Agora

The open protocol for agent commerce.

The internet was built for human browsers. AI agents need to discover, search, and transact with stores programmatically -but today's web has no standard interface for them. Agora defines that interface.

Agora is an open protocol, a commerce transaction layer, a public registry, and a complete toolkit for AI agents. Stores adopt the protocol. Agents discover, search, compare, and purchase across all of them through a single API.

Live API · API Playground · Registry · Demo · Portal

The Protocol

Stores declare agent-readiness by serving agora.json at /.well-known/agora.json. This manifest describes the store's identity, capabilities, authentication, rate limits, and data policy.

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "store": {
    "name": "Example Store",
    "url": "https://example.com"
  },
  "capabilities": {
    "products": "/api/agora/products",
    "product": "/api/agora/products/{id}",
    "search": "/api/agora/search",
    "cart": "/api/agora/cart",
    "checkout": "/api/agora/checkout"
  },
  "auth": { "type": "none" },
  "rate_limits": { "requests_per_minute": 60 },
  "data_policy": { "cache_ttl": 3600, "commercial_use": true }
}

Capabilities are tiered. Start with a product feed. Add search, cart, and checkout as your infrastructure supports it. Agents discover what each store can do and act accordingly.

Full specification: docs/protocol/spec.md | Product schema: docs/protocol/product-schema.md

The Commerce Layer

Agents don't just search -they buy. Agora provides a complete transaction flow with consumer-approved payments.

Consumer: "Buy me those hiking boots"
Agent:    POST /v1/cart → adds product
Agent:    POST /v1/checkout → initiates purchase
Agora:    "Approve $89.99 at Allbirds?"
Consumer: "Yes"
Agent:    POST /v1/checkout/:id/approve
Agora:    Charges card, creates order, notifies store
Agent:    "Done! Order confirmed."

How it works:

1. Consumers save a payment method with Agora (via Stripe)
2. Agents build carts and request checkout
3. Consumers approve purchases inline (agent asks directly) or via SMS/email link
4. Agora charges the card and forwards the order to the store

Agents cannot charge cards without consumer approval. Every purchase requires explicit consent. Approval tokens are single-use and expire in 15 minutes.

The Registry

A public, searchable directory of every store on the network. No authentication required. Agents query the registry to discover stores without knowing their URLs.

# Browse all stores
curl https://agora-ecru-chi.vercel.app/v1/registry

# Search by name
curl https://agora-ecru-chi.vercel.app/v1/registry?q=outdoor

# Filter and sort
curl https://agora-ecru-chi.vercel.app/v1/registry?source=native&sort=score

# Network stats
curl https://agora-ecru-chi.vercel.app/v1/registry/stats

Each store listing includes analytics (weekly query count, product views) and a trust score based on protocol compliance, data quality, and agent activity.

For AI Agents

Three integration paths.

SDK

npm install agora-sdk

import { Agora } from 'agora-sdk'

const agora = new Agora({ apiKey: 'ak_your_key' })

const results = await agora.search('waterproof hiking boots under $100')
const product = await agora.product('agr_abc123')
const similar = await agora.similar('agr_abc123')

Built-in response caching. Full TypeScript types. Zero dependencies.

MCP Server

For agents that support the Model Context Protocol -Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and others.

npm install agora-mcp-server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agora": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["agora-mcp-server"],
      "env": { "AGORA_API_KEY": "ak_your_key" }
    }
  }
}

REST API

Direct HTTP access with Bearer token authentication.

curl https://agora-ecru-chi.vercel.app/v1/products/search?q=running+shoes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ak_your_key"

Interactive playground: agora-ecru-chi.vercel.app/playground

For Stores

Option 1: Shopify Adapter (zero config)

Any Shopify store can join the protocol instantly. No code changes. One API call.

curl -X POST https://agora-ecru-chi.vercel.app/v1/adapter/shopify \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://your-shopify-store.com"}'

Agora generates your agora.json, proxies your product feed in protocol format, and registers your store in the public registry.

Option 2: Native Implementation

Implement the protocol directly for full control.

1. Create your agora.json -declare capabilities and endpoints
2. Serve it at /.well-known/agora.json
3. Implement the required endpoints (products and product)
4. Validate: npx @agora/validator https://yourdomain.com
5. Register: POST /v1/stores/register with your URL

Getting started guide: docs/protocol/getting-started.md

What Stores Get

• Listed in the public registry -agents discover your store automatically
• Agent commerce -agents can build carts and purchase from your store with consumer approval
• Analytics -see how agents interact with your products (queries, views, trends)
• Trust score -protocol compliance rating that agents use to prioritize stores
• Webhooks -real-time notifications for searches, product views, and orders
• Cross-store visibility -your products appear in comparison results across the network

Architecture

Monorepo managed by Turborepo. CI via GitHub Actions.

API Reference

Base URL: https://agora-ecru-chi.vercel.app

OpenAPI spec: /openapi.json | Playground: /playground

Public (no auth)

Products and Search (auth required)

Commerce (auth required)

Stores and Webhooks (auth required)

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/rbtbuilds/agora.git
cd agora
npm install

# Configure environment
cp .env.example .env
# Set DATABASE_URL in .env

# Run database migrations
cd packages/db && npx drizzle-kit migrate && cd ../..

# Build all packages
npm run build

# Run tests
npm run test

# Start development
npm run dev

Prerequisites: Node.js 22+, PostgreSQL 16+ with pgvector.

Status

22,000+ products indexed across 52 stores. Full commerce transaction layer. Protocol v1.0.

Roadmap:

• Semantic search with pgvector embeddings
• Stripe live payment processing
• Marketing site and custom domains
• 100k+ products across 200+ stores

License

Dual licensed:

• Protocol, Validator, SDK, MCP Server - MIT. Use freely. Build on it. The protocol is an open standard.
• API, Platform, Portal, Crawler - Business Source License 1.1. Source available for reading, learning, and non-production use. Commercial production use requires a license. Converts to Apache 2.0 on 2030-04-07.