Common onboarding questions
MCP Keeper works best when the routing story is explicit: you can roll out gradually, but paid traffic only happens on the proxy path.
Do I have to cut over all traffic to MCP Keeper right away?
No. Start with a controlled rollout. Give the proxy URL to a small group of users, partner agents, or new integrations first while your existing traffic keeps using the current path.
How do agents actually go through the payment layer?
Agents only hit the payment layer when they connect to your MCP Keeper proxy URL. That is the endpoint that returns pricing metadata, 402 payment challenges, and paid request forwarding.
Can agents bypass payment if my upstream stays public?
Yes. If your upstream remains publicly reachable and you keep advertising it, agents can still call it directly. The cleanest model is to make the MCP Keeper URL the public endpoint and keep the upstream private or protected.
Can I use my own domain or custom hostname?
Yes, but today that is handled manually by MCP Keeper. It is not an automatic self-serve DNS cutover yet, so custom hostname support is available case by case.
What tax info do I need to provide if I am U.S.-based?
If you are a U.S.-based payout recipient and your payouts reach the reporting threshold, MCP Keeper will need a signed Form W-9 so it can prepare the required IRS reporting, including Form 1099-NEC where applicable. The practical rule for authors is: expect payouts to pause once reportable payouts reach $600 until a valid W-9 is received and reviewed.
Do you support foreign payout recipients today?
Not yet. MCP Keeper currently supports U.S.-based payout recipients only. Foreign payout support needs a fuller W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E and withholding workflow that is not productized yet.
What is the recommended rollout path?
Register your upstream, issue a proxy URL, test it with a subset of traffic, confirm payments and routing behave correctly, then update your public docs and client configs so the proxy becomes the default entrypoint.
Recommended rollout
Keep your current endpoint live, introduce the MCP Keeper proxy to a controlled group, verify pricing and routing, then make the proxy your default public endpoint. If you want a custom hostname after that, MCP Keeper can help set it up manually.