tempo-mcp

MCP server for Tempo blockchain stablecoin payments — Enable AI agents to autonomously execute real-world payments.

Testnet Only — This MCP currently operates on Tempo testnet. No real funds are used. Perfect for experimentation and development!

TL;DR

Add to Claude Desktop config (~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tempo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tempo-mcp"],
      "env": { "TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY": "0xYOUR_PRIVATE_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Then ask Claude: "What's my AlphaUSD balance?"

Need testnet tokens? Get free AlphaUSD at docs.tempo.xyz/faucet

What Can I Ask?

What is tempo-mcp?

tempo-mcp is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that bridges AI assistants with the Tempo blockchain, enabling autonomous stablecoin payments for agentic commerce.

Why This Matters

AI agents are evolving from assistants into autonomous actors that can take real-world actions. However, they currently lack the ability to handle financial transactions safely. tempo-mcp solves this by providing:

• Autonomous Payments: AI agents can send stablecoin payments without human intervention
• Built-in Safety: Spending limits, address allowlists, and rate limiting prevent runaway transactions
• Audit Trail: Every transaction is logged for compliance and reconciliation
• Memo Support: 32-byte memos enable invoice matching and payment reconciliation

Use Cases

• Payroll Automation: Process batch payments from CSV files
• Invoice Settlement: Match payments to invoices using memo fields
• Treasury Management: Rebalance multi-token portfolios automatically
• Micropayments: Enable pay-per-use AI services
• Compliance Management: Automate KYC/AML whitelist maintenance and transfer validation
• Delegated Agent Signing: Use access keys (session keys) for AI agents with spending limits
• Fee Liquidity Provision: Earn yields by providing liquidity to the Fee AMM for gas conversions
• Automated Market Making: Place flip orders that oscillate between buy/sell for stablecoin arbitrage

Features

Payment Operations

• Single Payments — Send TIP-20 stablecoin transfers with optional memos
• Batch Payments — Atomic multi-recipient transfers (up to 100 recipients)
• Concurrent Payments — Parallel execution using nonceKeys (10-100x faster for large batches)
• Scheduled Payments — Protocol-level future payments with execution windows
• Sponsored Payments — Gasless transactions where a sponsor pays fees (local key or relay service)

Query Operations

• Balance Queries — Check single or multiple token balances
• Transaction Lookups — Get transaction details and history
• Gas Estimation — Estimate transaction costs

Token Operations

• Token Creation — Deploy new TIP-20 tokens via factory contract
• Mint/Burn — Token supply management (requires ISSUER_ROLE)
• Swap — Exchange stablecoins on Tempo's native DEX
• Role Management — Grant, revoke, and query TIP-20 roles (admin, issuer, pause, unpause)
• Pause Control — Emergency pause/unpause token transfers (requires PAUSE_ROLE/UNPAUSE_ROLE)
• Policy Compliance — TIP-403 whitelist/blacklist management and pre-transfer validation
• Rewards Management — TIP-20 opt-in rewards: opt-in/out, claim rewards, set recipient, view status
• Fee AMM Liquidity — Provide liquidity to the gas fee conversion pool and earn from stablecoin swaps
• DEX Advanced Orders — Limit orders, flip orders (auto-reversing), orderbook queries, and order management

Security

• Spending Limits — Per-token and daily USD limits
• Address Allowlist — Whitelist or blocklist recipient addresses
• Rate Limiting — Configurable limits per operation type
• Audit Logging — Structured JSON logs with request tracing
• Access Keys (Session Keys) — Delegated signing with per-token spending limits and expiration

Wallet Support

• Private Key — Direct key for development/testing
• Keystore — Encrypted JSON keystore for production
• External Signers — Turnkey/Fireblocks integration for enterprise

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20.0.0 or higher
• npm, pnpm, or yarn
• A Tempo testnet wallet with AlphaUSD tokens

First time? Get a wallet and free testnet tokens at docs.tempo.xyz/faucet

Installation

Via npm (global install):

npm install -g tempo-mcp

Via npx (no installation):

npx tempo-mcp

From source:

git clone https://github.com/arome3/tempo-mcp
cd tempo-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Configuration

1. Create a .env file:

cp .env.example .env

2. Add your wallet private key:

# Required
TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY=0x...  # Your wallet private key

# Network (defaults to testnet)
TEMPO_RPC_URL=https://rpc.testnet.tempo.xyz
TEMPO_CHAIN_ID=42429

3. Run the server:

npm start
# or
npx tempo-mcp

Installation with your IDE

Select your MCP client below for detailed setup instructions.

Note: If you're using a client not listed here, you can still use tempo-mcp by manually adding the server configuration to your client's MCP settings.

Claude Desktop

Download and install Claude Desktop if you haven't already.

Manual Setup:

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Go to Settings (gear icon) → Developer
3. Click Edit Config to open the configuration file
   • macOS/Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
4. Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tempo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tempo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY": "0x...",
        "TEMPO_RPC_URL": "https://rpc.testnet.tempo.xyz"
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop

Claude Code (CLI)

Install Claude Code if you haven't already.

1-Click Setup:

claude mcp add tempo-mcp -e TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY=0x... -- npx tempo-mcp

Manual Setup:

1. Open your terminal
2. Run claude mcp add tempo-mcp to add the server
3. Or edit the config file directly:
   • macOS: ~/.claude/settings.json
   • Linux: ~/.claude/settings.json
   • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json
4. Add the configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tempo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tempo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY": "0x..."
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Verify with /mcp command inside Claude Code

Cursor

Download and install Cursor if you haven't already.

Manual Setup:

1. Open a project in Cursor and navigate to Cursor Settings (⌘+Shift+J on macOS)
2. In the settings menu, go to the MCP section
3. Click New MCP Server. This will open your mcp.json configuration file
   • Global: ~/.cursor/mcp.json
   • Project-level: .cursor/mcp.json (in project root)
4. Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tempo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tempo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY": "0x..."
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Save and restart Cursor

Tip: Project-level configs (.cursor/mcp.json) override global configs.

Windsurf

Download and install Windsurf if you haven't already.

Manual Setup:

1. Open Windsurf and go to Settings (⌘+, on macOS)
2. Navigate to Cascade → Plugins
3. Click View raw config to open the MCP configuration file
   • macOS: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
   • Linux: ~/.config/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
   • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json
4. Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tempo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tempo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY": "0x..."
      }
    }
  }
}

5. Save and restart Windsurf

VS Code + Continue

Install the Continue extension in VS Code.

Manual Setup:

1. Open VS Code and click the Continue icon in the sidebar
2. Click the gear icon → Open config.yaml
   • macOS: ~/.continue/config.yaml
   • Linux: ~/.continue/config.yaml
   • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.continue\config.yaml
3. Add the following configuration (YAML format):

mcpServers:
  - name: tempo
    command: npx
    args:
      - tempo-mcp
    env:
      TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY: "0x..."

4. Save and reload VS Code

Note: MCP tools are only available in Continue's Agent mode.

Cline

Install the Cline extension in VS Code.

Manual Setup:

1. Open VS Code and click the Cline icon in the sidebar
2. Click the MCP Servers icon in the top navigation bar
3. Select the Configure tab, then click Advanced MCP Settings
4. This opens the config file at:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json
   • Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
5. Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tempo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["tempo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY": "0x..."
      },
      "alwaysAllow": [],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

6. Save and the server will be available immediately

Generic MCP Client

For custom MCP clients or programmatic usage:

import { Client } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js";
import { StdioClientTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/stdio.js";

const transport = new StdioClientTransport({
  command: "npx",
  args: ["tempo-mcp"],
  env: {
    TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY: process.env.TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY,
  },
});

const client = new Client({ name: "my-agent", version: "1.0.0" }, {});
await client.connect(transport);

// Now you can call tools
const result = await client.callTool({
  name: "get_balance",
  arguments: { token: "AlphaUSD" },
});

MCP Tools Reference

Payment Tools (High Risk)

Query Tools (Low Risk)

Token Tools (High Risk)

Policy Tools (TIP-403 Compliance)

Policy Types: whitelist (only approved addresses can transact) or blacklist (block specific addresses). Built-in policies: 0 (always reject), 1 (always allow). Custom policies start at ID 2.

Access Key Tools (Session Keys)

Rewards Tools (TIP-20 Rewards)

Duration: Set duration=0 for instant distribution. Time-based streaming rewards (duration > 0) are planned for future protocol updates.

Exchange Tools

Fee AMM Tools (Liquidity Management)

DEX Advanced Tools (Orderbook Trading)

Tick Pricing: Price = 1 + tick/100,000. Tick 0 = $1.0000, tick -10 = $0.9999, tick 10 = $1.0001

MCP Resources Reference

Resources provide read-only access to blockchain data via URI patterns:

Example Usage:

Read tempo://account/0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEbb

MCP Prompts Reference

Prompts provide reusable conversation templates:

Configuration

Environment Variables

Configuration File

Create tempo-mcp.config.yaml for advanced configuration:

network:
  rpcUrl: https://rpc.testnet.tempo.xyz
  chainId: 42429
  explorerUrl: https://explore.tempo.xyz

wallet:
  type: privateKey  # or 'keystore', 'external'

security:
  spendingLimits:
    maxSinglePayment:
      "*": "1000"           # Default for all tokens
      AlphaUSD: "5000"      # Override for specific token
    dailyLimit:
      "*": "10000"
    dailyTotalUSD: "50000"
    maxBatchSize: 50
    maxBatchTotalUSD: "25000"

  addressAllowlist:
    enabled: true
    mode: allowlist         # or 'blocklist'
    addresses:
      - "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEbb"
    labels:
      "0x742d35Cc...": "Payroll Account"

  rateLimits:
    toolCalls:
      windowMs: 60000
      maxCalls: 60
    highRiskOps:
      windowMs: 3600000
      maxCalls: 100

logging:
  level: info
  auditLog:
    enabled: true
    path: ./logs/audit.jsonl
    rotationDays: 30

feeSponsorship:
  enabled: true
  feePayer:
    type: local              # or 'relay' for testnet relay service
    address: "0x..."         # Fee payer wallet address
    privateKey: "0x..."      # Fee payer private key (local mode only)
    relayUrl: "https://sponsor.testnet.tempo.xyz"  # Relay endpoint
  maxSponsoredPerDay: "1000" # Daily sponsorship limit

Configuration Priority

1. Environment variables (highest priority)
2. Config file (tempo-mcp.config.yaml/yml/json)
3. Default values (lowest priority)

Security

tempo-mcp includes multiple security layers to protect against unauthorized transactions:

Spending Limits

Prevent large or excessive payments:

security:
  spendingLimits:
    maxSinglePayment:
      "*": "1000"           # Max $1000 per transaction
    dailyLimit:
      "*": "10000"          # Max $10,000 per day per token
    dailyTotalUSD: "50000"  # Max $50,000 per day total

Address Allowlist

Restrict which addresses can receive payments:

security:
  addressAllowlist:
    enabled: true
    mode: allowlist         # Only allow listed addresses
    addresses:
      - "0x..."             # Approved recipient
    labels:
      "0x...": "Vendor A"   # Human-readable label

Rate Limiting

Prevent abuse and runaway agents:

security:
  rateLimits:
    toolCalls:
      windowMs: 60000       # 1 minute window
      maxCalls: 60          # Max 60 calls per minute
    highRiskOps:
      windowMs: 3600000     # 1 hour window
      maxCalls: 100         # Max 100 high-risk ops per hour

Audit Logging

All operations are logged for compliance:

{"timestamp":"2024-12-17T10:30:00Z","requestId":"abc123","tool":"send_payment","status":"success","tx":"0x...","amount":"100","to":"0x..."}

Examples

Basic Payment

User: "Send 50 AlphaUSD to 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEbb"

→ Claude calls send_payment({
    token: "AlphaUSD",
    to: "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEbb",
    amount: "50"
  })

→ Returns: {
    success: true,
    transactionHash: "0xabc123...",
    explorerUrl: "https://explore.tempo.xyz/tx/0xabc123..."
  }

Payment with Memo (Invoice Reconciliation)

User: "Pay invoice #INV-2024-001 for 1500 AlphaUSD to 0x..."

→ Claude calls send_payment({
    token: "AlphaUSD",
    to: "0x...",
    amount: "1500",
    memo: "INV-2024-001"
  })

Batch Payroll

User: "Process this month's payroll from employees.csv"

→ Claude calls batch_payments({
    token: "AlphaUSD",
    payments: [
      { to: "0x...", amount: "5000", label: "Alice" },
      { to: "0x...", amount: "4500", label: "Bob" },
      { to: "0x...", amount: "6000", label: "Carol" }
    ]
  })

Sponsored (Gasless) Payment

User: "Send 100 AlphaUSD to 0x... using sponsored gas"

→ Claude calls send_sponsored_payment({
    token: "AlphaUSD",
    to: "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEbb",
    amount: "100",
    useRelay: false  // Use local fee payer
  })

→ Returns: {
    success: true,
    transactionHash: "0xdef456...",
    feePayer: "0xabc...",
    feeAmount: "0.000073"
  }

Example Agents

Explore complete agent implementations in the /examples directory:

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/arome3/tempo-mcp
cd tempo-mcp
npm install

Available Scripts

Testing

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run with coverage
npm run test:run -- --coverage

# Run specific test file
npm test -- src/security/spending-limits.test.ts

Network Information

Tempo Testnet (Andantino)

Default Tokens

Documentation

• Tempo Docs — Official Tempo blockchain documentation
• MCP Specification — Model Context Protocol docs

Tech Stack

Troubleshooting

"Connection refused" error

• Ensure Node.js 20+ is installed: node --version
• Check that TEMPO_PRIVATE_KEY is set in your config

"Insufficient balance" error

• Get testnet tokens from the faucet
• Verify your balance: ask Claude "What's my balance?"

"Spending limit exceeded"

• Increase TEMPO_MAX_SINGLE_PAYMENT in your environment or config file
• Check TEMPO_DAILY_LIMIT if you've made many transactions today

"Token not found" error

• Use token symbol (AlphaUSD) or full address (0x20c0...0001)
• Check supported tokens in the Network Information section

Server not responding

• Restart Claude Desktop after config changes
• Check logs: tail -f ~/.config/Claude/logs/mcp*.log

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

• Tempo — The stablecoin payments blockchain
• Anthropic — Model Context Protocol
• viem — TypeScript Ethereum library

Connect

Built by Abraham Onoja

Have questions, feedback, or want to collaborate? Reach out!

Built for the age of agentic commerce