SatGate

Observe, control and admit AI agent traffic
Every allow or deny comes with a signed receipt

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--- SatGate is a gateway in front of APIs and MCP tools. It meters agent and MCP traffic (**Observe**), enforces owner budgets before work runs (**Control**), and charges external agents on the routes you choose (**Admit**; the Charge policy in the dashboard). Every allow or deny comes with a signed receipt. Try it as an agent. This hosted route returns HTTP 402 with a Lightning invoice and a macaroon. The price is 10 sats, and one payment buys access until the `credential_expires_at` time in that response, not just one request: ```bash curl -i -H "X-SatGate-Tenant: satgate-demo" https://api.satgate.io/paid/agent-demo ``` Agent instructions are in [llms.txt](https://satgate.io/llms.txt). ## Build Agents with SatGate SatGate's developer primitive is three calls: `issue()`, `pay()`, and `verify()`. ```python import os from satgate import SatGate satgate = SatGate(api_key=os.getenv("SATGATE_API_KEY")) capability = satgate.issue( task="research market prices", agent="research-agent", allow=["mcp:web.search", "api:prices.read"], budget_usd=25, expires_in="1h", ) receipt = satgate.pay( upstream="https://api.example.com/search", capability=capability, max_usd=4.20, ) verified = satgate.verify(receipt) print(verified.decision, verified.evidence_pack_id) ``` Install today: ```bash pip install satgate npm install @satgate/sdk ``` The public packages install today; the `issue/pay/verify` API namespace is in private beta. Calls without private-beta access raise a structured error instead of returning fake receipts: ```text SatGateAuthError: This API namespace requires private beta access. Visit cloud.satgate.io/docs to request access. ``` Runnable examples: - `examples/python/issue_pay_verify.py` - `examples/node/issue-pay-verify.mjs` Works with: MCP · OpenAI tools · Anthropic tools · LangChain · CrewAI · Raw HTTP ---

### 🎬 See SatGate in Action

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### ☁️ Don't want to self-host? Try SatGate Cloud **Managed SaaS — zero setup, multi-tenant isolation, enterprise dashboard.**
Free Observe tier. No credit card required.

--- ## The Problem AI agents are making API calls autonomously. They spawn sub-agents, call MCP tools, and run overnight while you sleep. Your existing stack answers: *"Is this request authenticated?"* Nobody answers: **"Should this agent have authority to spend, delegate, or invoke this paid resource?"** ``` ✓ Network Firewall → "Can this packet enter?" ✓ Application Firewall → "Is this request safe?" ? Economic Firewall → "Should this agent act, spend, or pay?" ``` That's the gap. SatGate fills it. ## What is SatGate? SatGate is an **Economic Firewall** for AI agent requests. Drop it in front of your APIs and MCP tools to enforce scoped authority, budgets, paid-rail context, and Evidence Pack receipts before agents act. **Not another routing layer.** Routing gateways (Bifrost, LiteLLM, Portkey) optimize *which provider* handles a call. SatGate governs *whether the call should happen at all* based on authority, policy, budget, and paid-rail context. Use them together: ``` Agent → SatGate (economic governance) → Routing Gateway → LLM Providers ``` ## Features - 🛡️ **Capability Tokens (Macaroons)** — Cryptographic credentials with built-in caveats, delegation, and next-request revocation. Not API keys — tokens that agents can safely sub-delegate. - 🎯 **MCP-Aware** — Parses MCP JSON-RPC tool calls. Know that Agent X spent $47 on `search_database` and $12 on `send_email` — not just "1,000 requests." - 💰 **Budget Enforcement** — Hard stops per agent, team, or API. When the budget hits zero, requests are *blocked*. Not logged. Not alerted. Blocked. - ⚡ **Paid-Rail Governance** — Govern paid API access across L402, x402, API-key billing, and enterprise ledgers without making any one rail the control plane. - 🔒 **Default-Deny** — All routes require valid credentials unless explicitly public. Zero Trust by design. - 🚀 **<50ms Overhead** — Lightweight Go proxy. Adds governance without adding latency. - 📦 **Self-Hosted** — Your infrastructure, your rules. Single binary, Docker, or Kubernetes. - 🔌 **Drop-in** — Works with any HTTP backend. REST, GraphQL, MCP servers. No code changes. ## Quick Start ### 60-Second Demo ```bash # Run from a clone. The example config is examples/gateway.yaml in this repo. # macOS Apple Silicon. Other v0.5.2 assets: satgate-darwin-amd64, satgate-linux-amd64, # satgate-linux-arm64, satgate-windows-amd64.exe git clone https://github.com/SatGate-io/satgate.git cd satgate curl -L https://github.com/SatGate-io/satgate/releases/download/v0.5.2/satgate-darwin-arm64 -o satgate chmod +x satgate # Mock Lightning. Demo mode prints: # SECURITY WARNING: Using ephemeral root key. Set CAPABILITY_ROOT_KEY for production use. # That warning is expected. Tokens do not persist across restarts. export ADMIN_TOKEN=my-secret-token export LIGHTNING_BACKEND=mock ./satgate --config examples/gateway.yaml ``` **Try the three policies:** ```bash # 1. Public — no auth needed curl http://localhost:8080/health # 2. Protected — mint a capability token, then use it curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/capability/mint \ -H "X-Admin-Token: my-secret-token" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"scope": "api:read", "duration": "1h"}' # Use the token: curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CAPABILITY_TOKEN" \ http://localhost:8080/api/capability/ping # 3. Paid — get a payment challenge (L402 today; x402/other rails as governed context) curl http://localhost:8080/api/micro ``` Public → Protected → Paid. Three policies, one gateway; paid rails are governed context, not the product boundary. Hosted paid demo (Admit; Charge in the dashboard). No local Lightning node: ```bash curl -i -H "X-SatGate-Tenant: satgate-demo" https://api.satgate.io/paid/agent-demo ``` Unpaid calls return 402 with a Lightning invoice and a macaroon. The price is 10 sats, and one payment buys access until the `credential_expires_at` time in that response, not just one request. For Lightning, show the invoice to the owner, poll payment status, then retry. Poll rules are in [llms.txt](https://satgate.io/llms.txt). 📖 **[Full Quick Start Guide →](docs/getting-started/quickstart.md)** ### Other Install Methods ```bash # Release binary. ghcr.io/satgate-io/satgate:latest is private; anonymous pulls get 401. # Assets: satgate-darwin-arm64, satgate-darwin-amd64, satgate-linux-amd64, # satgate-linux-arm64, satgate-windows-amd64.exe curl -L https://github.com/SatGate-io/satgate/releases/download/v0.5.2/satgate-darwin-arm64 -o satgate chmod +x satgate # Build from source git clone https://github.com/SatGate-io/satgate.git cd satgate && go build -o satgate ./cmd/satgate ``` ## Configuration ```yaml version: 1 server: listen: ":8080" admin: capabilityRootKey: "${CAPABILITY_ROOT_KEY}" lightning: provider: "${LIGHTNING_BACKEND}" config: connectionString: "${NWC_CONNECTION_STRING}" upstreams: api: url: "http://localhost:3000" routes: - name: public-health match: pathPrefix: /health upstream: api policy: kind: public - name: protected-api match: pathPrefix: /api/ upstream: api policy: kind: capability scope: "api:read" - name: premium-api match: pathPrefix: /premium/ upstream: api policy: kind: l402 # paid-rail policy; use payment_context to preserve L402/x402/ledger evidence priceSats: 100 ``` ## Policy Types | Policy | Description | Use Case | |--------|-------------|----------| | `public` | No authentication | Health checks, docs, webhooks | | `capability` | Requires valid Macaroon | Protected API endpoints | | `l402` | Requires Lightning payment and records paid-rail context | Monetized endpoints; x402/ledger context can be preserved in Evidence Packs | ## How It's Different | | SatGate | Routing Gateways | Traditional API Gateways | |---|---|---|---| | **Primary concern** | Economic governance | Provider routing | Traffic management | | **Budget enforcement** | Hard caps (blocked at limit) | Soft alerts only | ❌ | | **MCP cost attribution** | Per-tool granularity | ❌ | ❌ | | **Credential model** | Macaroons (delegatable) | API keys | API keys / OAuth | | **Agent delegation** | Sub-tokens with reduced budgets | ❌ | ❌ | | **Paid-rail governance** | L402, x402, API-key billing, enterprise ledgers | ❌ | ❌ | | **Works alongside** | — | ✅ Use together | ✅ Use together | ## Architecture ``` ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ SatGate │ │ │ │ Request → Route Match → Policy Check → Proxy │ │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ [public] [capability] [paid rail] │ │ pass verify token verify │ │ check budget payment │ │ log MCP tool context │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` **Key Concepts:** - **Macaroons**: Bearer tokens with embedded caveats (expiry, scope, budget, IP). Not API keys — they support *delegation* without server roundtrips. - **Delegation**: Agent A gives Agent B a sub-token with reduced permissions and a $50 budget cap. B can't escalate. - **MCP Parsing**: SatGate reads MCP JSON-RPC payloads to attribute costs to specific tool calls, not just HTTP endpoints. - **Paid-rail context**: SatGate treats L402, x402, API-key billing, and enterprise ledgers as rails to govern around. Evidence Packs preserve which rail was involved without making the rail the product. ## SDKs | Language | Package | Docs | |----------|---------|------| | Python | `pip install satgate` | [README](sdk/python/README.md) | | JavaScript | `npm install @satgate/sdk` | [README](sdk/nodejs/README.md) | ## MCP Proxy (NEW) SatGate now includes a native **MCP proxy** that governs tool calls for any MCP-compatible agent: ```bash # Run MCP proxy with 1000-credit budget satgate-mcp --config satgate-mcp.yaml ``` - **Budget enforcement**: Hard 402 when agents exhaust their allocation - **Delegation**: Parent agents mint sub-agent tokens with carved budgets - **Per-tool costs**: `web_search: 5`, `dalle_generate: 50` (wildcard patterns supported) - **Two transports**: stdio (local sidecar) or SSE/HTTP (remote multi-agent) - **Three auth modes**: none, static token, macaroon (HMAC chain) See [`pkg/mcpserver/README.md`](pkg/mcpserver/README.md) for full documentation. ## Documentation - [Architecture Overview](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) - [Quick Start Guide](docs/getting-started/quickstart.md) - [Configuration Reference](docs/reference/configuration.md) - [Production Checklist](docs/operations/production-checklist.md) - [Kubernetes Deployment](docs/guides/kubernetes.md) - [LangChain Integration](docs/guides/langchain-integration.md) - [MCP Gateway Guide](docs/guides/mcp-gateway.md) ## ☁️ SatGate Cloud & Enterprise > **Self-hosting not your thing?** [SatGate Cloud](https://cloud.satgate.io) is the fully managed version — same gateway, zero ops. The open-source gateway handles protection, budgets, and paid-rail enforcement. SatGate Cloud adds the control plane: - 📊 **Observe** — Real-time dashboards, usage attribution, cost center tagging - 🎚️ **Control** — Budget and policy enforcement before agent requests execute - 🤖 **SatGate Mint** — Zero-touch agent provisioning (K8s, AWS, OIDC) - 🏢 **Multi-tenant** — Team isolation, RBAC, SSO/SCIM - 📝 **Audit** — Tamper-evident logging, compliance exports Start Free → (Observe is free, up to a fair-use cap) ## Contributing We welcome contributions! See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines. ```bash git clone https://github.com/satgate-io/satgate.git cd satgate go mod download go test ./... go build -o satgate ./cmd/satgate ``` ## License Apache License 2.0 — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details. ## Links - 🌐 [satgate.io](https://satgate.io) — Website - 📝 [Blog](https://satgate.io/blog) — Technical articles - 🏢 [Enterprise Governance](https://satgate.io/govern) — CISO/CFO/CTO use cases - 💰 [Pricing](https://satgate.io/pricing) — Free Observe tier, Pro for enforcement - 🔒 [Security Model](https://satgate.io/security) — Architecture & compliance - 🧪 [Sandbox](https://satgate.io/sandbox) — Try without signup - 📊 [ROI Calculator](https://satgate.io/roi-calculator) — Estimate savings - ⚖️ [Compare](https://satgate.io/compare) — SatGate vs Zuplo, Bifrost, cloud-native - 📧 [contact@satgate.io](mailto:contact@satgate.io) ---

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