Nansen Agent Guide

Routing guide -- when to use `nansen agent` (AI research) vs direct CLI data commands. Use when deciding how to answer a user's research question with Nansen tools.

Agent vs CLI Routing

Need a...	Use
take (analysis, interpretation)	nansen agent
table (raw data, specific metrics)	Direct CLI commands
report (both)	Agent for narrative + CLI for data

Use nansen agent when

• Question requires interpretation or synthesis across multiple data sources
• Open-ended research: "analyse this wallet", "what's happening with ETH smart money?"

nansen agent "What are top smart money tokens on Solana today and why?"
nansen agent "Analyse wallet 0x123... -- is this a smart trader?"
nansen agent "..." --expert   # deeper analysis, 750 credits

Cost: 200 credits (fast) / 750 credits (expert)

Use direct CLI commands when

• You need specific structured data -- prices, volumes, holders, flows
• Deterministic question: "top 10 tokens by netflow on ethereum"
• Piping output or building a data table

nansen research token screener --chain ethereum --smart-money --limit 10
nansen research smart-money netflow --chain solana
nansen research profiler balance --address 0x123... --chain ethereum

Cost: 5-50 credits per call

Anti-patterns

• Don't use nansen agent for simple data fetches -- 40x more expensive
• Don't use raw CLI for open-ended analysis -- returns data, not interpretation
• Don't chain 3+ agent calls -- get raw data via CLI, call agent once for synthesis