🛡️ Aegis Protocol - AI Agents as a Service

Aegis Protocol is a decentralized "AI Agents as a Service" (AaaS) platform built on Polygon. It enables creators to deploy and monetize AI agents through a rental model, while users can access these agents on-demand with low-cost transactions.

🏗️ Architecture

The protocol deploys two primary smart contracts on Polygon:

1. AgentNFT (ERC-721): Represents ownership of AI agents
2. RentalContract: Manages agent rental logic and on-chain rental payments

Pre-paid x402 credits are now administered by an off-chain facilitator gateway. The X402CreditContract remains in the repository as a deprecated stub to prevent accidental deployment while backwards compatibility is phased out.

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js v20.x or higher
• npm or yarn
• MetaMask or any Web3 wallet
• MATIC tokens for deployment and transactions

🚀 Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/your-org/aegis-protocol.git
cd aegis-protocol/AegisContracts

2. Install Dependencies

npm install

3. Configure Environment

Create a .env file based on .env.example:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your configuration:

# Network RPC URLs
POLYGON_AMOY_RPC_URL=https://rpc-amoy.polygon.technology
POLYGON_MAINNET_RPC_URL=https://polygon-rpc.com

# Your wallet private key (NEVER commit this!)
PRIVATE_KEY=0x...

# Polygonscan API key for contract verification
POLYGONSCAN_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY

4. Compile Contracts

npm run compile

5. Run Tests

npm test

All tests should pass with output similar to:

  Aegis Protocol
    ✓ AgentNFT tests (4 passing)
    ✓ RentalContract tests (6 passing)
    ✓ End-to-End Flow (1 passing)

  11 passing (~0.4s)

🌐 Deployment

Local Network (Hardhat)

1. Start a local Hardhat node:

npm run node

1. In a new terminal, deploy contracts:

npm run deploy:local

Polygon Testnet (Amoy)

1. Get test MATIC from Polygon Faucet

2. Deploy to Amoy:

npm run deploy:amoy

Polygon Mainnet

⚠️ Warning: This will deploy to mainnet and cost real MATIC!

npx hardhat run scripts/deploy.ts --network polygon

📝 Contract Verification

After deployment, verify your contracts on Polygonscan:

npx hardhat verify --network <network> <CONTRACT_ADDRESS> [constructor args]

Example:

npx hardhat verify --network amoy 0x123... 
npx hardhat verify --network amoy 0x456... "0x123..."
npx hardhat verify --network amoy 0x789... "1000000000000000"

🔧 Contract Interaction

Use the provided interaction scripts to work with deployed contracts:

Mint an Agent NFT

npx hardhat run scripts/interact.ts --network localhost -- mint <creator_address> <token_uri>

Set Rental Price

npx hardhat run scripts/interact.ts --network localhost -- set-price <token_id> <price_per_second>

Rent an Agent

npx hardhat run scripts/interact.ts --network localhost -- rent <token_id> <duration_seconds>

ℹ️ Credits now off-chain: Use the x402 facilitator REST gateway to purchase or inspect inference credits. See the frontend/lib/rentals.ts helpers for reference client calls.

📜 Smart Contract Documentation

AgentNFT

ERC-721 token representing AI agent ownership.

Key Functions:

• mintAgent(address creator, string memory tokenURI): Mint a new agent NFT
• Standard ERC-721 functions (transfer, approve, etc.)

RentalContract

Manages agent rentals and payments.

Key Functions:

• setRentalPrice(uint256 tokenId, uint256 pricePerSecond): Set rental price for an agent
• rent(uint256 tokenId, uint256 durationInSeconds): Rent an agent
• isRentalActive(uint256 tokenId, address user): Check if rental is active

X402CreditContract (deprecated)

This on-chain credit contract has been superseded by an off-chain facilitator. The Solidity file remains only as a revert-only placeholder to block unintended deployments while the new architecture rolls out.

🔄 End-to-End Flow

1. Creator deploys an agent: Agent NFT is minted with metadata stored on IPFS
2. Creator sets rental terms: Price per second is configured
3. User rents the agent: Payment goes directly to creator
4. User purchases credits: Off-chain via the x402 facilitator gateway
5. User interacts with agent: Facilitator deducts credits per interaction
6. Rental expires: After duration, rental becomes inactive

🧪 Testing

Run the full test suite:

npm test

Run with coverage:

npx hardhat coverage

Run specific tests:

npx hardhat test test/AegisProtocol.test.ts

📊 Gas Reports

Enable gas reporting by setting in hardhat.config.ts:

gasReporter: {
  enabled: true,
  currency: 'USD',
  gasPrice: 30, // Polygon gas price in gwei
}

Then run tests:

npm test

🔒 Security Considerations

1. Private Keys: Never commit private keys. Use environment variables
2. Gateway Security: Host the x402 facilitator behind authenticated infrastructure with rate limiting and monitoring
3. Nonces: The legacy contract enforced nonce-based replay protection; retain similar safeguards in the facilitator
4. Payments: All rental payments go directly to creators (no intermediary risk)
5. Audits: Consider professional audits before mainnet deployment

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

AegisContracts/
├── contracts/          # Smart contracts
│   ├── AgentNFT.sol
│   ├── RentalContract.sol
│   └── X402CreditContract.sol (deprecated placeholder)
├── scripts/           # Deployment and interaction scripts
│   ├── deploy.ts
│   └── interact.ts
├── test/              # Test files
│   └── AegisProtocol.test.ts
├── deployments/       # Deployment artifacts (auto-generated)
└── hardhat.config.ts  # Hardhat configuration

Common Commands

npm run compile       # Compile contracts
npm test             # Run tests
npm run node         # Start local node
npm run deploy:local # Deploy to local network
npm run clean        # Clean artifacts

🌟 Features

• ✅ Fully On-Chain: All state managed by smart contracts
• ✅ Direct Payments: Creators receive payments instantly
• ✅ Replay Protection: Nonce-based security for credit spending
• ✅ Gas Optimized: Optimized for Polygon's low fees
• ✅ ERC-721 Compliant: Standard NFT interface for agents
• ✅ Flexible Pricing: Creators set their own rental rates
• ✅ Credit System: Off-chain facilitator provides prepaid credits without extra gas

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🔗 Links

• Documentation
• Website
• Discord
• Twitter

⚠️ Disclaimer

This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind. Use at your own risk. Always audit smart contracts before deploying to mainnet.

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Built with ❤️ by the Aegis Protocol Team

Built With

• css
• javascript
• solidity
• typescript