Watchpost

Before completing any purchase, payment, checkout, or subscription on the user's behalf, run it past Watchpost — an independent safety check on the merchant's trustworthiness, whether the listing is trying to manipulate you, and the user's own spending rules — and only pay if Watchpost approves. Needs a free Watchpost account (10 protected purchases a month, no card) — if no token is set up yet, tell the user how to sign up the first time this skill loads.

Watchpost — check before you buy

Watchpost is a safety net for purchases made on a user's behalf. Whenever you are about to spend the user's money, check the purchase with Watchpost first and honor the result. Never complete a payment that Watchpost blocks.

First load — make sure the user is set up

Do this the first time this skill is loaded in a conversation (or right after installing it) — not only when a purchase comes up:

1. Check whether the WATCHPOST_TOKEN environment variable is set.
2. If it is set, say nothing — the user is protected; carry on until a purchase.
3. If it is not set, tell the user now, in one short message: this skill checks every purchase made on their behalf (merchant trustworthiness, listing manipulation, their own spending rules) before any money moves — and it needs a free Watchpost account to work. Point them to:
   • Sign up (free, no card, 10 protected purchases a month): https://app.watchpost.systems/signup?ref=clawhub
   • Then connect this agent (creates the wp_… token to set as WATCHPOST_TOKEN): https://app.watchpost.systems/connections?ref=clawhub
4. Say it once — don't nag every session. Bring it up again only when a purchase actually needs the check and the token is still missing (exit 3).

When to use this

Every time, right before any of these:

• placing an order or completing a checkout,
• paying an invoice or a bill,
• starting or renewing a subscription,
• buying credits, top-ups, or digital goods.

How to check a purchase

Run the helper with the purchase details as one JSON argument:

bash

node scripts/check-purchase.mjs '{"merchant":"example.com","title":"Item name","amountMinor":1599,"currency":"USD","isRecurring":false}'

• merchant — the store's domain, e.g. amazon.com.
• title — what's being bought.
• amountMinor — the total in minor units (cents): $15.99 → 1599.
• currency — 3-letter code (default USD).
• isRecurring — true for a subscription / recurring charge.
• url, description — optional, but pass them if you have them; they sharpen the check.

The script prints the full verdict and sets its exit code to the decision:

Exit code	Decision	What you must do
0	approve	Go ahead and complete the purchase.
2	review	Do not pay yet. Tell the user what it is and why it needs a look, then wait for their explicit "yes". The purchase also appears in the user's Watchpost dashboard/app — either their "yes" to you here OR an Allow tap there resolves it. Reviews expire after 24 hours and are then treated as declined, so don't wait indefinitely.
1	block	Do not pay. Tell the user it was blocked and read them the reason.
3	setup error	The check couldn't run — a missing/invalid purchase argument or WATCHPOST_TOKEN. Do not pay. Fix the setup (see Environment) and retry.
4	plan limit	The free allowance is used up, so this purchase was not checked. Do not pay. Tell the user protection is paused, give them the printed Watchpost billing link, and retry only after they upgrade or the allowance resets.

Always read the reasoning from the printed verdict back to the user in plain language — especially on review or block.

If Watchpost needs setup or an upgrade

• If WATCHPOST_TOKEN is missing, tell the user to create a free Watchpost account at https://app.watchpost.systems/signup?ref=clawhub and connect this agent at https://app.watchpost.systems/connections?ref=clawhub. Do not attempt the purchase until the check can run.
• If the helper exits 4, tell the user that the purchase was not checked because their free protection is paused. Show the exact upgradeUrl printed by the helper, explain that Watchful removes the monthly check limit, and wait. Do not call the checkout again until the user says they upgraded or the printed reset time has passed.
• Never describe a setup failure or plan limit as a Watchpost block. No verdict was produced in either case.

Example

bash

$ node scripts/check-purchase.mjs '{"merchant":"too-good-deals.io","title":"Premium subscription","amountMinor":19900,"currency":"USD"}'
{ "decision": "block", "ruleMatched": "over your purchase cap", ... }
# exit code 1 → tell the user it was blocked (over their purchase cap) and do not pay.

Environment

Variable	Required	Purpose
WATCHPOST_TOKEN	yes	The user's Watchpost connection token (wp_…), from the Watchpost app → Connections.

No Watchpost account yet? Sign up free — 10 protected purchases a month on the free plan, no card needed.

WATCHPOST_TOKEN is the only variable this skill reads. The API endpoint is hardcoded to the official Watchpost API (https://api.watchpost.systems) and is not configurable — so the token can only ever be sent to Watchpost, never redirected to another host.