n8n x402 buyer ops — ship checklist

Before you activate n8n buyer workflows

1. 402: GET the paid resource; parse HTTP 402 accepts (scheme, asset, max amount, payTo). Never invent prices.
2. Spend-cap: Set MAX_SPEND_USDC below your hard budget; abort if accept amount > cap — do not auto-raise.
3. Pay: Route signing through your payer sidecar / wallet policy (placeholders only in the free sheet; pack ships no secrets).
4. Receipt: On success, log amount + resource + tx/ref; optional Slack/Notion notify with credential placeholders.
5. Smoke unpaid only when testing this store’s Solana Pay checkouts — buyer pack is for outbound x402 pay, not for paying yourself.
6. Daily digest: sum spent vs budget; over-cap alerts must not raise the cap automatically.
7. Selling checkout ops instead? Use the seller n8n checklist → Checkout Ops Companion.

Symptom	Fix before next activate
No 402 / unexpected 200	Confirm resource is paid; check Accepts header / body; do not invent payTo.
Amount above MAX_SPEND_USDC	Abort — hard cap. Raise only by human edit of env, never in-flow.
Pay fails / pending forever	Verify network + mint + exact amount; retry/nudge only; no auto-spend escalate.
Receipt silent	Replace Slack/Notion credential placeholders; test with a dry log first.
Wrong asset / chain	Match CAIP-2 + USDC mint from the 402 accept — never hardcode from memory.
Confusing with seller companion	Seller pack = this store’s orders/check/unlock. Buyer pack = paying others’ x402.

Spend-cap: $0 smoke never pays live x402. Companion does not ship keys or guarantee settlement.

Next: n8n x402 Buyer Ops Companion — 17 USDC (Solana Pay)

Selling instead? Checkout Ops Companion (seller) — 17 USDC · free seller n8n checklist · alias /buyer-ops.

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