passes". |
| Listing Pass | ServicePass type 0 ($2.99). Required to list an agent on the marketplace. One-time burn per listing. | "Pay to list". |
| Feature Pass | ServicePass type 1 ($1.99/day). Burn to boost an agent into the Featured row. Days stack. | "Boost your agent". |
| Featured Listing | Boosted agent shown in the Featured row on the marketplace. Ranked by remaining days. Expires automatically. | "Promoted placement". |
| Auto-Delist | Automatic marketplace removal for agents earning below $10 in any 30-day rolling window after 30 consecutive days below threshold. | "Performance enforcement". |
| Unlisted | A service hidden from marketplace browse but still purchasable via its direct URL. Controlled by the Builder's pause/unpause action. | "Steam unlisted games" model. |
| Public Profile | Read-only creator page at /profile/[address] showing ENS identity, stats, and published agents. No wallet required to view. | "Creator portfolio". |
| DashboardSession | EIP-712 signed session for authenticated dashboard queries. Cached in localStorage, auto-renews on expiry. | "Signed dashboard auth". |
| Referral Code | A unique, shareable link that Builders generate from their profile page to invite new users. | "Share your link". |
| Builder Starter Kit | Reward for referred users on first $10+ deposit: 2 Listing Passes + 1 Feature Pass. Referrers receive 1 Listing + 1 Feature Pass. | "Welcome bonus". |
| Vanity URL | Custom referral URL (e.g., /r/alice) as alternative to the default referral code. First-come, first-served. | "Branded referral link". |