# Pass-through

> pay curl, wget, http, claude, codex, and whoami — wrap an external tool while pay handles HTTP 402.

Pass-through commands wrap a familiar tool (`curl`, `wget`, `http`, `claude`, `codex`) so its surface area stays unchanged while `pay` transparently negotiates HTTP 402. `whoami` rounds out the group with a read-only identity check.

## `pay curl`

Make an HTTP request via `curl`, handling 402 Payment Required flows.

All arguments after `curl` are forwarded to the system `curl` binary. There are no `pay`-owned flags — anything you can write to `curl` works here.

```sh
pay --sandbox curl https://payment-debugger.vercel.app/mpp/quote/AAPL
pay --sandbox curl https://example.gateway/v1/search \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"query":"test"}'
```

On a 402 response, `pay` decodes the challenge, signs it with the active account, and retries the request with the credential attached. The response body lands on stdout exactly as `curl` would print it.

## `pay wget`

Download a resource via `wget`, handling 402 Payment Required flows.

```sh
pay --sandbox wget https://example.gateway/v1/export.csv
```

All arguments after `wget` are forwarded to the system `wget` binary.

## `pay http`

Make an HTTP request via HTTPie, handling 402 Payment Required flows.

```sh
pay --sandbox http GET https://example.gateway/v1/search query==test
pay --sandbox http POST https://example.gateway/v1/items name=widget price:=12
```

All arguments after `http` are forwarded to the system `http` (HTTPie) binary. HTTPie's request-item syntax (`field=value` for JSON strings, `field:=raw` for raw values, `Header:value` for headers) is supported.

## `pay claude`

Run Claude Code with 402 payment support attached.

```sh
pay --sandbox claude
pay --sandbox --debugger claude
pay --sandbox claude "buy me some flowers"
```

All arguments after `claude` are forwarded to the `claude` binary. `pay` injects:

- the local Pay MCP server, so Claude can browse the skills catalog and make paid requests;
- an allowed-tools scope that covers `pay search`, endpoint lookup, paid `curl`, balance, and provider validation;
- a system prompt that teaches Claude when it's running under `pay`.

`claude` must be on `$PATH`.

## `pay codex`

Run Codex with 402 payment support attached.

```sh
pay --sandbox codex
pay --sandbox --debugger codex
```

All arguments after `codex` are forwarded to the `codex` binary. The injected MCP server, allowed-tools scope, and system prompt match `pay claude`. `codex` must be on `$PATH`.

## `pay whoami`

Show the system user, the active mainnet account, and its non-zero stablecoin balances.

```sh
pay whoami
```

| Flag               | Type   | Description                                           |
| ------------------ | ------ | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| `--account <NAME>` | string | Inspect a specific account instead of the active one. |

Balances are fetched via the pay-api. When the API is unreachable, `pay` shows a yellow `api offline` indicator next to a clickable `balance ↗` link to the account's Solana Explorer page — the account itself is unaffected.

## See also

- [Using pay → Pass-through commands](/docs/using-pay/pass-through-commands) — task-shaped walk-through of paying for an API.
- [Global flags → Debugger](/docs/toolchain/global-flags#debugger) — capture every payment exchange in the PDB UI.