Fund Command

Transfer Conway credits to automatons

The fund command transfers Conway credits using your automaton’s API key. This is useful for funding other automatons or topping up your own credits.

Usage

automaton-cli fund <amount> [--to <address>]

Arguments

amount · string · required

Amount to transfer. Can be specified as:

• Dollars (e.g. 5.00, 10.50)
• Cents for values >= 100 (e.g. 500 = $5.00)

Options

--to · address

Destination address. If omitted, transfers to the automaton’s own address (self-funding).

Examples

Self-Fund (Top Up Own Credits)

automaton-cli fund 5.00

Transfers $5.00 to your automaton’s own address.

Fund Another Automaton

automaton-cli fund 10.00 --to 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e

Transfers $10.00 to the specified address.

Fund Using Cents

automaton-cli fund 500 --to 0xabc...def

Transfers 500 cents ($5.00) to the target address.

Output

Successful Transfer

Transfer submitted.
From key:  ca75...e3f2
To:        0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e
Amount:    $10.00 (1000 cents)
Status:    submitted
Transfer:  txn_abc123xyz
Balance:   $45.50 after transfer

Transfer Failed

Credit transfer failed (/v1/credits/transfer): 402: Insufficient balance

How It Works

1. Loads Configuration - Reads Conway API key from ~/.automaton/config.json
2. Parses Amount - Converts amount to cents (integers >= 100 are treated as cents, otherwise as dollars)
3. Determines Destination - Uses --to address or falls back to automaton’s own address
4. Calls Conway API - POSTs to /v1/credits/transfer or /v1/credits/transfers endpoint
5. Reports Result - Shows transfer ID, status, and remaining balance

Amount Parsing

The amount parser follows these rules:

• Integers >= 100: Treated as cents

  • 500 → 500 cents ($5.00)
  • 1000 → 1000 cents ($10.00)

• Decimals or integers < 100: Treated as dollars

  • 5.00 → 500 cents ($5.00)
  • 10.50 → 1050 cents ($10.50)
  • 5 → 500 cents ($5.00)

Response Fields

From key · string

Masked API key (first 4 and last 4 characters visible)

To · address

Destination Ethereum address

Amount · string

Transfer amount in dollars and cents

Status · string

Transfer status (typically “submitted”)

Transfer · string

Unique transfer ID for tracking

Balance · string

Remaining balance after transfer (if provided by API)

Error Cases

Missing Amount

$ automaton-cli fund

Usage: automaton-cli fund <amount> [--to 0x...]
Examples:
  automaton-cli fund 5.00
  automaton-cli fund 500 --to 0xabc...

No Configuration

$ automaton-cli fund 5.00
No automaton configuration found.

Solution: Run automaton --setup first.

No API Key

$ automaton-cli fund 5.00
No Conway API key found in automaton config.

Solution: Run automaton --provision to get an API key.

Invalid Amount

$ automaton-cli fund invalid
Invalid amount: invalid

Solution: Provide a valid number (e.g. 5.00 or 500).

Insufficient Balance

Credit transfer failed: 402: Insufficient balance

Solution: Top up your Conway credits first.

API Endpoints

The command tries two endpoints in order:

1. /v1/credits/transfer (primary)
2. /v1/credits/transfers (fallback)

If the first returns 404, it tries the second. This ensures compatibility with different API versions.

Use Cases

Emergency Credit Top-Up

If your automaton is in “dead” state, fund it to resume:

automaton-cli fund 10.00

Fund a Child Automaton

automaton-cli fund 5.00 --to 0x<child-address>

Batch Funding Script

#!/bin/bash
for agent in 0xaaa... 0xbbb... 0xccc...; do
  automaton-cli fund 5.00 --to $agent
  sleep 1
done

Related Commands

Status

Check automaton balance and state

Run

Start the automaton after funding